Fourth suspect arrested in Hayes murder case

The fourth suspect — a 14-year-old boy — wanted in connection with the abduction and stabbing death of 69-year-old Willie Mae Hayes was arrested Friday morning, Florence Police Chief Anson Shells said.

Police arrested two Florence men and another 14-year-old boy Wednesday in connection with the case.

The second teen was arrested about 7:30 a.m. after a someone called police to say he’d seen a boy loitering at a vacant house on Stackley Street, just blocks away from Hayes’ home, Shells said. When police arrived, they realized the teen was the fourth suspect being sought in connection with Hayes’ slaying.

David Gerrard Johnson, 22, of 419 W. Sumter St., and Rashawn Jerome Bailey, 19, of 114 Liberty St., as well both 14-year-olds, are each charged with first-degree murder, first-degree burglary, armed robbery, possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime and criminal conspiracy.

Both men are convicted felons whose criminal records include burglary charges, according to State Law Enforcement Division arrest reports, and they are awaiting bond hearings before a circuit court judge. They remain in custody at the Florence County Detention Center in Effingham.

The teen arrested Tuesday had a detention hearing Friday morning and was returned to the state Department of Juvenile Justice in Columbia, while the second teen also was remanded to DJJ custody Friday, police said.

Bailey had been released from the Florence County Detention Center in Effingham on Aug. 21 on a $20,000 surety bond for second-degree violent burglary and assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature.

Funeral services for Hayes will be conducted at 11 a.m. Saturday at Monumental Missionary Baptist Church, where she was a member. She was mourned during a prayer vigil there Wednesday night by more than 300 people.

Hayes’ death marks the first homicide in Florence so far this year, Shells said. Her body was found early Wednesday morning on the northeast side of Florence.

Hayes had been reported missing by her family Monday. An autopsy showed she died of multiple stab wounds to her upper body, Florence County Coroner M.G. “Bubba” Matthews said.

Investigators, with the help of witnesses, were able to identify people thought to know the circumstances surrounding Hayes’ disappearance, according to a press release from Shells.

SLED helicopter agents attempted to conduct an an aerial search of the property near Hayes’ home and the perimeter of Florence on Tuesday afternoon but were thwarted by the weather. SLED, the Florence County Sheriff’s Office and the U.S. Marshals Service all assisted in the investigation.

Family members last spoke with Hayes about 7:30 p.m. Sunday. Her family suspected something was wrong when they couldn’t reach her and she didn’t show up to work Monday at a day-care center where she is employed, Florence Police Maj. Carlos Raines said.

Police began to investigate Monday afternoon soon after she was reported missing, Raines said. When officers arrived at her home in the 200 block of West Liberty Street, it looked like someone had forced his or her way inside.

Several items, in addition to Hayes’ car, were stolen from her home, Raines said.

Officers later found Hayes’ vehicle backed into a parking space at an apartment complex on Roughfork Street, which is about a block from her home. Raines said it appears people other than Hayes had been in the car recently.

Hayes’ body was found about 2 a.m. Wednesday morning in a ditch on Malloy Street, a dirt road that meets with Wilson Road. Her body had been wrapped in a bedspread from her home and concealed by weeds, investigators said.