Advertisement High-end prostitute murdered man on yacht in Santa Cruz harbor, police say Share Shares Copy Link Copy

A young woman who works as a model and high-end prostitute has been accused of murdering a man who police said hired her for sex on his yacht in the Santa Cruz harbor.Alix Catherine Tichelman, 26, is scheduled to be arraigned on Wednesday, July 16. Tichelman was arrested by Santa Cruz police at 4 a.m. on July 4 and was booked into jail on charges of murder, manslaughter, prostitution, and destroying evidence. Her bail was set at $1.5 million and she was appointed a public defender.The victim was 51-year-old Forrest Timothy Hayes of Santa Cruz. According to his obituary, Hayes was a married father of five. He worked as an engineer for successful Silicon Valley tech companies that included Apple, Google and Sun Microsystems. Hayes' family requested that the media not approach the front door of their gated $4.2-million mansion on Laurent Street.The case that Santa Cruz detectives described on Tuesday resembled a fiction novel. On Nov. 23, 2013, Hayes was found dead on his yacht anchored in the Santa Cruz Small Craft Harbor. His death looked suspicious, and detectives launched an intensive investigation to learn more about him and what he was doing that night."Ms. Tichelman was identified as a suspect in the case after it was learned that she had an ongoing prostitution relationship with the victim," Deputy Police Chief Steve Clark said. "Ms. Tichelman works as a high-priced outcall prostitute and meets her clients through a website Seeking Arrangements. During interviews, Ms. Tichelman boasted of over 200 client relationships."Clients paid Tichelman more than $1,000. Detectives said they obtained text messages and emails exchanged between the hooker and her clients, including Hayes. The night of the homicide, the hooker met Hayes on his yacht, and she injected him with so much heroin that he died moments later, Clark said.As the victim was losing consciousness and dying, a security camera on the yacht recorded Tichelman stepping over him while sipping a glass of wine and gathering her things."The video shows the victim suffering medical complications and going unconscious. Rather than provide first aid or call 9-1-1, Ms. Tichelman proceeds to gather her belongings including the heroin and needles. The video also shows Ms. Tichelman stepping over the victim’s body several times as she is gathering her belongings. At one point, she steps over the body to finish a glass of wine," Clark said.Detectives believe Tichelman intentionally chose a lethal amount of heroin to inject into Hayes."Finally, she leaves the boat and reaches back in to lower a blind and conceal the victim’s body from outside view," Clark said.Detectives lured Tichelman back to the Santa Cruz area by posing as a potential client."She agreed on a price in excess of $1,000 and to meet at an upscale location. When she arrived in Santa Cruz, Ms. Tichelman was arrested on July 4, 2014," Clark said.Investigators did not release a motive. Tichelman lives in the Sacramento area and grew up in an upper-class family in Georgia. According to her Facebook page, she works as a makeup artist for ULTA Beauty and models.One of her most recent Facebook posts talks about how excited she was to buy a gun and move back to Georgia."YES!!!! cant wait to have my carry/conceal be valid again. Going back to GA next week," the July 1 post states.On June 30, she wrote on Facebook that she planned to drive to Atlanta, Georgia the following week. Police said they arrested her on July 4 to prevent her from leaving California. "We were concerned about her leaving the state or country," Clark said. On June 28, she wrote about mass murders, "It's really nice to talk with someone about killing sprees and murdering people in cold blood...and they love it too. No judgement. Yay!"An obituary for Hayes was printed in the Santa Cruz Sentinel newspaper reading, "He passed away unexpectedly on November 23rd, 2013. Forrest will be remembered above all as a loving husband and father. More than anything else he enjoyed spending time with his family at home and on his boat. His brilliant mind, contagious smile, and warm embrace will be missed and cherished in memories by his friends and family."Investigators suspect Tichelman struck again. Santa Cruz detectives discovered a similar case in Georgia that left another man, Tichelman's boyfriend Dean Riopelle, dead from a heroin overdose.Riopelle died at his home in Milton, Georgia, two months before Hayes died on the opposite side of the country.Because of the Santa Cruz case, police in Georgia reopened the Riopelle death case and now consider it suspicious. Riopelle's friends said he would never touch drugs or alcohol. As of July 4, Tichelman listed her relationship status on Facebook as "single." The website that Hayes met Tichelman on, Seeking Arrangement, describes itself as "A new way for relationships to form and grow. Sugar Babies and Sugar Daddies or Mommas both get what they want, when they want it. Sugar Babies enjoy a life of luxury by being pampered with fine dinners, exotic trips and allowances. In turn, Sugar Daddies or Mommas find beautiful members to accompany them at all times."