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
Imprisoned at Fluvanna Correctional Center for Women

Elizabeth Roxanne Haysom (b. April 15, 1964[1],Salisbury, Rhodesia[2]) is a Canadian citizen who, along with her former boyfriend, Jens Söring, was convicted of orchestrating the double murder of her parents, Derek and Nancy Haysom, in 1985.[3] Following the Haysoms' murders, Haysom and Söring were arrested in London, England, for check fraud and shoplifting.[4] Haysom is currently serving a 90-year prison sentence at the Fluvanna Correctional Center for Women in Troy, Virginia, after pleading guilty to two counts of accessory to murder before the fact in 1987.[3]

Early life

Elizabeth Haysom was the child of Derek William Reginald Haysom, a retired Nova Scotia steel executive, and Nancy Astor Benedict Haysom, an artist.[5] Derek and Nancy had a combined total of five children from previous marriages.[3] Born in April 1964, Elizabeth attended boarding schools in Switzerland and England (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.[3]

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.[5] 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.[3][6][7]

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.[5]

Convictions

Instead of going to trial, Elizabeth Haysom pleaded guilty to two counts of accessory to murder before the fact. She was diagnosed with borderline personality disorder[8] and eventually sentenced to 90 years in prison.[3]

Elizabeth Haysom became eligible for parole in 1995.[9] She is presently incarcerated at the Fluvanna Correctional Center for Women in Troy, Virginia. Under mandatory parole, she must be released not later than 2032, at the age of 68.

In the media

The Söring/Haysom criminal proceedings were the first to be broadcast nationwide on American television. The Haysoms' murders have also been profiled by 20/20, The Investigators, Geraldo Rivera, The New Detectives, City Confidential, Wicked Attraction, Deadly Women, On the Case with Paula Zahn, Snapped: Killer Couples,[4] and Southern Fried Homicide.

Killing for Love, a feature documentary film, premiered at the Munich International Film Festival and was released theatrically in October 2016.[10]

References

  1. ↑ "Elizabeth Haysom,"IMDb.com; Family trees on Ancestry.com give Haysom's birthdate as simply April 1964.
  2. ↑ Baker, Donald P., "Pair Accused in Murders Shared Paths," THE WASHINGTON POST, 24 Aug 1987.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Conley, Jay (April 3, 2005). "Haysom murders, 20 years ago today: blood sweat and convictions". The Roanoke Times. Archived from the original on 2013-02-01.
  4. 1 2 Reed, Ray (October 3, 2013). "Haysom relatives on Soering decision: 'It's about time'". The News & Advance. Archived from the original on 2011-01-08.
  5. 1 2 3 Green, Frank (16 January 2010). "Murderer Jens Soering could be sent to prison in Germany". Richmond Times-Dispatch. Retrieved 17 September 2018.
  6. ↑ Bedford County Sheriffs Office
  7. ↑ "The Free Lance-Star - Google News Archive Search". news.google.com. Retrieved April 25, 2018.
  8. ↑ Nathan Heller, Blood Ties, published in The New Yorker magazine, November 9, 2015
  9. ↑ "Haysom parole request denied". The Free Lance–Star. May 24, 1995. Retrieved December 30, 2014.
  10. ↑ Steinberger, Karin; Vetter, Marcus. "Details - THE PROMISE". www.filmfest-muenchen.de. Filmperspektive GmbH. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
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