Texas investigators believe a 27-year-old Kinston woman missing for more than a week was killed and dismembered in North Carolina and transported in ice chests in a U-Haul trailer to Texas, where her remains were scattered in a creek.
Fort Bend County Chief Deputy Craig Brady said in a news conference Monday that search crews had recovered 60 percent of the body believed to be that of Laura Jean Ackerson.
Authorities are working to make a positive identification of the remains, Brady added, but all indications have led investigators to believe they are those of Ackerson.
She was reported missing July 15 after she never showed up in Raleigh to pick up her two sons from their father, Grant Ruffin Hayes. Her car was found five days later at a North Raleigh apartment complex.
Hayes, 32, and his wife, Amanda Perry Hayes, 39, were arrested early Monday morning in Kinston and were charged with murder. The two children, are with their father's family, authorities said.
"I don’t know if it was a planned homicide or if tempers flared, but I can’t imagine someone being that cold or just uncaring that after the murder, they took the steps of dismembering this lady in the manner that they did and just tossing her in a creek," Brady said. "It’s one of the most gruesome scenes that I’ve seen in 30-something years of law enforcement.
The remains were found in Oyster Creek, a few yards from where they were staying with Amanda Hayes' sister in Richmond, Texas, Brady said. Crews were still searching the creek Monday.
Authorities took a machete from the house, Brady said, but it was unclear whether it is related to the case. He said it appeared that a saw might have been used to cut the body, but he did not elaborate further.
The sister does not face charges, Brady said, and there's no indication that she had any knowledge of what happened.
Raleigh police, who are in Richmond, are investigating the case. They called the Fort Bend County Sheriff's Office on Sunday asking investigators to search the creek, Brady said.
He declined to say what led police to contact his office, only that their investigation led them to Texas.
Family and friends have said that Ackerson and Grant Hayes were involved in a custody battle and that their relationship had been "volatile."
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