Michael Charles Hayes
Michael Charles Hayes is an American man responsible for the Old Salisbury Road mass shooting in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, on July 17, 1988. He shot nine people, killing four of them, with a .22-caliber rifle.
Background[edit]
Michael Hayes was born in Winston-Salem in Forsyth County, North Carolina where he was raised. After beginning to use drugs at age 13, Hayes became known for bullying and self-aggrandizing behavior, fueled by probable mental illness and drug abuse.
After bouncing from job to job, Hayes began to work at a business purchased by his parents. The business, Edwards' Moped Shop, was located on Old Salisbury Road in southern Forsyth County, near the Davidson County line. After stealing funds from the business for a number of months, Hayes' parents threatened to sell the business and stop supporting him, an idea that helped to fuel Hayes' break with reality.
Old Salisbury Road shooting[edit]
After exhibiting unstable behavior for a few weeks, and following police reports of concern over his behavior, Michael Hayes shot nine passersby from the centerline of the darkened road in front of his parents' moped shop on the night of July 17, 1988. Four of those who were shot, Crystal Cantrell, Tom Nicholson, Melinda Hayes, and Ronnie Hull, died. Complicating matters, the moped shop sat near the Forsyth and Davidson County lines, leading to confusion as to which law enforcement agency had jurisdiction.
Hayes later testified for his actions by claiming that he believed the passersby were demons that needed to be killed.
Aftermath and trial[edit]
Following his arrest and trial, Hayes' defense attorneys convinced a jury that Hayes was insane at the time of the killings, as he had been diagnosed with schizophreniform disorder, alcohol dependence, cannabis dependence, and a personality disorder with antisocial and narcissistic traits. For this reason, the jury decreed that Hayes was not guilty by reason of insanity, a controversial ruling at the time.
Hayes was committed to the Dorothea Dix State Mental Hospital in Raleigh. At Dix, he was given Haldol, a drug often used to reduce aggression or treat schizophrenia. The psychosis went away, and Hayes went off the drug in 1989. Since then, he has never been on medication for mental illness. Hayes' yearly petitions to be set free are usually met with protest from the victims' families and scrutiny by the media.
On March 1, 2012, Hayes wad declared sane by Dix State Mental Hospital and was a completely free man for the first time since 1989.