Elizabeth Haysom

Elizabeth Roxanne Haysom (born April 15, 1964[1] in Salisbury, Rhodesia[2]) is a Canadian citizen who, along with her boyfriend, Jens Söring, was convicted of orchestrating the 1985 double murder of her parents Derek and Nancy Haysom in Bedford County, Virginia.[3] Following the Haysoms' murders, she and Söring were arrested in London, England, for check fraud and shoplifting.[4] Haysom was 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] She and Soering were paroled on November 25, 2019, more than 30 years after they were first convicted of the deaths of Haysom’s parents in 1985.[5][6]

Elizabeth Haysom
Born
Elizabeth Roxanne Haysom

(1964-04-15) April 15, 1964
Salisbury, Rhodesia
NationalityCanadian
OccupationInmate
Parent(s)Derek William Reginald Haysom (deceased)
Nancy Astor Benedict Haysom (deceased)
Conviction(s)Accessory to murder before the fact
Criminal penalty90 years in prison
Imprisoned atFluvanna Correctional Center for Women (released 2019)

Early life

Elizabeth Haysom was the child of Derek William Reginald Haysom, a steel executive, and Nancy Astor Benedict Haysom, an artist.[7] 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), then enrolled 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 April 3rd, 1985, when Söring was 18 and Haysom was 20, the bodies of Derek and Nancy Haysom were discovered. They had been slashed and stabbed to death in their home in the then unincorporated hamlet of Boonsboro in Bedford County, Virginia.[7] 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, Haysom had rented a car. She and Jens drove to Washington, D.C. to establish an alibi.[3][8][9]

Flight to England

Haysom and Söring were not initially suspects in the Haysoms' murders. Six months after the murder, Söring and Haysom went to England, where they were arrested on 30 April 1986 for writing over $5,000 ($11,700 today) in fake cashier checks and then using false documentation and lying to the police in London.[10][11]

Convictions

In 1987, instead of going to trial, then 23-year-old Haysom pleaded guilty to two counts of accessory to murder before the fact, and was sentenced to 90 years in prison – one 45-year sentence for each murder, to be served consecutively.[12][13][3] Söring was sentenced, in 1990, to two consecutive life terms for first-degree murder.[14]

Haysom became eligible for parole in 1995, resubmitting a parole request every three years thereafter.[15] On 25 November 2019, Virginia Governor Ralph Northam announced that both Haysom and Söring would be released, but not pardoned, and sent back to their respective home countries.[16] After more than 30 years in prison, Haysom was released from prison to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on parole in November of 2019. She was deported to her home country of Canada.[17] She had been incarcerated at the Fluvanna Correctional Center for Women in Troy, Virginia at the time she was paroled. Under mandatory parole, Haysom was required to be released no later than 2032, 45 years after her conviction.

In the media

The Söring/Haysom criminal proceedings were the first to be broadcast nationwide on American television. The Haysoms' murders have 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.[18]

Granted parole

Haysom was sentenced to 90 years in jail, but was released on parole in November of 2019. U.S. Rep. Ben Cline issued a statement condemning her release as being granted based on financial benefits for the state of Virginia, rather than merit.[19]

The chair of the Virginia Parole Board, Adrianne L. Bennett, added that the decision to grant Haysom parole was also justified by her young age at the time the crime was committed.[20]

Haysom was released into the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement since she was a Canadian citizen.[21] After being held for two months, Haysom was deported to Canada in February 2020.[22]

Jens Soering, Haysom's alleged accomplice was granted parole as well, but was deported to his home country of Germany promptly after his release.[23]

References
  1. "Elizabeth Haysom,"IMDb.com; Family trees on Ancestry.com give Haysom's birthdate as simply April 1964.
  2. Baker, Donald P. (24 August 1987). "Pair Accused in Murders Shared Paths". The Washington Post.
  3. 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. 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. https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/other/son-of-german-diplomat-girlfriend-paroled-34-years-after-her-parents-were-murdered-in-dc-home/ar-BBXlXiS. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  6. Barakat, Matthew (November 26, 2019). "German national granted parole for infamous 1985 slayings of girlfriend's parents". usatoday.com. Associated Press/USA Today. Retrieved November 29, 2019.
  7. Green, Frank (16 January 2010). "Murderer Jens Soering could be sent to prison in Germany". Richmond Times-Dispatch. Retrieved 17 September 2018.
  8. Bedford County Sheriffs Office
  9. "The Free Lance-Star - Google News Archive Search". news.google.com. Retrieved April 25, 2018.
  10. Hall, John (12 January 1990). "Former Virginia student extradited on murder charges". UPI. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
  11. Sizemore, Bill (18 February 2007). "No hope for Jens Soering (Part 2)". The Virginian-Pilot. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
  12. Beveridge, Dirk (9 October 1987). "Daughter Is Sentenced To 90 Years For Role In Va. Slaying of Parents". The Washington Post. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
  13. "Soering's ex says he is guilty; new letter sent to governor". The Daily Progress. 22 March 2011. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
  14. Turyn, Noreen (25 June 2014). "Elizabeth Haysom Denied Parole". WSET. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
  15. "Haysom parole request denied". The Free Lance–Star. May 24, 1995. Retrieved December 30, 2014.
  16. "USA wollen verurteilten Doppelmörder Söring freilassen". Der Tagesspiegel (in German). 26 November 2019. Retrieved 26 November 2019.
  17. Vozzella, Laura (November 25, 2019). "Jens Soering and Elizabeth Haysom, convicted in sensational 1985 double murders, released by Virginia". Washington Post. Retrieved February 16, 2020.
  18. Steinberger, Karin; Vetter, Marcus. "Details - THE PROMISE". www.filmfest-muenchen.de. Filmperspektive GmbH. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
  19. Barakat, Matthew. "German national granted parole for infamous 1985 slayings of girlfriend's parents". USA Today. Retrieved 2020-03-24.
  20. Green, Frank. "Jens Soering, Elizabeth Haysom granted parole in 1985 slayings of her parents in Bedford County". Richmond Times-Dispatch. Retrieved 2020-03-31.
  21. Heller, Nathan. "A New Chapter in a Double-Murder Case". The New Yorker. Retrieved 2020-03-24.
  22. Stuart, Courteney (February 13, 2020). "Haysom deported to Canada after release from ICE custody". WCAV. Retrieved November 13, 2020.
  23. "Haysom remains in ICE custody, paroled two months ago". www.cbs19news.com. Retrieved 2020-03-24.
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