Raleigh couple sued over Kinston mom's slaying
The father of Laura Jean Ackerson is suing Grant Hayes and his wife, Amanda Hayes, who await trial in Ackerson's July 2011 death.
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Grant Ruffin Hayes, 33, and Amanda Perry Hayes, 41, are each charged with first-degree murder in the death of Laura Jean Ackerson, who was reported missing July 15, 2011.
Her dismembered body was found nine days later in Richmond, Texas, about 60 miles south of Houston, near the home of a relative of Amanda Hayes.
Ackerson was Grant Hayes' ex-girlfriend and the mother of two of his children. She was last known to be in Raleigh on July 13, 2011.
The lawsuit, filed in Lenoir County on behalf of Rodger Ackerson, claims Ackerson "suffered mental and physical anguish" as a result of the defendants' actions, but it does not offer a motive for her death.
Family members have previously said that Ackerson and Grant Hayes were involved in a child custody dispute.
Grant Hayes is expected to go to trial Aug. 26, and Amanda Hayes' trial is scheduled for mid-January.
Court documents filed by attorneys for Amanda Hayes indicate that she was scared of her husband and was coerced into helping him dispose of Ackerson's body.
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