The Death of Saylor Hayes: a Parent's Worst Nightmare or the Work of Nightmare Parents?
Criminally ObsessedShow Notes
What really happened to Saylor Hayes?
The five-year-old was nonverbal, autistic, and known to wander toward water — which is why her family says she wore a $35 tracking device designed to help find her if she ever got away. But when Saylor vanished from a Pawleys Island, South Carolina vacation rental on August 30th 2026, investigators say that the device wasn't on her. It was later found hundreds of miles away, back at the family's property in Virginia. Tragically, Saylor Hayes' body was found in the water near that same property on August 31st. An autopsy revealed pulmonary edema, a condition caused by a build up of fluid in the lungs.
In this episode of Criminally Obsessed, investigative reporter Anne Emerson speaks with 15th Circuit Solicitor Jimmy Richardson, whose office will handle the case against Saylor's parents, John and Geordyn Hayes, charged with unlawfully placing a child at risk and willfully abandoning a child. They have not been charged with her death, and are currently being held without bond.
In his first interview since their arrest, Richardson discusses why the missing tracker could become one of the most damaging pieces of evidence against the defense and explains the "reasonableness" legal standard prosecutors will have to prove the parents failed to meet.
He also explains why, based on what's known so far, prosecutors aren't pursuing homicide charges, and what would need to change for that to happen.
Subscribe to Criminally Obsessed for continuing coverage of the Saylor Hayes case, true crime investigations, and exclusive interviews that go beyond the headlines.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
More from Criminally Obsessed
Two days after serving divorce papers to her husband, Mica Miller was found dead at Lumber River State Park on April 27, 2024. Her death was ruled a suicide, but questions about the circumstances surrounding her death remain. According to her best friend, Bruna Pabon, Mica had confided in her that she feared her husband, John-Paul Miller, would kill her and make it look like she had taken her own life. Bruna says Mica made one thing clear: she wanted to live.
Nick Reiner, charged in the murders of his parents, filmmaker Rob Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner, is heading to Los Angeles probate court on October 23rd to fight for access to a trust worth more than $1.5 million that he says he needs to pay for his criminal defense.
What happened at the latest Alex Murdaugh retrial hearing—and is Harpootlian in trouble with the new judge? Former South Carolina Attorney General Charlie Condon joins Anne Emerson to break down what’s next in the Alex Murdaugh case after the evidentiary hearing on October 16, 2026 before Judge Debra McCaslin.
You asked for the full JP Miller interviews and now you're getting them — this Mica Miller interview special shares both unaired JP Miller interviews in order. Reporter Mike Owen sat down with South Carolina pastor JP Miller twice in 2024 after the death of his wife Mica Miller on April 27th, 2024, and ABC 15 News in Myrtle Beach only aired a few soundbites out of caution before any public allegations or charges.
Alex Murdaugh returns to court Friday, October 16, for an urgent pretrial evidence hearing, months before the date the judge says she won't move: an April 5, 2027 retrial in Sumter, South Carolina. The defense and prosecution have been trading a "dizzying" flurry of filings over what the jury will and won't see, and the judge is about to start making calls.