Woman Helped Kill Husband's Ex-Girlfriend, Fed Her Body To Alligators

FORT BEND COUNTY, TX — The North Carolina woman who was convicted of killing her husband’s ex-girlfriend four years ago was sentenced to an additional two decades in prison after evidence emerged that she fed the victim's remains to alligators.

Amanda Hayes and her husband, Grant Ruffin Hayes III, were convicted of killing and dismembering Laura Ackerson, 27, in 2014. Amanda was initially given a sentence of 13 to 16 years behind bars, and Grant was sentenced to life in prison, according to the <em>Houston Chronicle</em>. The Fort Bend County District Attorney’s Office announced on Tuesday that Amanda Hayes had been sentenced to an additional 20 years for tampering with evidence.

Prosecutors said that the couple had been involved in a long custody dispute with their victim over Grant Hayes’s two oldest children. They stated in court that Ackerson's body was cut up with a power saw, taken out of the couple's apartment in coolers, and driven to Amanda’s sister’s home in Texas.

"<em>The couple first attempted to use muriatic acid to destroy Ackerson's body</em>," authorities said in a press release obtained by <em>KTRK</em>. "<em>When that didn't work, they took a boat onto Oyster Creek and dumped Laura's body parts into the water with hopes that alligators would eat her remains</em>."

After the dismembered remains were discovered, North Carolina's chief medical examiner testified that due to their condition she was unable to determine exactly how Ackerson had died.

Hayes will serve her additional sentence in Texas after she has served her time in North Carolina, according to the Fort Bend County District Attorney’s Office.

<em>Main photo: Amanda Hayes [<span class="credit img__credit">Fort Bend County Sheriff's Office]</span></em>