In the summer of 2014, the life of 48-year-old Rachelle Louise Hayes was tragically cut short in Muskogee, Oklahoma. On the evening of July 2nd, she was discovered on the porch of a residence on Douglass Street, a place she did not live, having sustained multiple gunshot wounds. The incident, which occurred at approximately 11:15 p.m., prompted an immediate law enforcement response.
The investigation into Rachelle's death moved swiftly. Within days, a suspect was identified.
On July 7, 2014, the Muskogee police, in a joint effort with the FBI, apprehended 19-year-old Jordan Williams at a location on West Broadway in Muskogee. He was taken into custody without incident and booked into the Muskogee County jail on a complaint of murder, among other local warrants.
In the months that followed, the legal process unfolded. Jordan Williams was charged with first-degree murder for the death of Rachelle Hayes. The case went to trial, and in early June of 2015, a jury found him guilty. The court subsequently sentenced Williams to life in prison without the possibility of parole. An appeal of his conviction, in which he claimed self-defense, was later denied. The appeals court noted that evidence showed Rachelle was on the floor of the porch with her hands raised when she was shot multiple times.
