Laura Ackerson of Kinston, NC last seen in Raleigh on July 13. (WTVD Photo)
Laura Ackerson (WTVD Photo)
Grant Hayes, Laura Ackerson's ex-boyfriend accused of her murder.
The couple have two children together. (Image courtesy North Carolina Department of Public Safety)
Amanda Hayes, Grant Hayes' wife, also on trial for Ackerson's murder. A Wake County jury later found Amanda Hayes guilty of second-degree murder. (Photo/WTVD Photo)
Hayes was convicted of Ackerson's murder. He will serve a life sentence. (WTVD Photo)
Ackerson's body was cut up with a power saw, put in coolers, and then driven in a rented U-Haul to Amanda Hayes' sister's house in Richmond, Texas, where the body parts were dumped in a nearby creek. Deputies say this cooler was used to transport the body.
(WTVD Photo/Kelli O'Hara)
Deputies say this machette was found at the Texas crime scene, but they don't think it was used to dismember the body. (WTVD Photo/Kelli O'Hara)
Divers search Oyster Creek near Skinner Lane in Richmond, Texas Monday July 25. Human remains were found in the creek the day before. (Photo/KTRK Photo )
Divers search Oyster Creek near Skinner Lane in Richmond, Texas Monday July 25. Human remains were found in the creek the day before. (KTRK Photo )
Divers search Oyster Creek near Skinner Lane in Richmond, Texas Monday July 25. Human remains were found in the creek the day before. (KTRK Photo)
Divers search Oyster Creek near Skinner Lane in Richmond, Texas Monday July 25. Human remains were found in the creek the day before. (KTRK Photo)