MIRACLES STILL HAPPEN-THE WILLIAM MILLER STORY: HAYDEN'S CONVICTION BRINGS REACTION FROM TOWN MANAGER

Friday, May 28, 2010

HAYDEN'S CONVICTION BRINGS REACTION FROM TOWN MANAGER

Hayden’s conviction brings reactions

By GREG KATSKI
Community Editor
Published: Friday, May 28, 2010 2:16 AM EDT

An Onslow County jury on Wednesday found George Hayden, a former Belhaven police chief, guilty of murdering a fellow Marine in 1972. Minutes later, Hayden was sentenced to life in prison.

Hayden was transported to Central Prison in Raleigh on Wednesday night.The verdict came after jurors earlier Wednesday told Superior Court Judge Ken Crow they were unable to reach a verdict. The Daily News of Jacksonville reported that Crow instructed the jury to continue deliberating the case of the 57-year-old Hayden. He was charged with first-degree murder in the 1972 shooting death of Sgt. William Miller in Jacksonville. At that time, both were in the Marine Corps.

Jurors deliberated Friday and Tuesday before reaching the verdict Wednesday afternoon. Earlier in the trial, Crow dismissed a charge of conspiracy to commit murder that had been filed against Hayden.

After the verdict was announced, Crow denied defense motions to set aside the verdict.

Prosecutors say Miller was killed in an ambush triggered by a love triangle involving his wife at the time.

The case remained unsolved until Miller’s sister contacted a newspaper reporter looking into cold cases.

“Wow. Oh, my goodness,” said Belhaven Town Manager Guinn Leverett, reacting to the guilty verdict.

Leverett said he fired Hayden as chief of the Belhaven Police Department in March 2008 for insubordination, adding that Hayden was an “unpleasant personality.”

Leverett said Hayden used to “buck my authority” as town manager.

“It was very odd that someone that made a career in the Marine Corps didn’t understand chain of command,” he said.
Dr. Charles Boyette, who served as mayor of Belhaven for the majority of Hayden’s tenure with the town, said Hayden always conducted himself in a professional manner.

“He related well to the people in the community. He had good relations with the members in his department,” Boyette said.

Hayden became Belhaven’s acting chief of police on May 8, 2001. He was officially named police chief on Dec. 7, 2001. He came to the Belhaven Police Department in December 2000, starting as a lieutenant.

“Belhaven citizens, including the administration, were not aware of his past involvement in any unlawful procedure,” Boyette said about Hayden.

Although Boyette and Leverett disagreed over Hayden’s work with the town’s police department, they seemed to agree on the verdict.

“Certainly the facts of the case stand on their own merit,” Boyette said. “It’s unfortunate that these things happen. However, justice seems to be recognized in due time.”

Leverett echoed Boyette’s sentiments.

“The story is so horrific. My gut reaction is that it was justice delayed for a long time,” he said. “I’m not out for blood; I just think it was the right decision.”

Hayden served as chief of the Cape Carteret Police Department in 1999 and 2000. He retired from the Marine Corps in 1989, after 21 years of service.

Hayden was arrested at his house on Portside Lane near Belhaven the night of Sept. 8, 2008. A day later, Hayden’s alleged accomplice, Vickie Miller Babbitt, was arrested in Bend, Ore., on charges of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder.

“Miller survived two tours in Vietnam, then returned to Onslow County, where he was not killed by the enemy with an AK-47, but by a fellow Marine with an M-16,” Chief Assistant District Attorney Ernie Lee told the jury in Hayden’s trial on Friday.

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AS A VICTIM, ALL I WANT IS TO BE TREATED AS GOOD AS THE CRIMINAL

SPIRITS

SPIRITS BY Lisa-
A friend of Tamara wrote the following poem after seeing our blog. She understands the grief, as her father took her mothers life and his own when she was a teen. Bless her.

I believe no one ever really dies, our spirits float to heavenly skies. Within our hearts their life shall dwell, with cherished memories for us to tell. We can see them in the family face, God's chain of life we must embrace. For they are gone but have not truly died, For through our lives their spirits glide.

FOR WENDY, TAMARA AND KIMBERLY

FOR OUR DADDY
Her hair was up in a pony tail, her favorite dress tied with a bow. Today was "Daddy's Day" at school, and she couldn't wait to go. But her mommy tried to tell her, that she probably should stay home. Why the kids might not understand, if she went to school alone. But she was not afraid; she knew just what to say. What to tell her classmates of why he wasn't there today. But still her mother worried, for her to face this day alone. And that was why once again, she tried to keep her daughter home. But the little girl went to school eager to tell them all. About a dad she never sees a dad who never calls. There were daddies along the wall in back, for everyone to meet. Children squirming impatiently anxious in their seats. One by one the teacher called a student from the class. To introduce their daddy as seconds slowly passed. At last the teacher called her name, every child turned to stare. each of them was searching, for a man who wasn't there. "Where's her daddy at?!" she heard a boy call out. "She probably doesn't have one," another student dared to shout. And from somewhere near the back, she heard a daddy say, "Looks like another deadbeat dad, too busy to waste his day." The words did not offend her, as she smiled up at her Mom. and looked back at her teacher, who told her to go on. And with hands behind her back, slowly she began to speak. And out from the mouth of a child, came words incredibly unique. "My Daddy couldn't be here, because he lives so far away. But I know he wishes he could be, Since this is such a special day. And though you cannot meet him, I wanted you to know. All about my daddy, and how much he loves me so. He loved to tell me stories he taught me to ride my bike. He surprised me with pink roses, and taught me to fly a kite. We used to share fudge sundaes, and ice cream in a cone. And though you cannot see him. I'm not standing here alone. Cause my daddy's always with me, even though we are apart I know because he told me, he'll forever be in my heart" With that, her little hand reached up, and lay across her chest. Feeling her own heartbeat, beneath her favorite dress. And from somewhere in the crowd of dads, her mother stood in tears. Proudly watching her daughter, who was wise beyond her years For she stood up for the love of a man not in her life. Doing what was best for her, doing what was right. And when she dropped her hand back down, staring straight into the crowd. She finished with a voice so soft, but its message clear and loud. "I love my daddy very much, he's my shining star. And if he could, he'd be here, but heaven's just too far You see he was a Marine and died just this past year When bad people hurt him and taught my family to fear. But sometimes when I close my eyes, it's like he never went away." And then she closed her eyes, and saw him there that day. And to her mother's amazement, she witnessed with surprise. A room full of daddies and children, all starting to close their eyes. Who knows what they saw before them, who knows what they felt inside. Perhaps for merely a second, they saw him at her side. "I know you're with me Daddy," to the silence she called out. And what happened next made believers, of those once filled with doubt. Not one in that room could explain it, for each of their eyes had been closed.. But there on the desk beside her, was a fragrant long-stemmed pink rose. And a child was blessed, if only for a moment, by the love of her shining star. And given the gift of believing that heaven is never too far They say it takes a minute to find a special person, an hour to appreciate them, a day to love them, but then an entire lifetime to forget them.

TO ALL WHO ARE VICTIMS OF VIOLENT CRIMES WITH CASES GONE COLD

We welcome all viewers to our blog and invite everyone to leave their thoughts and comments. If you’re leaving a comment on our blog and want to point to a link on your own or someone else’s site that is relevant , then please feel free to do so., This adds to the conversation and improves the blog.

The victims of cold cases are called "The forgotten Victims"
As it is now, agencies do not have the funds or man power to dedicate to these cases. Countless families are experiencing the grief of not knowing where their loved ones are or having a loved one murdered and no one brought to justice for closure.

I am here to beg for these families, my family’s lives were forever changed , as are all families of the victims. I have spent half my life pursuing justice for my brother, when I would call the agencies, they would state that the case was open, but no one working it at the time. Families are struggling for closure, "They are NOT the forgotten victims"

Help me in fighting the fight, Billy’s story is proof that you should never give up, write to your senators and congressmen; ask them to help agencies, to provide more funds and manpower for cold cases, they are in terrible need. Cold cases are put on a back burner - Houston just stated in the news that they have no funds for Cold Cases, this is a disgrace! Continue your fight, don't take no for an answer!
Someone out there saw or heard something, your time will
come, after all, it took us 36 years.

www.ColdCasesGroup.com

A SENSELESS MURDER EFFECTS COUNTLESS INNOCENT VICTIMS

MURDER THE ULTIMATE SIN ONE CAN COMMIT AGAINST THEIR FELLOW MAN

Our family, who has experienced the violent death of a loved one, has been forever changed into a ‘new normal,'" "We can never go back to how things were, we have to integrate this tragic loss into our lives and move on without our loved one.

Do not say we will have closure, closure is a word better suited for roads, for repairs or doors. It applies to factories and retail stores, which there have been too many recently, but it's a bad fit for murders and its victims.

This story proves miracles still happen:36 years after William's death, two people are arrested and sitting in Onslow County jail, thanks to Sherriff Ed Brown, Detective Hardy and NCIS, they all worked together for this result. The person accused of firing the shots was a fellow Marine at the time and a personal friend, who went on to retire from the Marines and become a Police Chief. What a disgrace to Proud Marine brothers, shooting a defenseless man in the back, that really took guts! This marine that he shot, served two tours of Viet Nam, had two brothers David and Charley, also Marines serve in Viet Nam and a dad Bill who served in IwoJima as a Marine. A proud family of Marines. Justice will be carried out for these two cowards.