Authorities in North Carolina have arrested two people in connection with the death of a 27-year-old woman who was reported missing earlier this month.
Raleigh police have charged Grant Ruffin Hayes, 32, and his wife, Amanda Perry Hayes, 39, with the murder of 27-year-old Laura Jean Ackerson. The couple was taken into custody at 1 a.m. today, Raleigh police spokesman Jim Sughrue told The Huffington Post.
Grant Hayes was an ex-boyfriend of Ackerson and fathered her two children, police said.
Ackerson was last seen on July 13, when she dropped off her kids at the Hayes home. She was reported missing two days later when she failed to show up for work. On July 20, Ackerson's Ford Focus was found abandoned near the 5400 block of Summer Manor Lane in Raleigh.
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On Sunday, the dismembered remains of a woman were found in three separate locations near Richmond, Texas, about 30 miles southwest of Houston. The remains, which are believed to be Ackerson's, were found near Amanda Hayes' sister's home. Investigators do not suspect the sister had any involvement in the crime, but they did recover several items from her home, including a machete, police reported.
Chief Deputy Craig Brady of the Fort Bend County Sheriff's Office in Texas told the Associated Press that investigators suspect Ackerson was killed in North Carolina and transported to Texas. Divers are still searching nearby Oyster Creek for additional human remains.
According to an arrest warrant made public today, investigators believe Ackerson was killed on July 13.
Sheri Ackerson, a friend and former sister-in-law to Laura Ackerson, told ABCNews.com that Ackerson and Hayes had a volatile relationship and were involved in a bitter child custody dispute.
"All I know is that he was horrible to her... She was very bright, but she made a poor choice. Grant was a very poor choice," Ackerson said.
Laura Jean Ackerson
