“The jury verdict was swift, and the court’s sentence was appropriately harsh.”

-Assistant District Attorney Amanda Bolin

It was the 13th of July 2011. A Wednesday. Twenty seven year old Laura Ackerson, a resident of Kinston, North Carolina, United States, believed her luck was finally changing. She had faced a challenging custody battle with her ex boyfriend, Grant Hayes, in relation to their two children and the custody dispute had been a contentious and difficult one which resulted in Laura having access to her children on weekends only.

Laura Ackerson

For slightly over a year, Laura had the children on weekends and Grant had them during the week. That decision was on foot of a consent order made at the Lenoir County District Court on the 29th of June 2010. It was a temporary arrangement and both Laura and Grant had to undergo psychological evaluation by Dr Ginger Calloway, a forensic psychologist. Grant had claimed in Court that Laura was mentally unstable and Laura accused Grant of being a substance abuser. Dr Calloway evaluated them and issued a report recommending that Grant and Laura share legal and physical custody of the children.

Laura had just received the results of that report and she was confident that the Court would at least split custody of the boys. Laura wanted to have the boys with her as much as she could. She had worked hard to try to get them back and she recently started two new graphic design businesses so that she could support them. When she and Grant met, in March 2007, things were good at first but they never married and their relationship was short lived. As soon as the relationship ended the custody dispute began and Grant went on to marry another woman in 2010. He married Amanda Hayes and they moved into an apartment in Raleigh. 

Laura Ackerson

Laura and Amanda didn't get on as a result of the custody dispute but Laura believed that things were starting to work out for her. And on the 12th of July 2011, she received an email from Grant which seemed to confirm her belief.  Grant emailed Laura and asked her if she would like to see the boys for a mid week visit. The very next day, the 13th of July, Laura left her home in Kinston and began the journey to Raleigh in her car. She sent a text message to Grant at 4.12pm:

“I'm leaving the Wilson area now. I'll call when I get past the traffic. Where will you be in an hour or so?”

She called him at 4.59pm when she was beside the Crabtree Valley mall. 

That night, Laura missed a business call with her business partner, Chevon Mathes. They had scheduled a call for 9pm but there was no call from Laura.

Over the next few days, nobody saw or heard from Laura and she was reported missing on the 18th of July. Police quickly established that she was due to meet Grant and the boys at his apartment on the 13th. They knew that because Laura had told Chevon that she was going there that day. 

Police discovered that Laura had expressed concerns about her safety to her attorney a few months before she was last seen. Police went to Grant's apartment to investigate on the 20th of July. When they arrived at the apartment, there was a strong smell of bleach and several bleached patches on the flooring. There were several items missing from the apartment that made them fear for Laura's safety. Items such as the shower curtain, the vacuum cleaner and several rugs had been removed from the apartment. They also found lyrics to a song entitled, “Man Killer.” The lyrics concerned the first-person killing of a woman by making her bleed and by strangulation.

Grant Hayes

Police found a note purportedly signed by Laura. The note stated that she agreed to give up custody of the boys in exchange for US$25,000. But police did not believe that Laura would give up custody of the boys after fighting so hard for them. Police investigated the movements of Grant and Amanda in the days that followed Laura's visit to Raleigh.

They discovered that in the early hours of the 14th of July, Grant went to a Wal-Mart and a Target in Raleigh. Between the two stores, he bought goggles, trash bags, a reciprocating saw, blades, plastic sheeting, tarp, gloves, bleach, tape, and a lint roller. That same morning, the 14th, Amanda called her daughter Sha to ask her to look after the children. Sha took them to a play center and was there for most of the day. 

Two days later, the 16th, Grant bought ice and coolers and rented a U-Haul trailer. He informed the rental company that he was going to Texas. Amanda told Sha she was going to Texas to see her sister, Karen Berry. Grant, Amanda and the children drove to Texas and arrived in the early morning hours of the 18th of July. 

The next day, the 19th, Grant bought gloves and bottles of acid at a Home Deport in Texas. Police went to Texas and spoke to Karen. Karen lived near a creek that was used for fishing and she told police that on the night of the 19th of July, Grant and Amanda asked if they could borrow her boat. They then took it out into the creek. Police obtained some surveillance footage from the area and the footage showed Amanda dumping some of the bottles of acid close to Karen's home. 

The creek was searched and decomposed and dismembered body parts were found. It was confirmed that the body parts were those of Laura Ackerson. The official cause of death was determined as  “homicide by undetermined means” or “undetermined homicidal violence.”