Coast homicide victim went missing after getting call to jump-start car, family says
David Hayes loved three things most in his life: his family, his friends and his faithful parishioners at Ebenezer Missionary Baptist Church in Gulfport.
In the early-morning hours of April 18, Gulfport police went to the 64-year-old father of three’s home in the Orange Grove community to tell his family they had found his burning vehicle around 2 a.m.
Inside the car parked near Three Rivers Elementary, police found a body and told the family the deceased was believed to Hayes.
An autopsy confirmed the death was a homicide. On Saturday, Harrison County Coroner Brian Switzer said a DNA test confirmed the identity of the deceased as Hayes.
The Hayes family told the Sun Herald after the body was found that they had no doubt it was Hayes’ because he hadn’t been seen or heard from since the day before his body was discovered.
He had not been seen since he left his home with jumper cables to help someone whose car had broken down.
His brother, Rickey Hayes, said someone had called his brother after 7 p.m. that Saturday to ask him to help get a car that was broken down up and running again.
“We don’t know who called right off hand, but after he left, that was the last time we heard from him,” his brother said. “It sounds like whoever called set him up.”
The family did not know who made the call but believe police investigators will be able to determine that after reviewing his phone records.
A neighbor’s home surveillance camera captured him leaving his home in the Orange Grove community at 9:10 p.m. that Saturday, his family said.
His body was found just three miles from his home.
The tragic end to David Hayes’ life has left his family and friends devastated.
“We are going through a lot and especially because of the way this happened,” Rickey Hayes said. “If you already killed someone, why would you want to burn him up too? He didn’t deserve that. I mean, he was going to help someone out.”
David Hayes was one of seven siblings and a beloved father and “Paw Paw” to his children and grandchildren.
Temika Magee, Hayes’ oldest daughter, was in the Smokey Mountains celebrating her wedding anniversary when a relative called her at 4:30 a.m. the morning police found his body.
“She was kinda crying,” Magee said. “I knew something was wrong. She said, ‘Daddy is gone,’ and I just started screaming. There is nothing he wouldn’t do for anybody. That’s why everyone is like, ‘Who would do that?’ It doesn’t make sense. He was the nicest guy. He wouldn’t hurt a soul. I just don’t understand.”
Hayes loved his family “with everything that he had, “ Magee said through tears. “He would give the shirt off his back to a stranger. That’s the kind of person he was. He wouldn’t hurt anyone. I just don’t understand it. We lost our mom two years ago, and I never thought we’d be losing my dad now and not like this. I just can’t understand it.”
The Hayes family wants to know who is responsible and wants them held accountable.
David Hayes, who was an active member of the Masonic Lodge’s Mount Olive Chapter 83, had retired from the Dupont plant in Delisle that is now known as the Chemours Co.
“So many people loved him,” his daughter said. “When a close friend of the family didn’t have a car to get to work, my dad drove him to work every day for a year and he never complained about it.. He was glad to help. That’s the kind of person he was.”
To report information, call the Gulfport Police Department at 228-878-5959 or anonymously call Mississippi Coast Crimestoppers at 877-787-5898.
This story was originally published May 29, 2021 at 11:39 AM.
