Elizabeth Haysom

Elizabeth Haysom
Born Elizabeth Roxanne Haysom
(1964-04-15) April 15, 1964
Nationality Canada
Occupation inmate
Criminal penalty 90 years in prison
Parent(s) Derek William Reginald Haysom (deceased)
Nancy Astor Benedict Haysom (deceased)
Conviction(s) Accessory to murder before the fact

Elizabeth Roxanne Haysom (born April 15, 1964) is a Canadian woman who, along with her former boyfriend, Jens Söring, was convicted of orchestrating the double murder of her parents, Derek and Nancy Haysom, in 1985.[1] Following the Haysoms' murders, Haysom and Söring were arrested in London, England, for check fraud and shoplifting.[2] Haysom is currently serving a 90-year prison sentence at the Fluvanna Correctional Center for Women in Troy, Virginia,[3] after pleading guilty to two counts of accessory to murder before the fact in 1987.[1]

Early life

Elizabeth Haysom was the only child of Derek William Reginald Haysom, a retired Nova Scotia steel executive, and Nancy Astor Benedict Haysom, an artist.[4] Derek and Nancy had a combined total of five children from previous marriages.[1] Born in April 1964, Elizabeth attended the English boarding school Wycombe Abbey before enrolling at the University of Virginia. It was there she met her 18-year-old boyfriend Jens Söring, the son of a German diplomat and a Jefferson Scholar at the university.[1]

Murders

On the morning of March 30, 1985, the bodies of Derek and Nancy Haysom were discovered. They had been slashed and stabbed to death in their Bedford County, Virginia home, most likely by Jens Söring.[4] Both Derek and Nancy were almost decapitated. The couple's bodies were not discovered until days after the murder. During the timeline of the murder, Elizabeth Haysom had rented a car. She and Jens drove to Washington, D.C., to establish an alibi.[1][5][6]

Flight to England

Elizabeth Haysom and Jens Söring were not initially suspects in the Haysoms' murders. Months after the March 1985 murders, Haysom and Söring were arrested on charges of check fraud. At first, Söring confessed to committing the crime, but after being unable to be tried in West Germany, his country of citizenship, he recanted his story.[4]

Convictions

Instead of going to trial, Elizabeth Haysom pled guilty to two counts of accessory to murder before the fact. She was sentenced to 90 years in prison.[1]

Elizabeth Haysom became eligible for parole in 1995.[7] She is presently incarcerated at the Fluvanna Correctional Center for Women in Troy, Virginia. She must be released under mandatory parole in 2032, at the age of 68.

In the media

The Haysoms' murders have been profiled by The Investigators, Geraldo Rivera, The New Detectives, City Confidential, Wicked Attraction, Deadly Women, On the Case with Paula Zahn, Snapped: Killer Couples,[2] and Southern Fried Homicide.

The Promise Documentary 2016

The Promise – the story of Jens Soering and Elizabeth Haysom (Original title in German: Das Versprechen) is a German documentary film directed by Marcus Vetter. The film tells the Crime story of the double murder of Derek and Nancy Haysom on March 30, 1985 in Lynchburg, Virginia. The film focuses on the two main protagonists Jens Soering, son of a German diplomat, and Elizabeth Haysom, the daughter of the murdered couple. Both were sentenced to life in prison. The film makes use of extensive original footage from press archives as the two court cases of were the first lawsuits to be broadcast nationwide on American television. In the film these recordings from 1985 to 1990 are combined with scenes shot in today's time, including interviews with the main protagonist Jens Soering, witnesses, the investigators involved in the case, lawyers, prosecutors and journalists. In addition extensive materials like original crime scene photos and evidence, court transcripts, newspaper archives, love letters and diaries of the main protagonists were evaluated in the film.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 http://www.roanoke.com/news/roanoke/21202.html. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  2. 1 2 http://www2.newsadvance.com/news/2010/jul/09/haysom_relatives_on_soering_decision_its_about_tim-ar-320639/. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  3. ↑ http://www.vadoc.virginia.gov/offenders/locator/results.cfm. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  4. 1 2 3 http://www2.timesdispatch.com/news/2010/jan/16/jens16_20100115-222604-ar-18095/. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  5. ↑ Bedford County Sheriffs Office
  6. ↑ http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=UvpNAAAAIBAJ&sjid=eIsDAAAAIBAJ&dq=haysom%20murder&pg=3539%2C2195807
  7. ↑ "Haysom parole request denied". The Free Lance–Star. May 24, 1995. Retrieved December 30, 2014.

External links

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