Hayes Couple Waive Extradition in 5-Year-Old Daughter's Death, Facing South Carolina Charges
Updated
Updated · NBC News · Sep 3
Hayes Couple Waive Extradition in 5-Year-Old Daughter's Death, Facing South Carolina Charges
3 articles · Updated · NBC News · Sep 3
Summary
John Herb Hayes III, 70, and Geordyn Nichole Hayes, 31, agreed in a Tennessee court Thursday to be extradited to South Carolina within 10 days after their 5-year-old daughter Saylor was found dead.
South Carolina authorities charged the couple with unlawfully placing a child at risk or willfully abandoning a child after Saylor’s body was recovered Monday near Hagley Landing in Pawleys Island.
Arrest affidavits say the parents misled searchers by directing them to look for Saylor’s Project Lifesaver tracker even though they allegedly knew the nonverbal child was not wearing it.
The couple were arrested in Carter County, Tennessee, more than 350 miles away, hours after the body was found and remain jailed without bond after also waiving their right to hire an attorney.
The case has drawn added scrutiny because John Hayes was charged in 2023 with two felony child-abuse counts in Virginia, later resolved through Alford pleas and dismissed after probation.