A suspected serial killer already behind bars for the 2016 slaying of a Florida woman is facing the death penalty for the murders of another three victims, who were all killed more than a decade ago.
State Attorney RJ Larizza announced indictments Thursday against Robert Hayes in the deaths of Laquetta Gunther, Julie Green and Iwana Patton, the Daytona Beach News Journal reported. He’s already behind bars for killing 32-year-old Rachel Bey, who was found dead in Palm Beach three years ago.
DNA recovered from her body and genealogy testing allowed authorities to identify the 37-year-old as a suspect in her death. Investigators also found evidence of a similar genetic profile on the bodies of both Gunther and Green.
Hayes was a student and cheerleader at Bethune Cookman University when all three of the victims were killed in Daytona Beach more than a dozen years ago.
Gunther, a 45-year-old prostitute, was found shot in the head and in the kneeling position on Christmas Eve 2005. A few weeks later, officers discovered 34-year-old Green, another Daytona prostitute, dead in a ditch near a construction site.
The victim, who was found on Jan. 14, 2006, was also shot in the head. Police said the mother-of-four had left her home to use a pay phone and never returned.
Patton, who worked as a nurse’s aide, was found dead in a desolate area on Feb. 24, 2006.
A fourth, decomposed body — later identified as 30-year-old Stacey Gage — found on Jan. 2, 2008 has also been linked to Hayes. Authorities said her cause of death was similar to the other three victims, though Hayes has not been charged in the case.
