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[theme music]
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[ominous music]
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NARRATOR: Oyster Creek
in Fort Bend County, Texas.
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Named after the abundance
of oyster shells once found
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on its banks,
the slow-moving water
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meanders through
the area, eventually
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joining up with the
Intracoastal Waterway network
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lacing the United States until
it reaches the Gulf of Mexico.
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[ominous music]
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- This particular
area of Oyster Creek
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is really a lot
more like a swamp.
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Very murky, dirty water,
a lot of vegetation, and
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in the summertime can
be extremely muggy.
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[ominous music]
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NARRATOR: In the height
of summer, police and water
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dive teams searched
the creek in the hope
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of finding a missing person.
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[ominous music]
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- It's a hot, hot
July day in Richmond.
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It was over 100
degrees in that area.
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[water sloshing]
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- Creeks and other
smaller bodies of water
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that are present in hot
or very warm environments
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tend to also maintain that
warm to hot temperature.
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And that is because they
do have a smaller
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volume of water, which
requires less energy
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from the sun to warm up.
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These bodies of water can
get very hot, and sometimes
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considered like bathwater.
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Additionally, this creek was
not known to have any current,
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meaning the water
was very stagnant.
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The lack of movement with
the heat of the water
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is a perfect
environment for a lot
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of bacteria to form, speeding
up the decomposition rate.
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NARRATOR: As well
as the time pressure.
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Police scouring the creek
faced very real dangers.
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- Crime scene officers
in a boat out on a creek.
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Then you've got another
who's in the boat
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with a rifle in case
an alligator comes along.
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SARAH MORMINO: Some of the main
concerns that the divers would
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have to deal with
would be alligators,
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or even other animals that
could cause harm to the divers.
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Even turtles can
become a threat
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to divers as they could bite
if they ever felt threatened.
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Furthermore, creeks tend to be
very hot water, high bacteria.
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So on top of police
divers having
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to figure out how they're
going to navigate these waters,
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they also have to be
aware of their own safety.
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NARRATOR: Despite
the difficult conditions,
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police expanded their search.
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[ominous music]
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- We called
for a search team and
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did what we could
to have the flow of water
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through there closed off.
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They have control
gates that they
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were able to close
down for us to at least
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slow the water down.
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NARRATOR: Police navigating
the creek were from two states.
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The local state
police from Texas,
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but also a team of detectives
from Raleigh, North Carolina,
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over 1,200 miles away.
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[stirring music]
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JERRY FAULK: Raleigh
is a very nice area.
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I think now there's probably
close to half a million people
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that live in Raleigh.
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The houses that
are in this area,
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the apartment complexes that
are in this area are nice.
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Not a high crime area.
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[stirring music]
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I had come in to work.
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I remember-- I vividly
remember, like,
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I had my list of things that I
wanted to do that I had that I
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wanted to get done that day.
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And so when I come
in at 3 o'clock
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and you're talking
to the other squad
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like what's going on today.
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And they're telling
us about this missing
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person case out of Kinston.
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NARRATOR: The missing person
was 27-year-old Laura Ackerson,
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the mother of two young boys
and a busy local businesswoman.
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Police in Raleigh
were contacted
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by her business
partner, who hadn't
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seen Laura for five days.
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[stirring music]
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- The person might go
missing for a couple
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of different reasons.
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One, they run away
or decide to leave
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the life that they have now.
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They want to get a better life.
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They commit suicide
or die by suicide,
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and so people don't know
what's happened to them.
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They've been in some
kind of accident
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and people don't
know where they are.
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Or a foul play has occurred.
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- A lot of people have routines
and schedules and things
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that they do
on a regular basis,
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and the same was true
of Laura Ackerson.
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She had a schedule
of things that she did.
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A friend of Laura's
and her business partner
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as well, Chevon Mathes had not
spoken to Laura for five days.
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That was very unusual
because Chevon and Laura
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would talk about every day.
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- They had shared that
Laura Ackerson had
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been in a relationship
with Grant Hayes,
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and they had two small
children together.
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NARRATOR: The couple had met
four years earlier, in 2007,
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and started dating
around the time
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of Laura's birthday in April.
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JONI JOHNSTON: Laura
and Grant met at a bar.
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He was a musician.
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He was playing at this bar,
and he was talking to her.
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They kind of hit it off.
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This is a relationship that
developed very, very quickly.
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They shared the same
birthday, April the 30,
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which Laura, I think, saw as a
sign that this was meant to be.
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NARRATOR: Laura soon gave
birth to their first child.
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But by the time she was
due with their second,
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the relationship
was under strain,
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with Grant pursuing his
music career away from home.
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JONI JOHNSTON: Grant Hayes
moves to the Virgin Islands
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in an effort to promote
or boost his music career.
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He meets Amanda.
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For whatever reason,
these two get together and
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decide to have a relationship.
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Laura had just given
birth to their second son.
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She still wants Grant to be
involved with the boys,
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but she is seeing that
the relationship is over.
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NARRATOR: Once
the couple separated,
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Grant went on to marry Amanda.
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And both set about pursuing
their creative dreams.
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- Amanda had a background
in, you know, some B acting.
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She'd been to school
for acting.
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She had had some minor
parts in "The Sopranos"
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and "The Stepford Wives."
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Grant and Amanda had
actually met in St. John.
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Grant had a little
bit of a music
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career going down in St. John.
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I'm sure he wasn't making
anything astronomical,
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but he had a kind
of a gig going.
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But Amanda had actually
inherited some money.
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Her husband, before
Grant had passed away
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in a boating accident
of some kind.
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And so she had inherited
money enough to kind of
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be able to live comfortably.
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NARRATOR: Laura had moved
on too, starting a business
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with her friend Chevon.
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- Chevon and Laura had
this kind of brand new
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start-up advertising business.
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AMANDA BOLIN: A very smart
business endeavor, I thought.
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She would create
menus for restaurants
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and provide them at no
cost to the restaurants,
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but on the menu themselves
would have advertising space
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that other businesses would
pay for to get advertising
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space on that menu.
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- They were both
working fairly hard,
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and so they would talk every
day, multiple times a day.
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And the other thing was,
she was a mother of two.
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Everybody that we
talked to all said
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the same thing, that her life
centered around her kids.
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She shared custody with
the father, who was Grant.
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She would pick up
the kids on Friday.
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And then they would meet again
on Sunday to drop off the kids.
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- It would be unusual
to have a midweek visit,
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but we know July 13, 2011,
which was a Wednesday.
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- She calls a friend of hers
who lives in the Raleigh area.
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And, basically, the essence
of the voicemail
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was, hey, I'm
coming to Raleigh,
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I'm going to visit my boys.
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But I would like to meet
up with you afterwards.
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I'll probably be
leaving there at 7:00.
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AMANDA BOLIN: The next thing
we have is Laura disappears,
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drops off the map.
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[stirring music]
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[ominous music]
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NARRATOR: In a murky
creek in Texas,
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police teams and divers
scour the water for missing
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mother of two, Laura Ackerson.
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Then, as the search widens,
they make a shocking discovery.
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- Not only has a body been
recovered in Oyster Creek,
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but it's not just a body.
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We're talking about body parts.
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This was a big story.
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- That first day,
they were able to find
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part of a female torso
and part of a leg.
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[water sloshing]
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SARAH MORMINO: Investigators
first located a torso.
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Both the divers
and the investigators
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realized that they were looking
for multiple body parts.
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This creates a whole new
challenge for the dive team,
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especially when dealing
with bodies of water
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that have a lot of debris.
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Creeks also tend to be
in heavily wooded areas,
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resulting in a lot
of vegetation,
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grassland, lily pads,
and other forms of nature
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within the water.
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- These were like
monstrous lily pads,
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like, that really were so thick
on the water at this time.
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That it was difficult
to force them
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open just to go another foot.
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- Lily pads have very
complex stems and
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root systems that travel
throughout the water
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into the bottom.
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This makes it very
difficult for any person
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walking in that area
to navigate through.
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Additionally, as you are
trying to move those stems out
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of the way to search for any
of your items of evidence,
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they do not stay in that spot.
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They will immediately come
back to their natural position,
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making it hard to know what
areas you've already searched
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and what areas have
not been searched.
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Additionally, divers can easily
become entangled in this,
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even with minimal equipment.
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[ominous music]
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- Once dismemberment occurs,
the body parts you have
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could be from one
or several individuals,
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and we may not ever
recover all of the parts
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of any one individual.
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And that certainly
complicates things.
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If somebody is looking
to dispose of a body,
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then dismemberment
and then scattering
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the body parts
in various locations
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would provide
a unique challenge
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for law enforcement and other
investigative agencies.
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AMANDA BOLIN: I've
got several cases
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in my career that kind
of stand out to me,
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usually ones involving
a death of some kind.
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But this one stands out
just because of the sort
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of gruesome nature
of the dismemberment,
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gruesome and sad.
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[ominous music]
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- The father of Laura's
two children,
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Grant, he lived in Raleigh.
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He was married to Amanda Hayes.
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He also had an infant daughter
with Amanda that was born just
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about a month before
this happened.
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BRAD WHICHARD: Laura had
traveled to Grant and Amanda
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to see her boys.
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And that was the last
time she was seen.
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NARRATOR: Police had spoken
to Laura's ex-partner
00:13:59
looking for information
on her whereabouts.
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- Grant says, yeah, he
didn't-- she didn't show up.
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I don't know what's going on.
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[stirring music]
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NARRATOR: The day Laura
was reported missing,
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detectives began
preliminary investigations.
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She had not been
seen for five days.
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JERRY FAULK: You want to do
all those sorts of things
00:14:25
to see if a credit
card has been used.
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We're getting cell phone
records, that sort of thing.
00:14:30
And we actually were able
to get some of that stuff
00:14:32
back fairly quickly.
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We'd broadcast the description
of Laura's car.
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And within just a few
hours, roughly around 11
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o'clock that night, our patrol
guys had located that car.
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Based on the location
of where they found that car,
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that's really what
did it for us.
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As the crow flies
straight line was
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about 400 yards away from Grant
and Amanda's apartment complex.
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One of the other things
that we did pretty quickly
00:15:04
was we went ahead
and worked on getting
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the phone records for Laura,
for Grant, and for Amanda.
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As far as talking
to Grant and Amanda,
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we didn't try to do
that too quickly.
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We wanted to try
to get a good idea
00:15:22
before we tried to talk
to them, you know,
00:15:25
what's going on.
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So we were able to get
their phone records
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and see that they were
not in North Carolina.
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And at the time of that, when
we initially got involved,
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they were actually in Texas.
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NARRATOR: Police
also started to build
00:15:41
a picture
of the relationship Laura had
00:15:43
with her ex-partner, Grant.
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- They were involved in it.
00:15:50
Sounds like a pretty
hotly contested child
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custody suit there in Raleigh.
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AMANDA BOLIN: Being a mother
to those two boys was her life.
00:16:02
While she had had maybe some
difficulties in the past,
00:16:06
having sort of a stable
home and a stable income,
00:16:08
it was obvious to me that she
had made a lot of attempts
00:16:11
to try to get her
life together,
00:16:13
to get her finances together,
to get a career going.
00:16:16
And all of that was
in pursuit of changing custody
00:16:19
orders to get her boys.
00:16:21
- Things are moving forward.
00:16:22
And she is planning to file
for at least joint, if not
00:16:27
full custody of her boys.
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And she's turned
her life around.
00:16:31
She's now independent.
00:16:33
She's now making money.
00:16:35
And her attorney
is telling her,
00:16:37
things are looking your way.
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NARRATOR: And what police
learned from Laura's business
00:16:43
partner Chevon
and her friend Heidi
00:16:45
gave them serious concerns.
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JERRY FAULK: From Chevon, we
hear about this custody battle
00:16:53
that's going on with Grant.
00:16:55
But it was really Laura's
friend Heidi Schumacher
00:16:59
that was able to give
us more information
00:17:01
about this custody battle.
00:17:03
We're just doing it really
from a victimology
00:17:05
standpoint, right?
00:17:07
Trying to find out
more about who Laura
00:17:09
was and that sort of thing.
00:17:10
But Heidi was dead
set on, I think Grant
00:17:13
had something to do with this.
00:17:16
Her reasons were that Laura had
kind of said, if anything ever
00:17:20
happens to me, look at Grant.
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NARRATOR: Worried, police
got a warrant to search
00:17:30
Amanda and Grant's apartment.
00:17:35
JERRY FAULK: We're heading
over to 4021 Bellum Park trail.
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We knew from
their phone records
00:17:40
that it looked like
they were in Texas,
00:17:42
but we didn't know what
was inside the apartment.
00:17:44
I'm thinking about
the first time
00:17:48
that we went
into this apartment,
00:17:51
not really knowing what to
expect when we open the door.
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[stirring music]
00:18:02
This is the apartment where
Grant and Amanda lived,
00:18:06
so right here on this side.
00:18:09
When we first walked in, we
get that strong odor of bleach,
00:18:13
and we see the large bleach
stain there on the carpet.
00:18:17
AMANDA BOLIN: Not
just like, you know,
00:18:19
I spilled a little
bit of bleach,
00:18:20
but a large bleach stain.
00:18:22
The overwhelming
odor of bleach.
00:18:24
A home that was
a little bit in disarray
00:18:27
and not pristinely
clean, but then
00:18:30
having a hallway bathroom
that I think a detective
00:18:33
described you could eat off
of any surface in there.
00:18:36
It was so clean.
00:18:37
What also stuck out
is this was a bathroom
00:18:40
that traditionally was used
by the boys as a bathroom.
00:18:43
One that had a shower curtain,
one that had mats on the floor.
00:18:46
But now when we go
in, no shower curtain,
00:18:49
no mats, every surface clean.
00:18:53
JERRY FAULK: And then once
we continue to search,
00:18:55
the next thing that we
see is this note that's up
00:18:58
on the kitchen counter,
which talks about,
00:19:01
in exchange for $25,000, Laura
was going to drop the pending
00:19:06
child custody litigation.
00:19:09
JONI JOHNSTON: I
think that anybody
00:19:11
who knew Laura would know that
she would never agree to that.
00:19:15
And if her signature
was on that document,
00:19:18
it was under duress
that she signed that.
00:19:20
It was another
thing that I think
00:19:22
that raised a huge red flag
in terms of her disappearance.
00:19:30
JERRY FAULK: We're
still kind of trying
00:19:31
to figure out what's going on.
00:19:33
And, you know, is this
truly a missing person,
00:19:35
or is there more to it?
00:19:36
Amanda had been married three
previous times before Grant.
00:19:41
And she had a daughter from,
I believe, her first marriage,
00:19:45
and that daughter's
name was Sha.
00:19:49
We have an interview with Sha.
00:19:51
Because we know at this
point that Grant and Amanda
00:19:54
are in Texas.
00:19:56
They're not easily
going to be interviewed,
00:19:58
and we didn't
really feel like it
00:20:00
was the right time
to yet approach
00:20:02
them to interview them.
00:20:03
But we go to Sha.
00:20:06
Sha doesn't know anything about
this trip until, at some point,
00:20:10
she calls her mother.
00:20:12
And her mom says, yeah,
we're heading down
00:20:15
to Texas to go see Aunt Karen.
00:20:18
And Karen Berry is
Amanda's sister.
00:20:21
[stirring music]
00:20:27
Sha's kind of taken
by surprise with that comment
00:20:31
because she didn't
know anything
00:20:32
about them going to Texas.
00:20:33
And that was strange because
Sha and Amanda were very close.
00:20:38
They were-- you know, they
were mother and daughter,
00:20:40
but they were almost
more like sisters.
00:20:44
For Sha not to know anything
about this trip down to Texas,
00:20:48
she thought that was
a little odd too.
00:20:52
NARRATOR: There was
still no trace of Laura.
00:20:55
So detectives from Raleigh flew
from North Carolina to Texas.
00:21:01
JERRY FAULK: So now we have
those two separate parts
00:21:04
of the investigation going on
because of the multiple states
00:21:08
and different things going on.
00:21:10
She's missing under
suspicious circumstances,
00:21:14
and there's some
connection to Texas.
00:21:17
And we felt like the best
way to figure out
00:21:21
what happened is to go there.
00:21:24
[stirring music]
00:21:30
[ominous music]
00:21:35
NARRATOR: Detectives
from North Carolina
00:21:37
are in Texas, investigating
the disappearance of mother
00:21:41
of three Laura Ackerson.
00:21:44
She was reported
as failing to arrive
00:21:46
at a meeting with her
ex-husband, Grant,
00:21:49
and his new wife, Amanda.
00:21:52
The trail has led
North Carolina police
00:21:56
to the rural community
of Oyster Creek, Texas,
00:22:01
where the pair visited Amanda's
sister Karen in the days
00:22:05
after Laura's disappearance.
00:22:09
- It was an unannounced, wasn't
a pre-planned trip at all,
00:22:13
which was another concern
to us as investigators.
00:22:18
They had inferred to her that
this trip was an impromptu trip
00:22:24
to bring a family
heirloom, a cabinet,
00:22:27
to Karen Berry, which had not
even been discussed before.
00:22:31
Not anything that
Karen had apparently
00:22:34
expressed interest in having.
00:22:35
But that was the story of why
they needed this U-Haul,
00:22:39
was to bring this piece
of unwanted furniture
00:22:42
all the way from Raleigh
to Richmond, Texas.
00:22:47
NARRATOR: Detectives told
Karen they had grave concerns
00:22:50
about Laura Ackerson.
00:22:53
- When they asked
about her sister's
00:22:58
and Grant Hayes's visit, she
said, yes, I'll talk to you.
00:23:01
Do you mind if we pray first?
00:23:05
So that was kind of OK.
00:23:07
There's information that she
has great concerns about.
00:23:11
She's about to share,
then she didn't.
00:23:15
- So when Karen and Amanda
first got to Karen's home,
00:23:19
they had conversations.
00:23:20
And there was a lot
of kind of weird questions
00:23:23
that Grant and Amanda
were asking them.
00:23:27
Is there somewhere we
could just dig a big hole?
00:23:30
They asked if wild
hogs would eat humans,
00:23:35
because there was a hog
pen on Karen's property.
00:23:39
BRAD WHICHARD: He
asked her about sharks
00:23:41
being across the street.
00:23:42
Well, we're 90 miles
from the coast,
00:23:44
and there's no freshwater
Creek sharks here, no.
00:23:48
But they had a faux well
out front, a decorative.
00:23:51
Well, they'd asked about that.
00:23:53
And then they asked
about our septic system.
00:23:55
And then he asked about how
prolific alligators were
00:23:59
and what they could do.
00:24:01
All right, the alligators
are prevalent here,
00:24:04
and they're across
the street from the very home
00:24:07
in that creek.
00:24:09
NARRATOR: Then Amanda had
made an alarming confession
00:24:13
to her sister, Karen.
00:24:16
- Amanda said to her, I need--
00:24:18
we need to talk.
00:24:19
Can we step outside?
00:24:20
Karen and Amanda step outside.
00:24:22
Amanda says to her,
I hurt Laura.
00:24:26
I hurt her bad.
00:24:32
JERRY FAULK: Karen gave
us a lot of information,
00:24:34
but it took a little
bit of time.
00:24:37
Basically, what we're
asking her to do
00:24:39
is to rat on your sister.
00:24:44
BRAD WHICHARD:
Karen was relieved.
00:24:46
Relieved that someone came
and knocked on her door
00:24:49
because she had been
so worried about the situation.
00:24:57
JERRY FAULK: Grant and Amanda
had taken this late night boat
00:25:00
trip and asked
Karen, hey, can you
00:25:03
watch the kids while we go out
on this late night boat ride.
00:25:10
As we're asking
and saying, well,
00:25:12
what do you think
happened to Laura
00:25:13
and where do you think she is?
00:25:15
And she essentially told
them, well, you may want
00:25:17
to check the creek over there.
00:25:20
BRAD WHICHARD: We
contacted the dive team
00:25:22
for the Houston
Police Department,
00:25:24
and they came out
the following day.
00:25:27
[stirring music]
00:25:33
- You got to think it's
the middle of summer in Texas.
00:25:37
Not the best
conditions to search
00:25:40
a creek in this legitimately
alligator-infested creek.
00:25:48
NARRATOR: Working in blistering
heat, a combination dive
00:25:50
teams and police
in small boats pushed
00:25:53
through the overgrown creek.
00:25:55
Armed officers
watched over them,
00:25:58
ready to shoot any alligators
who approached the divers.
00:26:02
JERRY FAULK: It wasn't
just open water,
00:26:04
it was vegetation
across the creek.
00:26:08
So you're kind of weeding
through the vegetation
00:26:10
and stuff.
00:26:12
[water sloshing]
00:26:15
SARAH MORMINO:
In an ideal scenario,
00:26:16
the divers would have preferred
to dive the creek using
00:26:19
their hands to feel
through the debris
00:26:20
and find any
pieces of evidence.
00:26:23
That proved pretty
much impossible
00:26:25
in this case, which
caused the divers
00:26:27
to decide to walk through
and search using other methods.
00:26:33
In some cases,
feet can be just as
00:26:35
beneficial of a tool as hands
when searching for evidence.
00:26:38
There have been
cases where the water
00:26:40
has been very
complex to search in,
00:26:42
and has required me to use
sweep patterns with my feet,
00:26:46
rather than my hands
to conduct a search.
00:26:49
Any time I felt something
of interest with my feet,
00:26:52
I would then submerge
to pick up that item
00:26:54
and see if it was
of evidentiary value.
00:26:57
When the divers
changed their tactics
00:26:59
and start to search
the lily beds,
00:27:00
they soon find what
they were looking for.
00:27:06
JERRY FAULK: There was a smell
as you got closer and closer.
00:27:11
Those are kind
of the signs that probably
00:27:13
going to find something here.
00:27:17
BRAD WHICHARD: The first
day, we recovered
00:27:19
the remains of Laura--
00:27:21
a portion of the remains,
the upper torso
00:27:23
and some lower extremities.
00:27:24
It was confirmed that,
unfortunately, this
00:27:27
is a homicide investigation.
00:27:36
The second day
was instrumental,
00:27:38
in that we recovered the head.
00:27:40
And that allowed
the investigation to move
00:27:43
forward a lot more rapidly.
00:27:47
JERRY FAULK: Ultimately,
I believe it was about 60%
00:27:50
of the total body that
they were able to find.
00:27:54
SARAH MORMINO:
While many people
00:27:56
think the challenge is over,
as the police divers were
00:27:58
able to recover the remains,
the challenge has,
00:28:00
in fact, just transferred.
00:28:02
At this point, the remains
are very hard to read.
00:28:07
The challenge now
transfers from the divers
00:28:09
to the pathologist, who
has the responsibility
00:28:12
of trying to determine
a cause of death
00:28:15
with very little evidence.
00:28:18
JIM CARUSO: If the skull
is recovered,
00:28:20
as was the case in Laura
Ackerson's death,
00:28:23
you can proceed with
a dental identification.
00:28:26
You can also get DNA from
the teeth themselves,
00:28:29
from the roots, or even
from the skull bone itself.
00:28:33
In this particular case, they
did postmortem and antemortem
00:28:37
dental comparisons based
on the circumstantial evidence
00:28:41
that this was Laura Ackerson.
00:28:44
They managed to get a dental
identification of the skull.
00:28:53
AMANDA BOLIN: We did not
recover all of the body parts
00:28:55
in this case.
00:28:57
We've got two legs, two
portions of torso, and head,
00:28:59
but no hands or feet
were ever discovered.
00:29:02
And so it's quite possible
that alligators did
00:29:05
do some damage in this case.
00:29:07
NARRATOR: Next,
detectives started
00:29:09
to piece together how
the suspects might have
00:29:12
committed this shocking crime.
00:29:15
They turned
to the car and trailer
00:29:17
that the suspects had driven
to Texas and the items
00:29:21
they brought with them.
00:29:23
- As we're going through
these financials,
00:29:25
we also see they had
purchased some coolers.
00:29:29
AMANDA BOLIN: Grant
cleaned out the coolers,
00:29:31
but left the coolers
there on Karen's property.
00:29:34
So those were recovered
by law enforcement.
00:29:36
I mean, it was obvious
they were, like, brand new.
00:29:38
Some of them still
had stickers on them.
00:29:40
If you need coolers to make
your cross-country trip,
00:29:42
why would you not
need your coolers
00:29:44
to make your cross-country
trip back home?
00:29:47
- We recovered
the items that they
00:29:48
used to clean the ice
chests with that they
00:29:50
concealed in a barn.
00:29:52
Recovered a machete that
they had left there and
00:29:56
concealed near where
they had hidden
00:29:59
these rags and this cleaner.
00:30:04
AMANDA BOLIN: I can't imagine
taking a normal trip 1,500
00:30:08
miles with a three-year-old,
a two-year-old,
00:30:11
and a five- or six week old.
00:30:13
But to do so knowing
you have the body parts
00:30:18
of their mother cut up
in coolers on ice in a trailer
00:30:22
that you're dragging
behind you the whole way.
00:30:26
[ominous music]
00:30:32
NARRATOR: Forensic
teams had also
00:30:34
gathered evidence from
the suspect's apartment
00:30:36
back in North Carolina.
00:30:38
- Obviously, once we get into
the home of Grant and Amanda,
00:30:42
the huge things that
stick out there.
00:30:44
The manual for the
reciprocating saw, that's huge.
00:30:48
It's just sitting
out in the open,
00:30:49
not something that is hidden.
00:30:52
JERRY FAULK: We were able
to sift through the trash.
00:30:55
And we found a couple
gloves, rubber
00:30:57
gloves that had blood on them.
00:30:59
And we tested those gloves, and
that blood came back to Laura.
00:31:05
BRAD WHICHARD: They
left a physical trail
00:31:07
and a digital trail.
00:31:08
We recovered the receipt
that they used at a hotel
00:31:10
that they stopped
at along the way.
00:31:12
They left it there
at Karen's home.
00:31:14
So we know where they
stopped and stayed,
00:31:17
including the video
surveillance of them
00:31:20
at all the locations
that they went to.
00:31:25
AMANDA BOLIN:
The surveillance video
00:31:26
from Walmart seeing Grant Hayes
at 2 o'clock in the morning
00:31:31
after the last
time Laura is seen.
00:31:34
Walking up and down
the aisles of Walmart,
00:31:37
picking out
a reciprocating saw.
00:31:39
But he's walking
around almost like he's
00:31:42
trying to pick what flavor
cereal he's going to buy.
00:31:46
We had Amanda at an ATM
withdrawing cash.
00:31:49
Right after that,
Grant is using
00:31:51
cash to make purchases
at a nearby Home Depot
00:31:53
for muriatic acid.
00:31:57
Then Amanda is seen later
dumping that muriatic acid.
00:32:01
Fort Bend County is not a small
county, but at that time,
00:32:05
we had one camera set
up in the entire county
00:32:09
in a location that had
been a problem for illegal
00:32:12
dumping and littering.
00:32:14
And where that one camera
is set up near Oyster Creek
00:32:18
is exactly where
Amanda Hays drives.
00:32:20
She drives by herself
and dumps this muriatic acid.
00:32:25
JERRY FAULK: When
they found the skull,
00:32:27
there was some tissue on it.
00:32:32
But the skull looked different
than the rest of the body
00:32:35
parts in that it looked
like it had been melted.
00:32:40
- The forensic odontologist
was able to confirm
00:32:44
a likely exposure
to muriatic acid, or an acid,
00:32:49
because of etching
that had taken place
00:32:52
on portions of the skull.
00:32:56
JIM CARUSO: Hydrochloric acid
is extremely caustic to tissue,
00:33:00
and can be caustic
enough to dissolve
00:33:03
tissue if the tissue is exposed
for a prolonged period of time.
00:33:07
Certainly, it denatures
any DNA that it
00:33:11
would come in contact with.
00:33:13
Eventually, one could
completely de-flesh a body
00:33:17
and be left with skeletal
elements due to immersion
00:33:21
in hydrochloric acid
or dousing the body
00:33:24
with hydrochloric acid.
00:33:28
AMANDA BOLIN: There was
sort of a dark stain
00:33:30
inside that hog pen that was
consistent with the acid.
00:33:33
The dumped acid did
have some missing.
00:33:42
NARRATOR: With such
strong evidence,
00:33:44
police arrested both Grant
Hayes and his new wife, Amanda.
00:33:50
- Grant and Amanda were staying
at Grant's parents' house.
00:33:54
And we had some
covert units that
00:33:56
were kind of watching the house
to make sure that Grant and
00:34:01
Amanda were there.
00:34:03
There were no issues as far
as they tried to fight
00:34:06
or they tried to run
or anything like that.
00:34:08
Pretty immediately,
they both said,
00:34:11
I'd like to talk
to an attorney.
00:34:12
I'm not going to say anything.
00:34:15
- I think when you
have an offender who
00:34:17
is incredibly calculated,
not only in terms of planning
00:34:22
a murder, particularly
of somebody they once cared
00:34:25
about, and then systematically
goes about finding ways
00:34:29
to destroy that person's body.
00:34:31
This, to me, means that
this perpetrator has
00:34:34
such disdain for this
person and truly
00:34:37
is interested in just
wiping this person
00:34:40
from the face of the earth,
like Laura never existed.
00:34:45
It certainly speaks to a lack
of empathy, a lack of caring,
00:34:49
a lack of in, some respects,
emotions that most of us have.
00:34:55
- To dismember someone
you don't know,
00:34:57
it takes a different
kind of person.
00:34:59
To dismember someone that
presumably you once loved and
00:35:04
had a relationship with and who
bore two children of yours
00:35:08
is just hard to understand.
00:35:12
[stirring music]
00:35:18
NARRATOR: Police
in Texas have now
00:35:20
confirmed that dismembered
body parts found
00:35:23
in an overgrown creek
are those of missing
00:35:26
mother Laura Ackerson.
00:35:28
Now, they must gather evidence
from this watery crime scene.
00:35:32
[water sloshing]
00:35:37
SARAH MORMINO:
In aquatic scenes,
00:35:38
it's very important to collect,
not only the items of evidence,
00:35:41
but the environment surrounding
the evidence, such as the mud,
00:35:46
soil, or water.
00:35:47
These items can later
be used to compare
00:35:50
against other items of evidence
to place someone at the scene.
00:35:54
For example, if mud
from the water
00:35:57
was found on a suspect's
shoes, they
00:35:59
could compare the mud
sample in the shoes
00:36:01
to the mud sample in the water
and place the two together.
00:36:06
Using the information that has
now been found in the case,
00:36:09
it is clear that
the water did not
00:36:10
cause those remains
to be skeletonized,
00:36:13
but instead the presence
of muriatic acid placed
00:36:16
onto the body
or exposed to the body
00:36:18
prior to the body being
placed in the water.
00:36:22
[stirring music]
00:36:29
NARRATOR: Police
and prosecutors
00:36:30
started building the case
against their two suspects--
00:36:33
Grant Hayes,
Laura's ex-partner,
00:36:36
and his new wife, Amanda.
00:36:39
JERRY FAULK: Grant and Amanda
Hayes both had dreams.
00:36:43
They had goals.
00:36:45
And those included things like
being a successful musician,
00:36:50
being a successful actress,
you know, in Amanda's case.
00:36:54
And, you know,
those type of people
00:36:58
that kind of live
with their head
00:37:00
in the clouds sort of thing.
00:37:03
- We certainly see
early on that Grant
00:37:06
appeared to have some beliefs.
00:37:10
We see him as somebody
who's a musician who thinks
00:37:13
he's above a menial job.
00:37:15
Who is very, very happy to let
his significant other support
00:37:20
him and carry all the weight.
00:37:25
NARRATOR: The police
also uncovered
00:37:26
a major factor in the ongoing
child custody case.
00:37:32
- The turning point
in this custody battle,
00:37:34
though, is when
the psychologist
00:37:37
gave her report to the court.
00:37:39
And she had some not-so-good
things to say about Grant.
00:37:43
In fact, I think she
believed he had some kind
00:37:45
of personality disorder.
00:37:48
JONI JOHNSTON: We
can certainly say
00:37:49
that this is somebody
who was self-centered,
00:37:52
who was violent, who was
narcissistic in many respects.
00:37:57
And we can certainly say
that in many, many occasions,
00:38:01
he acted psychopathically.
00:38:05
AMANDA BOLIN:
Things were starting
00:38:06
to turn in Laura's favor.
00:38:08
On top of that, you've
got Amanda and Grant
00:38:10
basically running out of money
to be able to continue
00:38:12
this custody battle.
00:38:14
And in just a matter of weeks
after the date of the murder
00:38:17
was supposed to be a final
hearing, where from all those
00:38:21
involved seemed to think
that Laura was probably
00:38:24
going to be granted custody.
00:38:28
JERRY FAULK: Grant
and Amanda wanted
00:38:30
to go do something different.
00:38:31
And I believe that Laura
threw a monkey wrench
00:38:33
into those plans for them.
00:38:36
Everybody felt like
this child custody
00:38:39
arrangement was, at minimum,
going to be a shared custody.
00:38:44
That messed up the plans
that they had because that
00:38:49
tied them down to Raleigh.
00:38:54
AMANDA BOLIN: I think
they lured her there.
00:38:57
Grant and Amanda
together physically did
00:39:00
something to overcome Laura.
00:39:03
Some sort of struggle
or fight that took
00:39:06
place either knock
Laura unconscious or
00:39:09
maybe strangulation
that killed her there.
00:39:12
And then you're presented
with the problem
00:39:14
of, now what do we do?
00:39:17
I mean, can you imagine?
00:39:18
I mean, like, the physical
act of using a reciprocating
00:39:22
saw to cut off a limb, to cut
off a hand, to cut a torso
00:39:27
in half, to cut off a head.
00:39:31
There's only one word
that comes to mind,
00:39:33
and that is a monster.
00:39:39
- If Grant Hayes ever loved
Laura, which I wonder about,
00:39:45
that had ceased long ago.
00:39:47
And I think, from
the very beginning,
00:39:49
it really was all about him.
00:39:51
Everything was about him.
00:39:53
The world revolved around him.
00:39:56
And people would be plugged
into his life to the extent
00:39:59
that they served
a purpose for him.
00:40:02
And when they no
longer did that,
00:40:04
he was perfectly
happy to remove
00:40:06
that person from his life.
00:40:13
NARRATOR: Prosecutors
now had to convince
00:40:15
a jury that Grant
and Amanda both had
00:40:18
a part in murdering Laura.
00:40:20
JERRY FAULK: So,
you know, there
00:40:21
were two different
trials, one for Grant,
00:40:23
and then one for Amanda later.
00:40:26
Grant's trial's first.
00:40:28
And, you know, again,
there was so much evidence.
00:40:30
It was a pretty long trial.
00:40:33
In Grant's case, the nail
in the coffin, if you will,
00:40:37
was all the evidence and all
the information surrounding
00:40:42
the saw and the dismemberment.
00:40:45
- In the hands of a skilled
forensic anthropologist,
00:40:48
the tool marks
that they identify
00:40:51
on the skeletal remains
can actually be tracked
00:40:55
back to specific instruments.
00:40:58
In Laura Ackerson's case, not
only did the anthropologist
00:41:01
track the tool marks to a
specific tool that was used,
00:41:05
but then further investigation
found that the tool was
00:41:10
purchased by her ex-husband.
00:41:14
JERRY FAULK: When you're able
to show these side by side
00:41:18
pictures and comparisons
and the video
00:41:21
from Walmart that
shows Grant purchasing
00:41:24
this exact type of saw
and this exact type of blade,
00:41:27
you know, right after
Laura goes to their house
00:41:30
and then disappears, that
was pretty damning evidence.
00:41:37
The other thing that kind
of sticks out in my mind
00:41:40
as far as his trial was
Grant had written a song,
00:41:43
and it's about how Grant
wants to kill his ex.
00:41:48
So we played that
song during the trial.
00:41:51
And as the song is
playing, you know,
00:41:56
Grant is sitting
at the defense table.
00:41:58
And he starts kind
of bobbing his head
00:42:02
to the beat of the song.
00:42:04
And for the jurors
to sit and watch that
00:42:08
and to see the person
that he was,
00:42:12
I believe that was
really good evidence too.
00:42:16
Grant was convicted
of first degree murder.
00:42:19
So here in North Carolina,
that's kind of the highest
00:42:21
charge that you can get.
00:42:23
And for that, he got
a life sentence in prison.
00:42:28
A few months later,
Amanda was convicted
00:42:31
of second degree murder.
00:42:32
And for that, she got
a sentence of 13 to 16 years.
00:42:36
That was a little
bit upsetting.
00:42:40
NARRATOR: But this wasn't
the end of their bid
00:42:42
to bring Amanda to justice.
00:42:45
- We packaged up all the
information that we had learned
00:42:49
and presented it to the
district attorney's office.
00:42:52
They were in agreement
of pursuing charges
00:42:55
for the disposal of Laura
here, which is, you know,
00:42:58
destruction of evidence
with the human corpse.
00:43:01
Second degree felony here.
00:43:03
NARRATOR: Amanda Hayes was
brought before a court in Texas
00:43:07
to stand a second trial.
00:43:10
[stirring music]
00:43:16
- I was fully expecting
a well-rehearsed actress.
00:43:21
And I also seen her testimony
in the North Carolina trial,
00:43:24
and so I knew she was
very well-rehearsed and
00:43:27
poised in that trial.
00:43:30
Amanda's defense was, I did
all of this under duress.
00:43:33
I did all of this under fear
of some kind of injury or harm
00:43:36
from Grant.
00:43:38
And my issue always was, then
why do I have you on game cam
00:43:41
by yourself dumping
some of the evidence?
00:43:44
If you are so scared for your
life of what this man may
00:43:47
do to you if you don't help,
you know, when you're at an ATM
00:43:50
by yourself, if you
are so scared
00:43:52
about being involved in this
and what Grant may do to you,
00:43:55
ask to use a phone
and call the police.
00:43:58
Like, just none
of it made sense
00:43:59
that this was
something that she
00:44:01
was doing only under duress.
00:44:04
What became important
for the Texas case
00:44:06
is that we're talking about
two sets of gloves, two sets
00:44:10
of goggles, two sets of masks.
00:44:13
So if Amanda had
nothing to do with this
00:44:15
and didn't know what was
happening at the time,
00:44:17
why do we need
two of everything?
00:44:20
NARRATOR: The jury agreed.
00:44:22
Amanda Hayes was found guilty
of destruction of evidence,
00:44:26
in this case, the body
of Laura Ackerson.
00:44:31
- Punishment range from
2 to 20 years in prison.
00:44:34
And that's what she
got, 20 years in prison.
00:44:37
And it was
consecutive sentence.
00:44:41
She had to complete her
sentence in North Carolina.
00:44:45
Once that was completed, she's
transported here to Texas
00:44:48
to sit in prison here.
00:44:54
- It's been several
years since this trial.
00:44:57
Just the gruesome nature of it,
first and foremost, is one that
00:45:00
is a case I'll never forget.
00:45:02
And I think probably
a big part of it
00:45:04
for me, too, is those two boys.
00:45:08
Being two and three and no
longer having a mom,
00:45:13
having a father who's
going to be locked up
00:45:15
for the rest of his life, a
stepmother, who is going to be
00:45:19
locked up for a long time.
00:45:22
Being a mother
myself, I didn't want
00:45:24
them to have to face
a situation of Amanda
00:45:28
being out of prison until they
were adults, to be able to cope
00:45:31
with the whole situation.
00:45:34
I think we accomplished
that with the sentence
00:45:35
here in Texas.
00:45:40
JERRY FAULK: Being back here,
you know, it reminds me of--
00:45:44
just kind of takes you back
to when this case happened.
00:45:49
I never knew Laura, but I
felt like I did know her.
00:45:53
And to look back
at the apartment and think,
00:45:57
that's where she
took her last breath.
00:46:00
I can't drive over this way,
you know, or come over this way
00:46:04
or come by here, obviously,
without thinking about that.
00:46:10
[theme music]
