Disclaimer: This article contains mentions of murder. Reader discretion is advised.
Dateline NBC will re-examine the brutal murder of Heather Strube that took place in Snellville in April 2004. The episode “Deadly Swap” will feature shocking details about the crime and what happened that day. It will also tell viewers how the authorities managed to capture the culprit who was close to Strube. It will air on Friday, March 15, at 9 p.m. ET.
On April 26, 2009, Heather Strube and her husband, Steven Strube, agreed to meet each other in the parking lot of a Target store. The couple was going through a custody battle. As per ABC News, Steven wanted to hand over their 18-month-old son to Heather. The outlet mentioned that he left the spot after he handed the child to his mother. As soon as Heather strapped the child into the car seat, an unknown assailant arrived and put a gun on Heather’s head. The assailant shot the mother and fled the crime scene.
After authorities discovered the body, they initiated the investigation. Police had a conversation with Steven and requested his assistance. Oxygen reported that he agreed to help the police after watching the surveillance footage. Subsequently, Steven identified the person as his mother, Joanna Hayes. Soon after, police arrested Hayes in December 2009 and charged her with murder.
How was Heather Strube’s killer, Joanna Hayes, caught?
As soon as the investigation began, authorities initiated the investigation by talking to Heather Strube’s husband. Citing the investigation, Oxygen reported Steven behaved uneasily around the authorities. Steven also told the investigators he left the parking lot after handing over the child to Heather. Additionally, he went to a car wash before meeting his girlfriend.
Even though his statements turned out to be accurate, authorities still considered him as one of the suspects, per Oxygen. The publication also mentioned that the police released a sketch of the killer and tried to get some credible tips. However, the sketch didn’t yield useful results. Police had a breakthrough in the case when a truck driver came forward and said he noticed an individual with a white pickup truck. As per Oxygen, the vehicle belonged to Heather Strube’s mother-in-law, Joanna Hayes.
Investigators showed a video to Steven, and he identified the person in the video as his mother. Subsequently, they interrogated Joanna Hayes. Per Oxygen, the police apprehended Hayes and charged her with murder in December 2009. The trial in the murder of Heather Strube started in May 2011, and prosecutors alleged that Joanna Hayes was responsible for Strube’s death. In the trial, the jury also heard the conversation between Steven Strube and his mother.
Court sentenced Hayes to life imprisonment
Although the investigators failed to find the murder weapon, the prosecutors were able to convince the jury members that Hayes had a reason to kill Heather. According to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the jury found Joanna Hayes guilty of the murder of her daughter-in-law, Heather Strube. Hayes reportedly cried during the sentencing and maintained her innocence.
However, the court sentenced her to life in prison with the possibility of parole. As per the publication, she can be eligible for release in 30 years.
