Robert Hayes (serial killer)

Robert Tyrone Hayes (born March 12, 1982) is an American serial killer who has been convicted of three murders in the Daytona Beach, Florida, area between December 2005 and February 2006.

Robert Tyrone Hayes was born on March 12, 1982, in West Palm Beach, Florida, the youngest of four children.

Growing up, Hayes' was raised primarily by his mother, as his father had been murdered shortly after his birth, and according to later reports Hayes received an uncertain amount of abuse as a child.

When he was young, presumably a teenager, he was molested by a family member of a similar age.

He was described as chubby in his adolescence, resulting in Hayes often being bullied.

Nicknamed "Squeaky" by friends and family, Hayes was described as someone who was always there for people, friendly with neighbors, outspoken, and recited poetry in Miami.

He was known by friends to have an active sex life, attending sex parties, suspected of inviting prostitutes over, and at point he invited a family member to a sex party.

He was also described as someone with a good sense of humor and a fun, positive attitude.

Hayes had a girlfriend named in the 2000s, whom he had a child with.

Between 2000 and 2006, Hayes attended Bethune–Cookman College, now Bethune–Cookman University, studying criminal justice.

He graduated with a degree in criminal justice.

He was known to be helpful to friends and acquaintances.

Friends also explained Hayes had an interest in cooking, and attempted to start his own cooking business in Charlotte, North Carolina.

The tires were for a 2003 Taurus or Sable and in fact the exact tires were later found.

The first known victim was 45-year-old Laquetta Mae Gunther, who was found in an alley on December 26, 2005.

She had been shot in the back of the head.

DNA was recovered from the scene.

Laquetta had gone missing two days prior on Christmas Eve, when she was making dinner plans with her friend Stacey Dittmer.

When the time came, Laquetta never showed up.

She was known to have worked as a prostitute.

The second victim was 34-year-old Julie Green, found January 14, 2006.

She was also known to have worked as a prostitute.

She had also been shot in the back of the head.

No DNA was recovered, but tire tracks were found.

Just over a month later, on February 24, 2006, police found the body of Iwana Patton, 35, on a dirt road.

She had been shot, but not in the back of the head, and possibly had struggled with her killer.

DNA was recovered, along with a shell casing that allowed police to identify the make and model of pistol used (.40-caliber Smith & Wesson Sigma Series VE).

Ballistics from recovered bullets and recovered DNA matched.

Authorities received an anonymous telephone call describing the location of Patton's body, but the caller was eventually identified and questioned, and is not a suspect in the killings.

In addition, he remains the prime suspect in the murder of another woman in December 2007.

The first three murders that were committed in Daytona Beach, Florida, garnered high media attention, and before Hayes' identification, the perpetrator was nicknamed The Daytona Beach Killer.

Investigators were not able to close in on a suspect in time.

In December 2007, the murder of a woman in the same area caused a re-investigation to be brought forward, but again, Hayes remained elusive.

DNA tests have also linked him to a fourth murder committed in March 2016.

In December 2016, DNA tests on a woman found murdered in Palm Beach County in March 2016 matched DNA found on the original three murdered women.

On September 15, 2019, authorities charged Hayes with one count of first-degree murder based upon DNA tests.

On September 16, he was charged on three additional counts of first-degree murder.

Additional testing after his arrest confirmed the link.

Investigators had identified Hayes after identifying his family members through genetic genealogy, a tactic that has been used to solve numerous cold cases, most infamously the Golden State Killer.

In February 2022, Hayes was convicted on three counts of first-degree murder and the following month was sentenced to three consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole.