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April 8, 2014CRIME BLOTTER: Reported offenses in the Tri-parish area
April 8, 2014
The Thibodaux man who allegedly shot and killed his ex-girlfriend amid a standoff with police last month in Senator Circle will not face the death penalty.
The principal charge against Skylleur Hayes is second-degree murder as levied during a magistrate hearing last week, according to Terrebonne First Assistant District Attorney Carlos Lazarus. If convicted, the 22-year-old suspect would still face life imprisonment at hard labor without the benefit of parole, probation or a suspended sentence.
Hayes shot his ex-girlfriend Barbara Baker in the head March 28 during a standoff with a hostage-negotiation team led by Houma Police, Chief Todd Duplantis said. Moments before he shot Baker in the public-housing complex unit, Hayes handed over the couple’s 1-year-old son to police, authorities said. At the time of arrest, police said Hayes would be charged with first-degree murder.
Detectives have ruled out the possibility of an accidental shooting, Duplantis said.
Hayes, of 948 St. Charles St., 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). He is being held at the Terrebonne Parish Jail in lieu of a $1.6 million bond.
First-degree murder does not itself necessitate prosecution as a capital offender, but the charge does provide that avenue. The alternative punishment for first-degree murder is life imprisonment at hard labor without benefit of parole, probation or a suspended sentence, the same as the mandatory punishment for second-degree murder, according to the state criminal code.
There are multiple components that can comprise first- and second-degree murder charges. Under the language with which prosecutors seem to be targeting Hayes – which is the killing of another while concurrently committing another felony – the distinction is whether the suspect harbored an intent to kill. Under the second-degree charge, prosecutors do not have to prove intent.
“The definition of first-degree murder is killing a human being with the intent to kill while committing enumerated felonies,” Lazarus said. “Second-degree murder is the commission of homicide without the intent to kill while committing certain felonies, so you don’t have to prove the intent to kill.”
If a suspect does not commit a second felony or does not kill someone in the process of dealing drugs, prosecutors must still prove an intent to kill in order to win a second-degree murder conviction.
Baker, who moved into 179B Senator Circle in January, had a rocky relationship with Hayes, according to family, neighbors and police.
HPD responded to four prior incidents between the pair between Jan. 30 and March 23, Duplantis said. The only charge filed was simple robbery on March 23 after Baker alleged Hayes stole her cellphone.
On one occasion, officers responding to 179B reported Baker and Hayes had shoved one another on Feb. 4. Hayes was not at the residence when police arrived that day.
The other two incidents between the pair that generated HPD dispatch were verbal in nature, Duplantis said.
Baker’s grandmother, however, said Hayes was frequently violent.
“He kicked her and stomped on her while she was carrying that baby,” said Barbara Baker Brown, who lives in Thibodaux and raised her granddaughter. “He choked her and everything. He choked her by her neck. He’s extremely violent.”
Baker never filed for a restraining order against Hayes.
Hayes was driving a black Crown Victoria March 19 in the Thibodaux area when Lafourche Parish sheriff’s deputies pulled him over for erratic driving. During the stop, deputies noticed a later-determined-stolen handgun in the center console and that the temporary tag was registered to a different vehicle. As officers began to detain two passengers in the car, Hayes ran away and eluded arrest, according to agency spokesman deputy Brennan Matherne.
The passengers were each charged with illegal possession of a stolen firearm and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. Both remain incarcerated at the Lafourche Parish Detention Center.
Baker, a Thibodaux native, was laid to rest Saturday at Moses Baptist Church’s cemetery in Thibodaux.
