Laura Ackerson | "Musician" and Wife Use Saw and Acid to Conceal Unthinkable Crime

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[00:00:28] This is True Crime Psychology and Personality where we discuss the pathology behind some of the most horrific crimes and those who committed them from a scientifically informed perspective.

[00:00:50] I'm Dr. Todd Grande, I have a Ph.D. in Councilor Education and Supervision and I'm a licensed professional counselor of Mental Health.

[00:00:58] Dr. Todd Grande that's my YouTube channel.

[00:01:01] Today's question is can I analyze the case of Laura Acerson?

[00:01:06] First I'll look at the background of this case, move to the timeline of the crime than I offer my analysis.

[00:01:13] Laura Jean Acerson was born on April 30, 1984 in Hastings, Michigan.

[00:01:18] Her parents separated when she was young.

[00:01:20] In 1996, she moved to Iowa with her mother.

[00:01:24] Laura went to high school there and graduated in 2003.

[00:01:28] After this, she moved to Raleigh, North Carolina and found the job as a waitress and an Applebee's restaurant.

[00:01:34] In March 2007, Laura met a man named Grant, Ruffin Hays III and they became romantically involved.

[00:01:42] He was five years older than her having been born on May 30, 1979.

[00:01:47] Grant referred to himself as a musician and songwriter and would perform at various venues like bars and restaurants.

[00:01:54] He struggled to make money but still maintained an unrealistic level of confidence.

[00:01:59] Grant refused to let go of his dream of being a superstar musician.

[00:02:04] Grant and Laura married on April 30, 2007 which was Laura's 23rd birthday.

[00:02:10] In May 2008, they had a son.

[00:02:13] After failing to make a living in North Carolina, Grant came to believe that his musical talent would be more appreciated in St. John, US version of islands.

[00:02:22] While he believed this as a mystery, perhaps he thought there was more background noise in the US version islands and the audience would be unable to hear him.

[00:02:30] It's not clear.

[00:02:32] The family moved there in 2009 and had another son in August of that year.

[00:02:37] Grant kept insisting that he was talented musically but he didn't make any money in St. John either.

[00:02:43] Laura was growing impatient with Grant.

[00:02:45] He had several unpleasant personality characteristics and she was tired of the financial stress.

[00:02:51] When she had enough, Laura took her two sons and moved to Kingston, North Carolina which is about an hour and a half southeast of Raleigh.

[00:02:58] She divorced Grant and started a graphic design business.

[00:03:02] Unfortunately, she continued to have financial problems.

[00:03:05] Back in St. John, Grant had found a new romantic partner, a woman named Amanda had taken an interest in him after seeing him perform.

[00:03:14] Amanda was about seven years older than Grant having been born on April 8, 1972.

[00:03:19] She had been married three times, her third husband had been wealthy but a poor decision brought an end to his wife.

[00:03:26] After diving into a lake that was only six inches deep, he broke his neck and died shortly after this.

[00:03:32] Amanda inherited his fortune and did not need to work for the rest of her life.

[00:03:38] Grant and Amanda seemed like they were happy together but Grant wanted his children back.

[00:03:42] Sometime around April 2010, the couple married and moved to Raleigh, North Carolina where they lived in an apartment.

[00:03:49] Grant started fighting with Laura over custody and the resulting court battle was Acrimonius.

[00:03:55] In early June 2010, Grant and Amanda had a child together.

[00:03:59] On June 29, the court issued a temporary order giving Grant physical custody of his two sons during the week and Laura custody on the weekends.

[00:04:08] Now moving to the timeline of the crime, on July 18, 2011, Laura Acrison's business partner reported her missing to the police, saying that she had not seen Laura since July 13.

[00:04:20] Here is what the police found during the course of their investigation.

[00:04:24] The police searched Grant's apartment and discovered that several items were missing, like some of the furniture, a few rugs, a shower curtain and a vacuum cleaner.

[00:04:33] They also thought that the bathroom looked exceptionally clean.

[00:04:36] Investigators found cleaning products, a bleach stain on the carpet near the front door and lyrics to a song written by Grant titled Man Killer.

[00:04:46] The lyrics read quote,

[00:04:48] My baby's mama don't talk to me.

[00:04:51] Don't want your drama. I got two kids by you.

[00:04:55] I can't take any more from you. I put a price tag on your head.

[00:05:00] You must have told your attorney, I got intentions on killing you."

[00:05:06] In addition to indicating that he may have been homicidal, lyrics explain why Grant was having trouble making a living as a musician.

[00:05:13] In an apartment dumpster, the police found bleach containers, a package for a respirator, a bleach stain towel, a vacuum cleaner, gloves.

[00:05:22] One of the gloves contained Laura's DNA.

[00:05:25] Investigators learned that on Tuesday, July 12, 2011, Grant emailed Laura and suggested that she visit the children on Wednesday, July 13.

[00:05:34] Grant normally had the children during the week, therefore Laura visiting the children at this time was at the ordinary.

[00:05:41] On July 13, Laura sent a text message to Grant at 4.12pm, indicating she was on the way and asking where he would be in an hour or so.

[00:05:51] At 459pm, Laura used her cell phone to call Grant.

[00:05:56] Laura was supposed to call a business partner at 9pm, but she never did.

[00:06:01] On July 14, Grant purchased several items from a Walmart store and a Target store in Raleigh, including a reciprocating saw,

[00:06:10] extra blades for the saw, trash bags, goggles, plastic sheeting, a tarp, gloves, tape, bleach, and a lint roller.

[00:06:18] He was at the Walmart at 2.30am and the Target at 5.30pm.

[00:06:23] Two days later, on July 16, Grant purchased coolers and ice and rented a U-Haul trailer.

[00:06:29] He told the people at the rental facility that he was going to Texas to fish and needed the trailer to transport coolers full of bait.

[00:06:37] Maybe he thought the fish were bigger in Texas.

[00:06:40] Grant, Amanda and the children traveled to Richmond, Texas, pulling the trailer with a 2009 Dodge Durango.

[00:06:47] They arrived at the residence of Amanda's sister, Karen Berry, late on July 17 or early on July 18.

[00:06:55] On July 19, Grant went to a home depot and purchased acid and gloves.

[00:06:59] Amanda was captured on video surveillance, dumping a bottle of acid near Karen's residence.

[00:07:05] On July 20, Grant returned the trailer and drove back to Raleigh, Amanda and the children, or with him.

[00:07:12] The police spoke to Amanda's sister, Karen.

[00:07:14] She told them that Amanda admitted to killing Laura Ackerson.

[00:07:18] Grant and Amanda took Karen's boat out to a nearby creek on the night of July 19 and were gone for a couple of hours.

[00:07:25] They were interested in knowing if the creek had alligators and if those alligators would eat human bodies.

[00:07:32] On July 24, the police found Laura's body in the creek near Karen's residence.

[00:07:37] Her body had been dismembered and someone had dumped acid on her head.

[00:07:41] Laura's death was ruled a homicide by undetermined means.

[00:07:46] On July 25, 2011, Grant and Amanda were arrested and charged with first degree murder.

[00:07:51] On September 16, 2013, Grant Hayes was found guilty of first degree murder.

[00:07:55] He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

[00:07:59] On February 19, 2014, Amanda Hayes was found guilty of second degree murder and sentenced to 13 to 16 years in prison.

[00:08:07] She could be released as early as 2025 from prison in North Carolina, but that will not be the end of her magical prison journey.

[00:08:15] She was charged with tampering with evidence in the state of Texas based on her role in disposing of Laura's body.

[00:08:22] In 2018, Amanda was found guilty in Texas and sentenced to 20 years in prison to be served consecutively with her sentence in North Carolina.

[00:08:31] When calculating the time for both sentences, Laura will be eligible for release from prison in Texas around the age of 82.

[00:08:39] Now moving to my analysis.

[00:08:41] Here are my thoughts on a few areas that stood out to me in this case.

[00:08:45] Item number one.

[00:08:46] At the two trials, the defense strategies for Grant and Amanda were similar.

[00:08:50] Grant's defense attorneys argued that Amanda killed Laura but Grant only helped to dispose of the body.

[00:08:56] Amanda's tactic was to blame Grant.

[00:08:58] She denied knowing anything about the murder until they were in Texas so after the murder was already completed.

[00:09:05] At this time she helped dispose of the body but only because Grant threatened to kill her.

[00:09:11] It's impossible to know what really happened in this case.

[00:09:14] My theory is that Grant killed Laura after trying to force her to sign over full custody to him.

[00:09:20] A note was found in a department indicating that he would give Laura $25,000 in exchange for full custody of their sons.

[00:09:28] I don't know if Grant planned to kill Laura far in advance or was just open to the idea of murder and wanted to see how things would play out.

[00:09:35] If he knew he was going to kill her, he probably would have purchased all those supplies beforehand.

[00:09:41] Grant and Amanda both participated in many elements if not all the elements of the crime.

[00:09:47] In my opinion they were both guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

[00:09:51] Item number two.

[00:09:52] The romantic relationship between Grant and Laura was characterized by arguing, fear, manipulation, insecurity, and bizarre behavior.

[00:10:00] Laura's friends were stunned that she would settle for someone as controlling and arrogant as Grant.

[00:10:05] They thought that Laura could do better and that Grant was only pretending to be a good guy.

[00:10:10] Laura often confided in her friends about Grant's worrisome behavior.

[00:10:14] There were many indicators that he was not a suitable romantic partner.

[00:10:18] Laura was worried because Grant used cocaine, marijuana, heroin, and other drugs while taking medication for bipolar disorder.

[00:10:26] Grant repeatedly had problems maintaining steady employment.

[00:10:29] He was described as lazy.

[00:10:31] He always thought that he could find a better job, like he was too good for the level of work for which he was qualified.

[00:10:38] Right after getting married, Grant asked Laura to talk to his fans about their sex life and to mention how his member was extra large.

[00:10:48] He was highly interested in the physical characteristics of women he encountered.

[00:10:52] According to Laura, he had an affair a few months after they married.

[00:10:56] When asked to explain, he said he selected his affair partner because she had an oversized, exterior region.

[00:11:03] Item number three.

[00:11:04] It appears as though Grant suffered from various mental health symptoms.

[00:11:08] For example, a mental health professional recommended that Grant be thoroughly evaluated because he had an illogical and disturbed thought process.

[00:11:16] In addition, as I mentioned, he took medication for bipolar disorder.

[00:11:21] Grant had studied the Bible obsessively for a long time but then became interested in the lyrics from the rapper Tupac Shakur.

[00:11:28] He studied them with the same vigor as he once studied the Bible.

[00:11:32] Grant developed a pattern of becoming highly invested in random ideas that he thought were incredible.

[00:11:38] This is consistent with Mania which is part of bipolar disorder.

[00:11:43] Grant demonstrated behavior consistent with having grandiose, paranoid and persecuted delusions.

[00:11:48] For example, he insisted that he was a time traveler who regularly communicated with aliens.

[00:11:54] Grant wanted to obtain as much cash as he could so he could purchase passage on alien ships when the world ended.

[00:12:02] He thought this was going to happen at the end of 2012.

[00:12:06] According to Grant, rich people were hiding in underground tunnels waiting for the spaceships to arrive.

[00:12:12] Despite his belief that the world was going to be destroyed soon, Grant had made many earth based plans which stretched years into the future.

[00:12:20] For example, he wanted to have 50 children with many different women of all races.

[00:12:26] He thought this would help him build an empire that could take over the world.

[00:12:31] He predicted it by the time he fulfilled this mission, he would be about 70 years old.

[00:12:35] Grant indicated that this plan was long term just like many plans seen in the Bible.

[00:12:41] His delusions were not just grandiose, they were of biblical proportions.

[00:12:45] Item number 4.

[00:12:47] What do I think happened in this case?

[00:12:49] This is just a theory, my opinion.

[00:12:51] Grant was impulsive, irresponsible, lazy, cowardly, grandiose, self-centered, paranoid, envious, vindictive and sadistic.

[00:13:00] A combination of factors led to Laura Ackerson finding Grant attractive.

[00:13:04] She had mood instability, low self-esteem and was insecure.

[00:13:09] In addition, she was dazzled by Grant's charisma.

[00:13:12] By the time she realized that he was an unsuitable romantic partner, they already had children together.

[00:13:18] Like Laura, Grant's new lover Amanda was vulnerable to becoming romantically involved with an unsuitable partner.

[00:13:25] When Amanda was younger, she had a dream of being a movie star.

[00:13:29] After her third husband died and left her a large amount of money, she moved to New York City

[00:13:34] and landed a few small parts as an actress.

[00:13:37] For example, she was in the TV show The Sopranos

[00:13:40] and appeared in the 2004 movie The Stepford Wives.

[00:13:44] Unable to find any true success, Amanda moved to St. John, perhaps believing it would be an exciting paradise.

[00:13:51] As it turns out, she found it boring and was still searching for meaning and purpose in her life.

[00:13:57] When she met Grant, she thought that she found someone to have an adventure with.

[00:14:02] Grant believed himself to be a singer and songwriter which was appealing to Amanda,

[00:14:06] like he was also part of the entertainment industry.

[00:14:10] It didn't bother Amanda that Grant failed to earn money because she believed in him as an artist.

[00:14:16] When Grant became obsessed about the custody situation with Laura, he committed to getting full custody at any cost.

[00:14:23] He fantasized about murder and this fantasy transmitted to Amanda.

[00:14:27] She became wrapped up in the nonsense that Grant was promoting.

[00:14:30] Much of the couple's behavior may have been driven by irrational fear, but they still knew the difference between right and wrong.

[00:14:37] Grant and Amanda did not have a problem with the heinous and cowus disposal of Laura's body because they despised her.

[00:14:44] Now moving to my final thoughts.

[00:14:46] The main driving force behind this tragedy was Grant Hayes.

[00:14:50] Among his narcissistic traits, there was a superficial charm.

[00:14:55] He was able to convince Laura to marry him and later he did the same thing with Amanda.

[00:15:00] The former ended up murdered and the latter in prison for taking part in that murder.

[00:15:05] Both Laura and Amanda knew Grant was dangerous but they were unable to extricate themselves from his grasp.

[00:15:12] When Grant was representing himself as a musician, he sometimes used a stage name Grant Hayes,

[00:15:18] spelling his last name as H-A-C-E instead of H-A-Y-E-S.

[00:15:23] One could argue that his stage name captured the effect that he had on some women.

[00:15:28] The Hayes around him obscured his pernicious and narcissistic traits.

[00:15:40] This has been true crime psychology and personality from ours long a media.

[00:15:46] This content is for educational and entertainment purposes only.

[00:15:51] ours long a Vita Brevis.