Laura Jean Ackerson -- Deceased 7/13/11

Laura Jean Ackerson of Kinston, NC went missing. A friend reported her missing. She has two small children. She and the father of her children were in a volatile custody battle. They were not married.







A dismembered body was found late Sunday afternoon in Fort Bend County, Tx which is southwest of Harris County (Houston), Tx. It is believed to be the body of Laura Jean Ackerson.

Ackerson's car was found in Raleigh, NC. After the discovery of a dismembered body in Tx, Raleigh law enforcement came to Fort Bend County to continue the investigation. The Fort Bend County Sheriff's Office stated that the Raleigh law enforcement have taken over the investigation.

It is believed Ackerson was killed in North Carolina and dumped in a wooded creek area in Fort Bend County, Tx.

Some of the articles I've read from North Carolina TV stations and Houston, Tx TV stations conflict. For example, some are reporting that Ackerson was in Texas visiting relatives. It appears that is not true.
Ackerson's sister indicated they have no relatives in Texas.

Perhaps later on Monday there will be more specific details and accurate information.
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Search for missing NC woman leads to Texas

WTVD - Raleigh-Durham, NC

Updated at 11:13 PM on July 24, 2011

RALEIGH (WTVD) -- Authorities in Texas say they have found the body of a woman, and the discovery is related to the case of a 27-year-old Laura Ackerson of Kinston. She was reported missing July 18.


The body was found in a creek near Skinner Lane in Richmond, Texas. That's west of Houston. Authorities said no positive identification has been made.

A spokesman for the Fort Bend County Sheriff's Office said two Raleigh detectives were in Texas, and the Raleigh Police Department is the lead agency in the investigation.

He said no other information would be released before Monday.

ABC11 sister station KTRK reported that the body found in Texas was dismembered and it appeared the murder was committed elsewhere and the body dumped where it was found. It also reported Ackerson was in the Houston area visiting relatives.

Investigators say Ackerson last saw her children, who live with their father in Raleigh, on July 13.

Read more:

http://abclocal.go.com/wtvd/story?section=news/local&id=8269063

This is a video of the area where the body was found Sunday afternoon in Fort Bend County, Tx:

http://www.click2houston.com/video/28652433/index.html
KPRC Houston, Tx 7-24-11

Body Found In Fort Bend CO. May Be From North Carolina
July ,24 2011 A body that was found in Fort Bend County may be a missing woman from North Carolina Jennifer Bauer reports

This article from a North Carolina TV station has the previous articles as this story unfolded. Keep scrolling down. Also videos.
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UPDATE: Body Discovered In Texas May Be That Of Kinston Woman

WNCT - Greenville, NC

Monday, July 25, 2011

FORT BEND COUNTY, TX. - Authorities in Fort Bend County, Texas have found the body of a 25 year old female this afternoon. They believe her body was transported to the Oyster Creek area after she was killed in North Carolina. There's been no positive identification on the body yet but they say it could be that of a missing Kinston woman. Officials say a suspect has been identified and detained. Raleigh Police are said to be working a homicide scene in North Carolina in relation to the case.

Read more:

http://www2.wnct.com/news/2011/jul/19/25/police-need-help-locating-missing-kinston-woman-ar-1220116/

Body found in Texas believed to be missing Kinston mom

WRAL - Raleigh, NC
Updated: 12:07 a.m. - July 25, 2011

Raleigh, N.C. — The remains of a woman found Sunday near Oyster Creek, about 60 miles south of Houston, are believed to be those of a missing Kinston mother, according to authorities in Fort Bend County, Texas.

Chief Deputy Craig Brady said that Raleigh police detectives who have traveled to Texas to look for Laura Jean Ackerson, 27, believe the remains are hers. Ackerson was reported missing July 15 after she failed to pick up her two sons from their father in Raleigh.

It appears she was killed in North Carolina and that her body was taken to Texas, Brady said. The remains were dismembered.

Read more:

http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/9902277/
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There is a video within the article to view. To the left of the article, there are 3 pictures of Ackerson. One of the pictures is of Ackerson and her two children.

Body found in creek may be missing NC woman

KTRK - Houston, Tx
Sunday, July 24, 2011

FORT BEND COUNTY, TX (KTRK) -- A dismembered body found in Fort Bend County on Sunday may be a North Carolina woman who went missing more than a week ago.

Witnesses say the a human torso was found around 4pm Sunday in Oyster Creek in the 4300 block of Skinner at McCrary near W. Belfort. Officials say the body was in at least four pieces.

Read more:

http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?section=news/local&id=8268981
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Includes a video!

http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/gallery?section=news/local&id=8266302&photo=1
KTRK - Houston, Tx 7-24-11

Photos - Laura Jean Ackerson

The article said she dropped off her kids with their Dad. Was he in Raleigh? It also said she was visiting friends and relatives in the Houston area.

If the ex BF killed her in Raleigh, did he drive her all the way to Houston to dispose of her body parts, or did she actually arrive here and visit with her friends?

A lot of details are missing.

Hi, sitemama!

There are many conflicting stories by the media.

Per Laura's sister, they do not have relatives in Texas. This story is unfolding so hopefully today more accurate info will be available.

There have been arrests made and murder charges filed.

The father of her children and his wife have been arrested. See story below.

Ex-boyfriend, woman charged with murder in death of missing N.C. mother

KHOU - Houston, Tx

Posted on July 25, 2011 at 8:05 AM CDT
Updated today at 10:03 AM CDT

HOUSTON – Two suspects, including the ex-boyfriend of a missing North Carolina woman, were charged with murder Monday after a dismembered body was found in a rural Fort Bend County creek.

Grant Ruffin Hayes, 32, and his wife, 39-year-old Amanda Perry Hayes, were arrested around 1 a.m. and charged in the death of Laura Jean Ackerson, 27, police in Raleigh, N.C., said.

The arrests were made in Kinston, N.C.

Read more:

http://www.khou.com/news/Ex-boyfriend-woman-charged-with-murder-in-death-of-missing-NC-woman-126109729.html

Thanks.

sitemama, I posted Links about this case on Developing Stories at The Hinky Meter because I know there are folks from NC that post there.

The following is a comment from Carolina-grandma Posted: Mon Jul 25, 2011 7:56 am:

Ann, I have been following this case since Laura first went missing. She lived in Kinston which is about 20 minutes from me. The latest is that they've arrested her ex and his wife. All of the news reports have been very confusing. It started out that she had dropped her kids off with her ex at his home in Raleigh, but when it was time for her to pick them up, they were to meet midway between the 2 towns in Rocky Mount. The ex says he waited an hour & a half, but she never showed up. He did not report her missing for some reason, a friend of hers did this instead. Anyway, over the weekend, they found her car in Raleigh and then we heard about the dismembered remains being found near Houston. I also don't understand why they would take her body all the way to Houston. In one report I read, it said that she was visiting relatives near Houston, but that makes no sense - in other articles it states that the ex drove her body to TX. Anyway, her ex's wife was either involved in the murder or an accomplice because she has been arrested too. I have no idea what's happened to the children at this point - I pray they are with family.
CL - there does seem to be a lot of dismembering going on around here these days, WTH ???
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Carolina_grandma Posted: Mon Jul 25, 2011 8:11 am

Just to clear up a couple of points in my previous post....
Laura was to meet her ex and pick up the kids on 7/13. Her friend did not realize anything was amiss and did not report her missing until the 15th. I'm sure this will be key when this goes to trial - why didn't the ex report her missing when she didn't show up to pick up the kids?
I just read that the wife of Laura's ex was more than an accomplice, she has been charged with murder as well.If I hear more, I'll share....
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Above posted at:

http://www.thehinkymeter.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=26&t=1049&start=950
The Hinky Meter by Valhall - Developing Stories - Pages 20 and 21

Dismembered Body Found In Oyster Creek
Body May Be Missing Woman From North Carolina

KPRC - Houston, Tx

POSTED: Monday, July 25, 2011
UPDATED: 11:29 am CDT July 25, 2011

RICHMOND, Texas -- A dismembered body found in a Fort Bend County creek may be a woman who disappeared in North Carolina.

The remains of a woman were found in Oyster Creek in Richmond Sunday afternoon.

The Richmond Fire Department dive team and deputies with the Fort Bend County Sheriff's Office were in the 4300 block of Skinner Lane for several hours looking for evidence.

They returned to the area on Monday to continue to scour for clues.

Read more and view video:

http://www.click2houston.com/news/28654441/detail.html

Summary of KTRK - Houston, Tx News - 11 a.m. CDT Update

KTRK - Houston has news at 11 a.m. They have Katie McCall, an investigative reporter, on the scene. She is a great reporter.

The updated video has not been posted yet but this is a summary:

The arrests of Grant and Amanda Hayes were made at 1 a.m. in Kinston at the home of Hayes' mother.

Detectives believe that the pair killed Laura in North Carolina, dismembered her body and traveled to the Oyster Creek area in Fort Bend County, Tx to dispose of it.

The creek is right across the road from Amanda Hayes' relatives home. The home is now crawling with detectives. The residents of the home are not there and it is believed that they knew nothing about this.

The Fort Bend County Sheriff's office (FBCSO) said in addition to murder charges in North Carolina, the pair now faces tampering with evidence charges.

FBCSO said they have information from North Carolina LE that the pair purchased a number of ice chests to conceal the remains, rented a U-Haul trailer and transported the remains to Texas from North Carolina.

At this time, they do not know how Laura was killed. The cuts were so clean on the body and they said it could not have been done with a machete found with the remains.

When the article and video posts to the web site, I'll post the link here.

Police arrest two in case of missing NC woman

KTRK - Houston, Tx
Updated at 11:53 AM July 25, 2011

FORT BEND COUNTY, TX (KTRK) -- The ex-boyfriend of a missing Kinston mother is one of two suspects arrested after a woman's dismembered body was found in Texas.

Raleigh police say Grant Ruffin Hayes, 32, and his wife, Amanda Perry Hayes, 32, were taken into custody at 1am Monday and charged with murder in the death of Laura Jean Ackerson, 27. The arrests were made in Kinston.

Grant Hayes is the father of Ackerson's two children.

Read more and view video:

http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?section=news/local&id=8269452

This is a horrible story. The saying is true, people go back to familiar territory. Casey Anthony did it, Elisa Baker did it, just to name a few. Now this Amanda Hayes thought she could get away with murder throwing this poor woman's dismembered body across from most likely her parent's home. And for what, because she was the mother of the man's children. Horrific! Thank God she's been found so quickly and these two have been arrested.

Police arrest missing woman's ex-boyfriend, wife

WTVD - Raleigh-Durham, NC
Updated at 12:30 PM 7/25/11

RALEIGH (WTVD) -- Raleigh police have arrested Laura Ackerson's ex-boyfriend and his wife after authorities in Texas found the body of a woman over the weekend.


Around 1 a.m. Monday, Raleigh police arrested 32-year-old Grant Ruffin Hayes, and his wife, 39-year-old Amanda Perry Hayes, in Kinston. Both are charged with murder in connection with Ackerson's death.

Authorities have not officially identified the body found Sunday in Oyster Creek near Skinner Lane in Richmond, Texas as Ackerson, but her family members tell ABC11 that Raleigh police believe the body is more than likely the 27-year-old Kinston mother, who was reported missing on July 18.

A spokesman for the Fort Bend County Sheriff's Office said Sunday that two Raleigh detectives were in Texas, and the Raleigh Police Department is the lead agency in the investigation.

Read more and view video:

http://abclocal.go.com/wtvd/story?section=news/local&id=8269063
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Additional details and the video is over 6 minutes long.

Photo Gallery - 10 photos

http://abclocal.go.com/wtvd/gallery?section=news/local&id=8266302&photo=1&pid=8269063
WTVD Raleigh-Durham, NC Original post date: 7-22-11

Laura Ackerson case

Missing Mom's Ex-Boyfriend and His Wife Charged in Her Murder

ABC News - New York
July 25, 2011

Police are trying to determine whether a body in Texas is that of North Carolina mom Laura Ackerson, and two people – the woman's former boyfriend and his new wife – have been arrested and charged in connection with her murder.

Ackerson's ex-boyfriend Grant Ruffin Hayes and his wife, Amanda Perry Hayes, were taken into custody at 1 a.m. today in Kinston, N.C., and "charged with murder in connection with the death of Laura Jean Ackerson," according to a statement from police.

Read more:

http://abcnews.go.com/US/boyfriend-wife-arrested-murder-missing-north-carolina-mother/story?id=14153123
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Interesting article about Hayes & Ackerson's relationship

Grant Hayes (who goes by Haze in his music career) appaently had a baby recently with his wife. I notice the video was uploaded on June 16, 2011.

There are numerous videos to the right of this one. Media have indicated Grant Hayes used the stage name Grant Haze. Here is the Link if you want to look at the other videos:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SYuKuFrRNDw
YouTube Grant Haze -show me ur woman