Andre Edwards, 31, of Rocky Mount, did not want to leave his cell when he saw all of the TV cameras in the courtroom, but eventually he came out and stood quietly in front of the judge. He is accused of carjacking and murdering Ginger Hayes and leaving her 11-month-old baby, Nicholas, alone in a field over the weekend.
Carolyn Baines, Edwards' godmother, says a drug problem made him hit and kill Hayes with a tire rim.
"I think he did it. He says he did it, but he has a drug problem," she says. "I mean when you are doing the stuff, anything can occur."
Deputies say after carjacking Hayes and her son from a Greenville parking lot, Edwards drove them out to a field in Rocky Mount where Hayes' body was later found.
Deputies say Edwards picked up a tire rim with a flat tire still attached that he most likely found in the field, and hit Hayes in the head.Her son was unharmed, but badly sunburned.
Jeremy Hayes, Nicholas' father, says his son suffered second- and third-degree burns from being left outside for more than 7 hours. He had to be re-admitted to a Virginia hospital Tuesday for severe sunburn.
Officials were able to track Edwards through his use of an ATM.
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