Terrebonne school budget approved
July 9, 2014
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July 9, 2014
The Thibodaux man who allegedly killed his ex-girlfriend during an hours-long standoff with police in Senator Circle has been indicted on a second-degree murder charge.
A Terrebonne Parish grand jury last month returned a true bill against 22-year-old Skylleur Hayes, of 948 St. Charles St. Hayes, not yet arraigned on the charge, continues to be held in the Terrebonne Parish Jail in lieu of a $1.6 million bond, court records show.
Hayes shot his ex-girlfriend Barbara Baker in the head March 28 inside her public-housing unit during a standoff with by negotiators, Houma Police Chief Todd Duplantis said. Moments before he shot Baker, Hayes released the couple’s 1-year-old son to authorities.
Hayes is additionally charged with false imprisonment while armed with a dangerous weapon, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and possession with intent to distribute a Schedule I narcotic (marijuana).
At the time of arrest, police accused Hayes of first-degree murder, but the charge as levied at his magistrate hearing was murder in the second degree. The difference in this case ensures prosecutors will not have to prove Hayes intended to kill Baker, Terrebonne’s first assistant district attorney has said.
Conviction of second-degree murder carries a mandatory sentence of life imprisonment at hard labor without benefit of parole, probation or a suspended sentence. Second-degree murder cases are not eligible for capital punishment.
Representing Hayes is Kerry Byrne, an attorney with the parish’s Public Defender’s Office. Byrne declined to comment.
Dist. Judge Randy Bethancourt will preside over the case.
Hayes’ motion for a bond reduction was spurned. Other than that, case filings and action have thus far been stagnant, but the case timeline indicates the pace may soon accelerate. A pre-trial hearing is scheduled for July 28, a plea date is penciled in for Aug. 11 and the listed trial date is Aug. 16.
Baker and Hayes had an unstable relationship, according to police, the parish’s housing authority, neighbors and Baker’s friends, though neither had filed for a protective order against the other.
Baker’s grandmother said Hayes kicked, choked and stomped on Baker, including at times during her pregnancy.
Police were dispatched four times between Jan. 30 and March 23 to investigate incidents between the pair, Duplantis said.
The only charge filed was simple robbery against Hayes after Baker alleged he stole her cellphone. This was on March 23, five days before Hayes allegedly killed his ex-girlfriend, with police unable to locate Hayes in the interim.
On Feb. 4, Houma police officers reported that Baker and Hayes had shoved one another, but no charges were filed. The other two incidents between the pair that drew HPD responses – on Jan. 30 and March 17 – were verbal in nature, Duplantis said.
Police on March 17 instructed Hayes not to return to Senators Circle, Duplantis said. But the 6-foot, 2-inch man was not placed on the complex’s do-not-trespass list, according to the housing director.
Prior to the robbery charge, Hayes was a wanted man. He eluded arrest on March 19 in Thibodaux after Lafourche Parish sheriff’s deputies found a stolen gun in the console of a car he was driving. As officers began to detain two passengers in the car, Hayes ran away, according to agency spokesman deputy Brennan Matherne.
