Daytona Beach, FL - Robert Hayes, the convicted serial killer responsible for three deaths in Daytona Beach, will spend the rest of his life in prison.
While it’s not the sentence that the state was initially hoping for—having filed an intent to seek the death penalty early on in this case—State Attorney RJ Larizza says Hayes won’t be able to hurt anyone anymore.
“He will die in our state prison system. There is justice in that,” said Larizza.
The State Attorney’s Office says a jury of 12 could not reach a unanimous decision to impose the death penalty so Judge Raul Zambrano sentenced Hayes to 3 consecutive life sentences.
Just a week prior to his sentencing, Hayes was convicted in the murders of Julie Ann Green, Iwana Patton, and LaQuetta Gunther. The murders took place in 2005 and 2006, when Hayes was a criminal justice major at Bethune-Cookman University. During sentencing, prosecution argued that their deaths were “calculated and premeditated.”
Defense, meanwhile, argued that Hayes was a victim of physical and sexual abuse as a child. They also said he suffers from a traumatic brain injury and an autistic disorder that, at times, sets him off.
