A man arrested in 2016, death by strangulation is a "serial killer" linked to at least three other murders in Florida, police say



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Even with this link, it was a cigarette butt that the suspect dropped at the bus station last week that led to his arrest, according to court documents.

Robert Hayes, 37, was arrested Sunday without incident. A Palm Beach County judge ordered his detention without bail on Monday on a charge of first degree murder, pending a hearing before the grand jury. Hayes, wearing a dark prison uniform, cuffs tied at the waist, appeared alongside a public defender.

The county public defender's office said he was not commenting on the outstanding cases.

"We will continue to work every day, every hour until we find these monsters here and do these things, because I can guarantee you that if we did not send this individual to prison, he would have done it again and we would have had another innocent victim here, "Palm Beach County sheriff Ric Bradshaw told reporters.

Links to other murders

Although Hayes was only charged as 32-year-old Rachel Bey, Craig Capri, Daytona Beach police chief, said Hayes would be charged with at least three murders in that city: those of Laquetta Gunther, 45 years old. in 2005; Julie Green, 34, in 2006; and Iwana Patton, 35, in 2006, all of whom were shot in the head.

Investigators will continue their investigations to determine whether Hayes is suspected of further killings, including that of Stacey Gage, 30, in 2008, authorities said.

The DNA of the 2016 assassination testifies to the assassination of the murder of Laquetta Gunther in 2005, according to police.

The DNA obtained during the Bey investigation matches the DNA of the Gunther and Green probes, Capri said. Patton's body spent a lot of time in the woods after his assassination, which complicates the DNA collection efforts, the chief said, but ballistic evidence of his death – namely a bush. a .40 caliber gun – bind it with the other Daytona. Murders on the beach.

Calling Hayes "disgusting serial killer," Capri said Hayes' delay in indicting him in the other three murders was a result of his department's desire to build a "strong and solid case" against him and him. guarantee never to leave prison.

"I can not be happier today than we have had this killer on the street so that no one else can become a victim, and now we will relate our desires and then go from there. before with this guy and sue him for these three murders, "he said.

More loads to come

Attorney General R.J. is in no hurry to complain to Daytona Beach because Hayes is in jail and is not threatening the public. Larizza said. It was too early to say whether his office would apply the death penalty, he said.

"We will be right when we finally make the decision to charge in these cases," said the prosecutor.

The police informed the families of Hayes' arrest. Volusia County Sheriff, Michael Chitwood, who was the Daytona Beach Police Chief at the time of the murders, said that he had personally talked with the family of a victim.

Police Lieutenant Steven Beres passes in the driveway where Laquetta Gunther's body was found in 2005.

"They are obviously ecstatic, they did not think they would be alive to see this day come," he said.

Hayes has only a minor criminal record, involving traffic offenses, Capri said. A student at Bethune-Cookman University at the time of the murders at Daytona Beach, Hayes was questioned by law enforcement officials because of the purchase of a firearm that was not used. he had bought, said the chief. It was one of the hundreds of interviews that law enforcement officials conducted in this case, he said.

"Hayes bought the gun in early December 2005, one of the murders then taking place on December 26, 2005," says an affidavit of probable cause. He said in March 2006 that he had given the gun to his mother, who lived in West Palm Beach.However, Hayes also reported that a firearm caliber (40 ) was stolen from his vehicle in Riviera Beach, Florida, December 2006. "

The suspect was living in the Daytona Beach area during the Daytona Beach and West Palm Beach killings in the area, the police said.

The cigarette butt

Authorities said they had a major break with genetic genealogy, a combination of traditional DNA evidence and types of genealogical analysis made famous by companies such as 23andMe and Ancestry.

It's the DNA of a family member of Hayes, found in a genetic genetics database, which led the investigators to Hayes, said Lori Napolitano, head of genealogy surveys. Genetics of the Florida Police Department. She did not provide any other details except to say that the more DNA is shared by two people, the more closely they are linked.

Daytona Beach Police investigate Iwana Patton crime scene in February 2006.

After Bey's death, whose bruised body was discovered by road crews along State Route 710, police extracted DNA from a sexual assault kit and licked it. Put in a database of law enforcement forces, where they were injured during the three murders perpetrated in Daytona Beach, in Palm Beach County. Sheriff's Captain Mike Wallace said.

How genetic genetics helps police solve colds

On Friday, investigators following Hayes got his DNA from a cigarette butt that he had thrown at a bus stop, according to the probable cause affidavit. The DNA of Bey's sexual assault kit was a better match for Bey and Hayes than for Bey and anyone else on the planet, Wallace said.

"So we have our guy," he says.

Although the authorities believe that Hayes had chosen his victims at random, he had met Bey earlier in the evening of March 7, 2016, the day of his assassination, Wallace said.

CNN's Tina Burnside contributed to this report.

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