On the evening of Feb. 22, Robert Hayes was found guilty of the deaths of three Florida prostitutes more than 15 years ago.
Laquetta Gunther’s body was found in between an auto parts store and an empty utility building around Dec. 2005. Julie Green’s body was found on a dirt road at a construction site in Jan. 2006. Iwana Patton’s body was also found on a dirt road in Feb. 2006. All three women were nude, lying face down and shot in the head.
Hayes was a senior criminal justice major and college cheerleader at Bethune-Cookman University when the killings occurred.
Hayes is also accused of the killing of Rachel Bey, another prostitute whose body was found with her jaw and teeth broken in March 2016. It wasn’t until three years later in 2019 that DNA found from all four killings led them to the arrest of Hayes.
He was questioned once before because he had purchased a .40-caliber handgun that was similar to the one used against the first three victims. Police said he bought the gun shortly before the first victim was killed in 2005.
Prosecutors are now seeking the death penalty for Hayes during the sentencing phase.
