1 year, 2 months ago by Scott Hardy
Lyle Miller accused of killing Hayes over an un-paid bill
Authorities in Monroe County, Missouri have released more details about the arrest of a Madison man, charged with the death of a Monroe County woman who had been missing for a year and a half.
The Monroe County Prosecuting Attorney's Office posted a probable cause statement Monday against Lyle Miller. He was arrested Friday on one count of 2nd Degree Murder in the death of 88-year old Betty Hayes, who had been missing since December 2021. The statement says that Miller killed Hayes by hitting her once on the head, and then took her body and dumped it in a pond located on land he owns. Miller told a witness in April that he killed Hayes because he had done work for her, and she hadn't paid him. Miller's arrest came after investigators with the Missouri State Highway Patrol's Division of Drug and Crime Control and the Monroe County Sheriff's Office searched the pond Friday afternoon. They eventually found her body, and say the remains are "consistent with the victim". An autopsy will likely be performed this week to confirm her identity. Miller was arrested Friday night, and is being held in the Monroe County Jail without bond, while he waits for his first court appearance. Miller's probable cause statement is below.
A month after Hayes went missing from her Madison home, her family had offered a $10,000 reward for information leading to her return. Two Missouri men, accused of stealing items from Hayes's home before her disappearance, are in the Monroe County Jail awaiting trial.
