GUILTY NC - Laura Ackerson, 27, Kinston, 13 July 2011 #4

[Jewels53]

I saw this Tweet:

Trial Diva Jen ™ ‏@TrialDivasJ 30m
#GrantHayes could testify in wife's murder trial http://wp.me/p3xDdu-1nL via #TheTrialDivas

So I decideded to look it up and the Diva site said source said wral.com.

So here is the article!

RALEIGH, N.C. — A man convicted of murder and serving a life sentence may take the stand to prevent his wife from the same fate.

Amanda Perry Hayes, 41, and her husband, Grant Ruffin Hayes, were both charged with first-degree murder in the July 2011 death of Laura Jean Ackerson, then 27, who was Grant Hayes' ex-girlfriend and the mother of his two sons. Amanda Hayes also faces a charge of accessory after the fact of murder.

http://www.wral.com/grant-hayes-could-testify-in-wife-s-murder-trial/13288374/


#unfreakinbelieveable

Hi All! :seeya:

 

[borndem]

?!?!?!?!?! What do they mean, hidden??!! Hidden how, that no testing team found it, how did they possibly hide it so well in the center console?! Oh my word.

I do not question that that's the knife, Amanda must be talking something trying to get Grant pinned for all of it without her, but how did they investigators not see it??!

Can anyone tell me what you remember from Grant's trial, the ME testimony regarding how they thought Laura was killed? IIRC, they weren't sure, they thought she might be strangled b/c there were indications on her neck bones, but they also saw a chip in one of her neck bones, or something like that?

Can someone refresh my memory?

aa - below is a link to the testimony of the Medical Examiner who is reporting on the autopsy of LA -- she is on the stand for a while, so there should be interruptions for breaks/lunch/end of day, but the full testimony is there on the WRAL site. So start with this link and go on to the next, etc., etc.

HTH!

http://www.wral.com/news/local/video/12879831/

Some of us "returners" and all of the newbies may wanna refresh, too. Please know that there are no graphic pics (NC Statutes do not allow them to be published except to the jury and those in the courtroom who can see them).

 

[geevee]

Nymeria, I understand how you feel! Can you imagine the drama? I, too, would love to see him testify if only to observe his behavior. But he's such a sleezy manipulator, he might really mess things up. Plus he's a liar. But if he testified, maybe SHE would, too. Then again, she might anyway.

And her former cell mate will testify? INTERESTING!!

This should be fascinating all the way around, with this cast of characters: AH, her 'unusual' daughter Sha, GH, cellmate, the emotional sister Karen. You can bet they have this well orchestrated, with Sha doing her part to help her mother.

Oh, on the news they showed a clip from the preliminary hearing today. Johnny Gaskins said (paraphrasing): "after we returned the Durango (to the State), they found the dagger-knife. We want to see the pictures they took...when we searched the console, we found DVD's."

The audio wasn't great and the reporter, Kelly O'Hara didn't elaborate. But it sounded to me like the prosecution found the knife when the defense returned the Durango. That's pretty interesting...

(I hope Kelly O'Hara doesn't cover this trial. Hope it's Ed Crump.)

Do they have the prelim hearing on video? I'd love to see that but can't find wral's video archive section.

 

[borndem]

HiYa, Geevee - :seeya: - Here is a link for the Ackerson/Hayes case on WRAL. The trial video is at the bottom of the page.

HTH!

Glad to have you with us -- Hang on, my friend, the train's warming up and getting ready to pull out of the Waiting Station. We should be watching a trial in about 2 weeks... or so...

http://www.wral.com/news/local/asset_gallery/9925558/?navkeyword=grant+hayes+trial

 

[AnonymousD]

*Snipped by Me*

Excuse my ignorance, but is it usual for evidence to be whisked out of police lockup for a period of time by either side?
And how can anyone believe that this knife was overlooked all this time and just happened to pop up after the defense had the vehicle to themselves?

I have to be missing something here, it is like a plot out of a really bad *OLD* movie! Like before they had decent forensics....

I am so with you on this, Nymeria.

I have never heard of this before. Ever. I find it hard to fathom.

Who else was there? How do we know what really happened? IF (big fat IF) the defense really did find this biohazard suit & knife, who is losing their job over not processing the Durango completely when it came in?

 

[borndem]

Just checking in, I thought I saw something on the news yesterday about AH and a preliminary hearing, maybe it was scheduled for yesterday but cancelled? I wonder if the trial will start on the 20th!

About the knife, I believe the defense attorneys took the Durango for a weekend, and that's when the hazmat suit and knife were found. Is that right? Supposedly, the hazmat suit was intentionally left there, per protocol, since it was used by investigators.

I just have a hard time believing the defense team found a knife in that vehicle. If true, that's a pretty huge oversight. I guess we will hear about all of this soon enough.

I have to admit, I can't wait to hear the defense opening statement, and what kind if story Amanda is presenting to explain her role. I have strong preconceptions about her, so I'll have to work on getting myself into more of a neutral zone before trial. She and her daughter, who I hope will testify also at this trial, are scary IMO.

Let us know how you do, Boodles! I should do the same, but it will take too much energy & concentration!

OTOH, I have never pictured her as the ringleader of the murder. Even if she had wanted to do that, GH would have pushed her behind him and taken control, IMO. He, of course

, was the smart one, ya know. :sheesh: "Yes, let's cut her up and dump her somewhere -- the dumb cops will never figure it out," says The Smart One. And then AH volunteers her sister's place -- "There's a little creek there -- we can dump her in there, Honey." Wow, what a plan. Nobody will notice that they are dumping the arms & legs & a head & torso of a grown woman... And nobody will notice a leg floating downstream the next day. So smart, it almost lasted a week!

I can see AH worrying that LA might be a threat to their relationship, and that AH might use the boys as a weapon to deal with LA. Grrrr.

All the PT should need to prove is that she went along with it, and aided and abetted GH -- but I'm sure the PT knows that they will have to do more than that to get 12 guilty votes. Let's think positively and watch her fall.


And yes, Boods, the opening statement by the DT will be interesting -- they are gonna have to put her in the back seat of the murder car, so to speak, so we'll see how they do that. Gaskins and Godwin are good:

Rosemary Godwin:
http://www.rosemarygodwin.com/

Johnny Gaskins:
http://www.johnny-gaskins.com/

 

[borndem]

OH MY it is Christmas all over again, AND my BDAY!
I would love to see the 2 of them together in the courtroom, with Grand Master Smugness throwing HER under the bus!

I know I am bad, I should not get joy out of this, but when people like them go on trial and I am confident they will get what they deserve I allow myself to appreciate the drama much more :blushing:

No, my pal, you are not bad, and you should get joy out of it -- so will I! It is a bit perverse, but so be it, Nymeria.

And, late but better than really, really late -- one more thang:

:bdscroll:


Nymeria !!!


:balloons: :loveyou: :seeya: :up:

:yourock:​

 

[Nymeria]

No, my pal, you are not bad, and you should get joy out of it -- so will I! It is a bit perverse, but so be it, Nymeria.

And, late but better than really, really late -- one more thang:

:bdscroll:


Nymeria !!!


:balloons: :loveyou: :seeya: :up:

:yourock:​

Thank You Born!
Very sweet of you...one thing though, my Birthday is in July!
Did you think I had one recently? No matter, I still appreciate the sentiment :blushing:
:tyou:

 

[Nymeria]

But since we are at it, and I just noticed YOU just had a Bday on January 5th....

HAPPY BELATED BDAY BORNDEM!!

:thewave:
:Happybirthday:arty::Happybirthday:
:bdscroll:
:balloons:artyguy2:artyguy: :gift: artyguy:artyguy2::balloons:
:cake4u:
:thewave:

​

 

[borndem]

Thank You Born!
Very sweet of you...one thing though, my Birthday is in July!
Did you think I had one recently? No matter, I still appreciate the sentiment :blushing:
:tyou:

Well, so I jumped the gun a bit. :blushing: But what a gurrrll to think when she sees:

Originally Posted by Nymeria
OH MY it is Christmas all over again, AND my BDAY!

 

[borndem]

But since we are at it, and I just noticed YOU just had a Bday on January 5th....

HAPPY BELATED BDAY BORNDEM!!

:thewave:
:Happybirthday:arty::Happybirthday:
:bdscroll:
:balloons:artyguy2:artyguy: :gift: artyguy:artyguy2::balloons:
:cake4u:
:thewave:

View attachment 40217​

Wowzers, Nymeria -- Thanks!! I've never seen so much happy in one place! I'll have to put on my shades just to admire it!!

 

[Boodles]

Aw, borndem's birthday? Happy belated birthday!

 

[borndem]

Aw, borndem's birthday? Happy belated birthday!

Thanks, Boodles!

 

[ohoh]

If it is ok with you all, I will celebrate all the birthdays and my friends......on Monday. Am busy getting ready for court with friends, oh happy day !!!!! It is just like I have the first day of school jitters. And, by the way I had to wait for my Mom to pick me up from my first day of kindergarten, threw up all over my "nap" rug. We 're talking 1940's...tiny grin!

 

[borndem]

Originally Posted by atm9533
Am I reading the last link correctly. The crime was committed in 2011 and they just found the murder weapon? That does not make sense.

That seems to be the gist of it....

:waitasec: Seems kind of odd doesn't it?

No, not a bit of sense, atm. Hmmmm.

Yep, Nymeria, dayam odd. And a bit hard to believe. I'm sure we'll hear more at trial. That has got to be resolved... don't like it.... :notgood:

 

[ohoh]

Oh my, am having a long senior moment here, just did a read thru trying to refresh my brain on a posted wral site and saw that jury selection for the amanda trial starts on the 21st, oh be still my fast beating heart.....

Should I cross the 20th off my bucket list? Holy Cow !

 

[Boodles]

"... my first day of kindergarten, threw up all over my "nap" rug"

OMG. LOL!!! :great: :laughcry: :laughcry:

I can hardly breathe from laughing so hard. I had a "nap rug". Had forgotten all about it. You know, I think those naps are for the teachers' benefit!

So sorry you threw up on your rug, but it makes for a great story!

 

[Jewels53]

OT/ I was a poor under privileged child whom didn't have kindergarten. It is either that or I had Alzheimer back then and I don't think that is possible. seriously I didn't go to kindergarten. I missed out on the most important formative years. :tantrum:

I am looking forward to this new trial and seeing how the PT goes after AH. Is it the same Prosecution Team? I didn't comment on the first trial thread as it got crazy. I also need to come out of my shyness and speak with you experts. :loveyou:


:seeya: Later!

 

[seattlechiquita]

Aw, borndem's birthday? Happy belated birthday!

WHAT!!! I missed this! Shame on me and much, much love to one of my top fave WSers ever. :loveyou::loveyou::loveyou:

 

[borndem]

Oh my, am having a long senior moment here, just did a read thru trying to refresh my brain on a posted wral site and saw that jury selection for the amanda trial starts on the 21st, oh be still my fast beating heart.....

Should I cross the 20th off my bucket list? Holy Cow !

They're starting on Tuesday the 21st of January due to the MLK holiday on the 20th. So don't go marking every Monday off your calendar, ohoh, just the 20th. They'll start linin' 'em up for jury selection on Tuesday, the 21st of Jan.

Don't panic, Sweetie, we'll keep tabs -- but do remember that jury selection is not live-streamed, but WRAL & the rest should update us each day about how it's going. And you can check in here for the same info!

See you at trial, ohoh!