Laura Jean Ackerson -- Deceased 7/13/11 -- Grant and Amanda Hayes Charged With Murder

Ann - Tx wrote:
This is the Link to WRAL's homepage.  They usually have a place at the top where you can click on for the "live stream" of a trial.

http://www.wral.com/
WRAL- Raleigh, NC  -- Homepage


I need to go somewhere so it appears if the opening statements start this afternoon, I will have to watch via the archives later tonight.

Perhaps someone will post a direct link if the "live stream" starts later today.

Court is suppose to be back in session at 2 pm EST.  Almost that time!

I'd be happy to post the live link once it's available.  And you're very welcome (from your earlier post)!

Wes Wolfe ‏@WolfeReports 4m

3 Kinston Department of Public Safety officers on witness list. #ackerson

Wes Wolfe ‏@WolfeReports 50s

Prosecution witness list totals 116 people, also includes Grant Hayes' dad. #ackerson

ETA:

Wes Wolfe ‏@WolfeReports 1m

A defense witness list isn't immediately available. #ackerson

Live streaming link to trial (starting at 2:15):

http://www.wral.com/news/video/13331969/

ETA: Jury is coming in. Opening statements starting now!

http://www.wral.com/news/video/13331969/#/vid13331969

Opening statements begin in Amanda Hayes' first-degree murder trial (Video)

Posted 11:53 a.m. today
Updated 2:37 p.m. today

Raleigh, N.C. — After five days of jury selection, opening statements were underway Monday afternoon in the first-degree murder trial of a Raleigh woman accused of killing of her husband's ex-girlfriend more than two years ago and dumping her dismembered body in a Texas creek.

Amanda Hayes, 41, is one of two people Raleigh police have implicated in the July 13, 2011, death of Laura Jean Ackerson, a 27-year-old Kinston woman who had dated Hayes' husband, Grant Hayes, and was the mother of two of his children.

Wake County prosecutors and defense attorneys had seated 12 jurors and three alternates as of Monday morning.

Read more:

http://www.wral.com/opening-statements-begin-in-amanda-hayes-first-degree-murder-trial/13331441/

Amanda Hayes Trial - Judge Instructions

Published on January 27, 2014

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eaQmB5-12OU&feature=c4-overview&list=UUnN4ZxVAFoGrg-EhoRxhtTA




Amanda Hayes Trial - Prosecution Opening Statements

Published on January 27, 2014

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-c1mIQ4i-5E&feature=c4-overview&list=UUnN4ZxVAFoGrg-EhoRxhtTA



Amanda Hayes Trial - Defense Opening Statements

Published on January 27, 2014

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3CKoJn0e038&feature=c4-overview&list=UUnN4ZxVAFoGrg-EhoRxhtTA

Amanda Hayes Trial - Day 1 - Part 1

Published on January 27, 2014

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ESURRAF0r8M&feature=c4-overview&list=UUnN4ZxVAFoGrg-EhoRxhtTA

Amanda Hayes Trial - Day 1 - Part 2

Published on January 27, 2014

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f6GkTRwxNKg

Thanks Curious, ishi and Ales for the updates.

Wow, Ales! You have the trial testimony videos posted here and I won't even have to go to WRAL to listen to them. Thanks so much.

I forgot to charge my cordless headphones and they are charging now. I like to listen to trials with them because I don't have to stay by my computer. I can move around within 100 plus feet from my computer.

I hope to listen to these videos later tonight.

Amanda Hayes trial opens in Wake County Superior Court

By Anne Blythe
The News & Observer - Raleigh, NC

January 27, 2014  


Defendant Amanda Hayes, center, listens to one of her defense
lawyers, Rosemary Godwin, left, during opening statements in
her first-degree murder trial Monday.  SCOTT SHARPE —@newsobserver.com



Amanda Hayes enters a Wake County courtroom Monday
for opening statements in her trial for first-degree murder
in the death of her husband’s ex-girlfriend.  SCOTT SHARPE — @newsobserver.com


RALEIGH — Amanda Hayes, a former actress in the U.S. Virgin Islands, did not have a speaking part during the opening of her murder trial in Wake County Superior Court on Monday.

Her attorney, Johnny Gaskins, a Wake County lawyer, did the talking as he laid out the 41-year-old mother’s broad-stroke defense to the nine women and three men on the jury.

Gaskins contends Hayes is on trial in a tragedy that has three main characters, whom the attorney described as two victims and a “sociopath” who injured both females.

Snipped:

Prosecutors plan to present their case as one that focuses little on “who struck the fatal blow,” and more on what they contend was a married couple acting together to kill a woman with whom they were embroiled in a bitter custody dispute, then hide her death.

Read more and view photo gallery:

http://www.newsobserver.com/2014/01/27/3569791/wake-prosecutors-contend-amanda.html

Opening statements in Amanda Hayes trial in death of Laura Ackerson this afternoon

Monday, January 27, 2014

WTVD - Raleigh, NC


RALEIGH (WTVD) --  With a jury seated, the prosecution and defense teams made their opening statements Monday in the trial of Amanda Hayes - who is accused in the murder and dismemberment of Laura Ackerson.

Prosecutors say Amanda and her husband Grant - aka Grant Haze - killed the 27 year old at their Raleigh apartment in July 2011 during a long-running custody dispute.

Read more:

http://abclocal.go.com/wtvd/story?section=news/local&id=9408499

http://www.wral.com/news/local/asset_gallery/9925558/
WRAL - Raleigh, NC  -- current as of 1/27/14

WRAL.com archive: Laura Ackerson murder case

At the above Link, you can also click on the following archives:

Laura Ackerson homicide investigation
Full coverage of the investigation into the July 2011 homicide of Laura Jean Ackerson and developments leading to trial.


Grant Hayes murder trial coverage
Full coverage of Grant Hayes's first-degree murder trial in the death of Laura Ackerson.

Grant Hayes murder trial video
Video from the first-degree murder trial of Grant Hayes.

Amanda Hayes murder trial coverage
Full coverage of Amanda Hayes's first-degree murder trial in the death of Laura Ackerson.

Amanda Hayes murder trial video
Video from the first-degree murder trial of Amanda Hayes.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

http://www.wral.com/news/local/asset_gallery/13329437/
WRAL - Raleigh, NC - Amanda Hayes murder trial video


At the above Link, you can click on the following videos:

Amanda Hayes trial opening statements (Pt 1)
Wake County Assistant District Attorney Boz Zellinger presents opening statements on behalf of the state in the first-degree murder trial of Amanda Hayes on Jan. 27, 2014.

Amanda Hayes trial opening statements (Pt 2)
Attorney Johnny Gaskins presents opening statements on behalf of the defense in the first-degree murder trial of Amanda Hayes on Jan. 27, 2014.

Amanda Hayes trial testimony (Day 1 pt 1)
Jan. 27, 2014, testimony of Chevon Mathes.

Amanda Hayes trial testimony (Day 1 pt 2)
Jan. 27, 2014, testimony of former Kinston police detective James Gwartney.

CuriousPortlander wrote:

Live streaming link to trial:

http://www.wral.com/news/video/13331969/

Bumping for visibility.

A bunch of us are in Chat, so please join us if you can.

Go here:  https://realitychatter.forumotion.com/h10-chat

Scroll down to the Chat window, and click Log In in the upper right corner of the Chat window.

Or go here to bring it up in a separate page:  https://realitychatter.forumotion.com/chatbox/index.forum?

Thanks, CP. You are awesome!

It is so nice to be able to "live" chat during this trial. Lots of wonderful folks are in Chat.

Morning break for 15 minutes per Judge Stephens. Trial will resume in 15!

The feed on WRAL is buffering/freezing badly today, so here's another live-streaming link that seems fine:  

http://www.wildabouttrial.com/live-stream-amanda-hayes.html

Lunch break.  Trial will resume at 2 PM EST or shortly thereafter.

Judge Stephens said "they" will keep an eye on the weather.

Court now in recess.

Defense outlines strategy in murder case

By  Wes Wolfe / Staff Writer
Kinston Free Press - Kinston, NC

Published: Monday, January 27, 2014 at 19:10 PM.


RALEIGH — Defense counsel for Amanda Perry Hayes said Monday she was unaware of Laura Jean Ackerson’s dismembered remains being in a bathroom in her apartment for days after Ackerson’s death.

In his opening argument, attorney Johnny Gaskins said Hayes was involved in neither the murder nor responsible for the disposal of Ackerson’s remains in a Texas creek in 2011.

Snipped:

Gaskins then said for the next three days, Amanda Hayes had no idea what happened to Ackerson or that her body, sawed into seven pieces, remained in the bathroom.

Read more:

http://www.kinston.com/news/local/defense-outlines-strategy-in-murder-case-1.268680?tc=cr
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Gaskins' crock of crap won't fly with the jury.  JMO

The spin and the "defense" that Amanda Hayes is using is almost laughable except it involves the brutal murder of Laura Ackerson. I wonder if Grant is following this trial via local news on TV or newspaper. Defense has not painted a very nice picture of Grant!

The Hayes' did not live in a huge mansion.  It is an insult for Gaskins to say, in that small apartment, that Amanda Hayes did not know that Ackerson's sawed up body was in the bathroom.  Please!!!

I firmly believe that Amanda Hayes assisted Grant Hayes and cutting Laura Ackerson into pieces and cleaning up the bloody mess.  Perhaps they got some kind of thrill from doing this.  Sick, sick, sick to cut up a body, haul it over 1200 miles to TX and then dump it in Oyster Creek.

I think Grant and Amanda thought if they dumped Laura's body parts in Oyster Creek in TX that if one day the parts were found, they would be so decomposed that ID would be perhaps impossible.  The assumption would be that TX law enforcement would be trying to ID a murder victim from TX and not NC.

I do believe that Grant and Amanda planned the murder of Laura.  Grant lured her to his apartment by using a visitation with the two boys.

I think Grant knew that custody of the boys would probably be awarded to Laura because she certainly did all of the right things and/or required things in an effort to gain custody of her two boys.

I think Amanda was probably very jealous of Laura and she probably was furious that Grant would have to pay child support for his two boys if Laura was awarded custody.

Grant probably would rather have seen Laura dead than have to pay child support.

The sad part is the tragic, gruesome murder of Laura and the fact that her two boys will have to grow up without their mother and won't even have their sociopath father, Grant.  Perhaps it is good that Grant will not be in the boy's lives.  He is one evil dude.  

It does disturb me that Grant's mother is raising these boys.  She raised Grant . . .  look how he turned out!

All of the above is just my opinon; nothing more.

Prosecution works to show conflict with Ackerson in Amanda Hayes trial

Updated at 12:34 PM today - 1/28/14
WTVD - Raleigh, NC

Snipped:

Prosecutors spent the morning trying to show that Amanda Hayes had a testy relationship with the mother of her husband's two oldest children.

Prosecutors say Amanda and her husband Grant - aka Grant Haze - killed 27-year-old Laura Ackerson at their Raleigh apartment in July 2011 during a long-running custody dispute over the kids.

Snipped:

Tuesday morning, an SBI agent who searched Ackerson's apartment read from Ackerson's diary about friction with Amanda.

"She scolded me in front of my children.  I found it off-putting.  I told her I was concerned about her frequent negative emotional outbursts towards me in front of Grant IV and Gentel," read SBI Agent Lolita Chapman.

Read more:

http://abclocal.go.com/wtvd/story?section=news/local&id=9410065

If you have missed any of the trial testimony yesterday or today, you can watch the archived videos here at WRAL - Raleigh, NC:

Also, up-thread Ales has posted videos from yesterday's opening statements and trial testimony.

http://www.wral.com/news/local/asset_gallery/13329437/
WRAL - Amanda Hayes trial - Archived testimony videos

If you continue to have problems with WRAL's live stream today (buffering, audio stop, etc.), you can watch the trial on WTVD - Raleigh, NC.  They are "live" streaming too and so far . . . no problems.

http://abclocal.go.com/wtvd/livenow?id=9408820
WTVD - Raleigh, NC   Live Stream of Amanda Hayes trial

Court adjourned for the day (5 p.m. EST).   Shay (sp), Amanda Hayes' daughter, was on the stand testifying.

 Judge Stephens said a decision will be made later tonight if there will be court tomorrow due to an anticipated weather event.

Amanda Hayes Trial - Day 2 - Part 1
Published on Jan 28, 2014



Source:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1-vUFFIEZzs

Amanda Hayes Trial - Day 2 - Part 2
Published on Jan 28, 2014



Source:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E5Yh0XWV40Y

Amanda Hayes Trial - Day 2 - Part 3
Published on Jan 28, 2014



Source:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h4uJGryD18s

Amanda Hayes Trial - Day 2 - Part 4
Published on Jan 28, 2014



Source:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jGfNC_UK24A

I found "Closings" on WRAL.  It is indicated that the Wake County courts will be closed tomorrow.  There might not be court tomorrow, Wednesday, 1/29/14.  
~~~~~

http://www.wral.com/weather/closings/?letter=w
WRAL -  Raleigh, NC  -- Closings: W

Wake County Courts
Closed
(Expires Wednesday at 4:00pm)

Ackerson's own words paint pictures of Amanda and Grant Hayes

Posted 9:10 a.m. - 1/28/14
Updated 8:30 p.m. - 1//28/14

WRAL - Raleigh, NC



Amanda Hayes


Raleigh, N.C. — As Wake County prosecutors worked Tuesday to portray Amanda Hayes as a wife who was angry and resentful toward the woman she is accused of killing, defense attorneys put forth their own image of their client's husband, who they say controlled and manipulated her to the point that she was forced to help him get rid of the body.

Snipped:

It was July 18, 2011, when Schumacher said she learned that Ackerson was missing.

"I dropped to my knees and started bawling," she recalled. "I sat in shock for about 12 hours because I knew she was dead."

Read more:

http://www.wral.com/ackerson-s-own-words-paint-pictures-of-amanda-and-grant-hayes/13333832/

Amanda Hayes’ daughter testifies at her murder trial

January 28, 2014

The News & Observer - Raleigh, NC



Defendant Amanda Hayes, center, listens to one of her defense
lawyers, Rosemary Godwin, left, during opening statements in
her first-degree murder trial Monday. - Scott Sharpe


Snipped:

Some four years later, mother and daughter sat across from each other in a Wake County Superior Court room. Amanda Hayes, accused of working in concert with Grant Hayes to kill the mother of his two sons, sat at the table with her defense team.

Sha Guddat, the daughter of Amanda Hayes who now is in her 20s, sat at the witness stand responding to questions from prosecutors. Her testimony, incomplete at the end of the day, was brief. She mostly described how her mother met Grant Hayes.

Read more here:

http://www.newsobserver.com/2014/01/28/3572467/amanda-hayes-daughter-testifies.html

Call log shows history of animosity between Hayes, Ackerson





By  Wes Wolfe / Staff writer
Kinston Free Press - Kinston, NC

Published: Tuesday, January 28, 2014 at 12:33 PM.


RALEIGH – A call log by murdered former Kinston resident Laura Jean Ackerson showed her significant concerns about her children and Amanda Perry Hayes’ anger toward her.

Hayes is on trial for the first-degree murder of Ackerson in 2011 and accessory after the fact. Her husband, Grant, was convicted of first-degree murder in the case in September.

State Bureau of Investigation Special Agent Lolita Chapman said during an initial observation of Ackerson’s apartment, investigators seized her computer and the call log, which began with the date of Aug. 11, 2010.

Read more:

http://www.kinston.com/news/local/call-log-shows-history-of-animosity-between-hayes-ackerson-1.268943?tc=cr

The following photos are snipped from Amanda Lamb's (WRAL reporter) tweets on 1/28/14.



A photo shown in court of Laura's 2006 Ford Focus. Taken around 1:30 a.m. on July 20, 2011.


WRAL:
Salmon noticed what appeared to be a large bleach spot on the carpet, approximately 3 to 4 feet in size – about 2 feet from the front door.


Crime scene photo taken July 20, 2011.

Source:

http://www.wral.com/ackerson-s-own-words-paint-pictures-of-amanda-and-grant-hayes/13333832/
WRAL - Raleigh, NC  -- 1/28/14

Ann - Tx wrote:
I found "Closings" on WRAL.  It is indicated that the Wake County courts will be closed tomorrow.  There might not be court tomorrow, Wednesday, 1/29/14.  
~~~~~

http://www.wral.com/weather/closings/?letter=w
WRAL -  Raleigh, NC  -- Closings: W

Wake County Courts
Closed
(Expires Wednesday at 4:00pm)

Bumping! No court today . . . if the above is correct.

Amanda Hayes Trial - Day 2 - Part 5 (Amanda's Daughter)
Published on Jan 28, 2014



Source:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nrYE7wRV5F8

@CuriousPortlander:

Thank you so much for posting the videos of yesterday's court proceedings. I really appreciate it.

I was unable to watch the trial yesterday. I will watch  the videos this evening to get caught up with the trial.

Ann - Tx wrote:

Ann - Tx wrote:
I found "Closings" on WRAL.  It is indicated that the Wake County courts will be closed tomorrow.  There might not be court tomorrow, Wednesday, 1/29/14.  
~~~~~

http://www.wral.com/weather/closings/?letter=w
WRAL -  Raleigh, NC  -- Closings: W

Wake County Courts
Closed
(Expires Wednesday at 4:00pm)

Bumping!  No court today . . . if the above is correct.

Ann, thank you so much for posting this information.

  

You are welcome, Ales. I missed "seeing" you here yesterday. Glad you are back!

Curious posted info about meeting in RC's Chat Room for "live" chat during the trial. I dropped in for a while. Nice to chat with everyone. I assume there will be folks chatting off and on during this trial.

I wish I could watch this entire trial in real time but I won't be able to; will have to watch archived videos for some of the trial.

Based on this report from WRAL - Raleigh, NC, there will be court tomorrow; 1 hour delay.

http://www.wral.com/weather/closings/?letter=w
WRAL - Raleigh, NC: Closings - W - (as of 1/29/14 -- 7:25 p.m. EST)

Wake County Courts
Delayed 1 Hour
(Expires Thursday at 4:00pm)

Wes Wolfe ‏@WolfeReports 12h

Wake County courts are delayed one hour Thursday. Expect trial of Amanda Hayes to pick up at 10:30 a.m. #ackerson

Thanks for the info, Curious.  

Should start soon.  WRAL and WTVD - Raleigh, NC have their video boxes up already.  I'll post the links in a separate post.

Video of court in session . . . .  now streaming. Testimony not started yet though.

Update: Per Judge Stephens court recessed until attorney's show up.  Apparently, Hayes' attorneys have not showed up yet.  Judge Stephens said he was there yesterday and they could have called.  Hhmmm, I bet Judge Stephens is not a happy camper!

State seal of NC now showing. I guess we will have to check back to see when defense attorneys will show up. The Prosecution attorneys are there.


http://abclocal.go.com/wtvd/livenow?id=9408820
WTVD - Raleigh, NC   - A. Hayes trial "live" stream


http://www.wral.com/news/video/13331969/
WRAL - Raleigh, NC  -  A. Hayes trial "live" stream

CuriousPortlander wrote:A bunch of us are in Chat, so please join us if you can.

Go here:  https://realitychatter.forumotion.com/h10-chat

Scroll down to the Chat window, and click Log In in the upper right corner of the Chat window.

Or go here to bring it up in a separate page:  https://realitychatter.forumotion.com/chatbox/index.forum?

Bumping...

Court recessed for lunch.  Judge Stephens has another case to hear . . . brief.

Ask jury to be back around 2:20 pm EST.

Amanda Hayes murder trial resumes with irritated judge

Updated at 12:40 PM today

RALEIGH (WTVD) -- A clearly irritated Superior Court Judge Donald Stephens chastised Amanda Hayes' defense team Thursday morning when they didn't show up on time.

Lawyers said there had been a miscommunication over when court would begin following a day off caused by the winter weather, but Stephens told them he was "disappointed they weren't more proactive" about finding out when court would start - pointing out everyone else - including the jury - knew when to show up.

After the delay, testimony resumed with Hayes' daughter Sha Guddat on the stand.

Read more:

http://abclocal.go.com/wtvd/story?section=news/local&id=9413166

Amanda Hayes Trial - Day 3 - Part 1

Published on January 30, 2014

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UEQHRqFwWPw




Amanda Hayes Trial - Day 3 - Part 2

Published on January 30, 2014

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OloLs0gZHwE




Amanda Hayes Trial - Day 3 - Part 3

Published on January 30, 2014

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EYWfvdY92do




Amanda Hayes Trial - Day 3 - Part 4

Published on January 30, 2014

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=83n6NKsr19A

This is an old article from 2011 about the interview Sha, Amanda's daughter, did after visiting Amanda in jail.
~~~~~~

http://abclocal.go.com/wtvd/story?section=news/local&id=8291952
WTVD - Raleigh, NC  -- 8/5/11

Woman defends her accused mother
Friday, August 05, 2011

Snipped:

ABC11 asked, "Did anything about Grant Hayes kind of raise a red flag to you? Or did you just, you just felt comfortable around him?"

"I just felt comfortable around him," Elmer said. "He was a musician, and I was fascinated and I think a lot of what it was -- me and my mom were both very fascinated.

That fascination quickly turned into something more and Amanda and Grant married in Vegas last year.

When asked if Elmer ever saw Grant angry, aggressive or if he spoke to her mom in an abusive way, she said "no."

Stream is now "live" here:

http://abclocal.go.com/wtvd/livenow?id=9408820
WTVD - Raleigh, NC
~~~~~~

Other case that Judge Stephens mentioned prior to lunch break. Hopefully, A. Hayes trial will resume shortly.

Hayes felt trapped, wanted to leave husband, daughter says

Posted 10:13 a.m. today - 1/30/14
Updated 14 minutes ago

WRAL -Raleigh, NC



Amanda Hayes sits in a Wake County courtroom on Jan. 30, 2014,
during her first-degree murder trial. (Chad Flowers/WRAL)


Raleigh, N.C. — Weeks before the death of Laura Ackerson, the 24-year-old daughter of Amanda Hayes found her mother – eight months pregnant – sitting on the floor in the bathroom of her Raleigh apartment, bawling and talking about leaving her husband but also feeling trapped with nowhere else to turn.

"She said, 'I don't want to be a single mom at 40, and I'm scared, and there's no money,'" Sha Guddat testified Wednesday in her mother's first-degree murder trial. "'There's no way he could take care of our kids, and he doesn't need to have those boys, if I'm not here.'"

Read more:

http://www.wral.com/hayes-felt-trapped-wanted-to-leave-husband-daughter-says/13345487/

The video of trial testimony from Day 3 of Amanda Hayes murder trial has been posted by WRAL.  Please click on Link below:

http://www.wral.com/news/local/asset_gallery/13329437/?s=0
WRAL - Raleigh, NC --- Archives: Amanda Hayes murder trial video


(Note:  This is the Link to all of the Amanda Hayes trial video posted by WRAL - Raleigh, NC.
WRAL posts videos during each trial day and usually is finished by 7 or 8 pm EST.  You might want to save the above Link to FAV.)

Ales or CuriousPortlander might post YouTube videos of the trial testimony on this thread and you can watch it without leaving this thread.

After the jury was dismissed today, I wonder if Judge Stephens told the Defense attorneys that court will be in session tomorrow at 9:30 am EST and to please have their butts there on time. lol