Father: 'He took my daughter away'

STAUNTON — Toys littered the edges of Joyce Hayslett’s living room. The brightly colored objects were for Hayslett’s grandson Aiden, but the happy colors clashed with the sound of people sniffling and breaking down into tears.

On Wednesday, Hayslett’s granddaughter, Jasmyne Hayslett, 19, was killed in Stuarts Draft, police say. And they suspect it was Zachary Ham, her live-in boyfriend, who also ended up killing himself. The couple’s little boy Aiden, who is 20 months old, was at a family gathering at the time police believe Hayslett was slain.

Ham apparently later drove Hayslett’s car from Stuarts Draft to an area near Cherry Hill Drive in Staunton, where his grandparents live. Ham, also 19, then took his own life in what police are calling a murder-suicide.

SEEKING HELP

Before her death, police documents show, Hayslett sought protection from law enforcement with an emergency order of protection, claiming her boyfriend strangled her inside their apartment and threatened to kill her.

Although arrested by police for the strangulation charge, officials later released Ham on a $1,000 unsecured bond.

“Protective orders are a piece of paper,” said Anthony Hayslett, Jasmyne’s father. “They don’t protect anybody. It’s just a court order telling a person to stay away from the other party.

"Did it get violated? Most definitely, several times.”

Hayslett, a former correctional officer, said he had talked to Zachary about the protection order prior to his daughter’s death.

“I explained to him what a protection order meant, and he was not to have any contact with her, and I also explained to my daughter that she can’t have any contact with him,” he said.

HEARING THE NEWS

Hayslett was out of town when he received a call from Ham’s father telling him Zachary had committed suicide.

“It wasn’t a great call,” Hayslett said. “He was obviously distraught, but they didn’t know about Jasmyne. They had no clue. He was upset thinking Zack had killed himself over Jasmyne.”

Hayslett tried to call his daughter, but she never answered.

He learned of his daughter’s death while driving down the interstate.

“Sgt. Bird told me on the phone,” Anthony said. “I really didn’t give him any other choice. I told the man I needed to find out where my daughter was and he needed to let me know.”

Hearing that his only child, and the light of his life, had been brutally murdered was devastating news.

“She was positive all the time,” he said, with his eyes downcast. “She had a positive upbeat look to life. I think everyone that got to know her were better people for it.”

Describing his daughter’s injuries after Ham had tried to strangle her, Hayslett said he now wishes Ham had stayed in jail longer.

“I am going to be a proponent and one of those people who wants stricter laws for domestic abuse because now my daughter is unfortunately a statistic of that,” Hayslett said.

“Nobody wants a kid to be a statistic because somebody lost control and killed them.”

'JAZZY'

Friday night, Hayslett, 44, along with his mother, Joyce Hayslett, 71, sat down to talk about Jasmyne. They were surrounded by three of Jasmyne’s closest friends, who fondly recalled the teen mother's spirit and infectious laughter.

Sandwiched at the end of a couch with the three girls, Joyce Hayslett found herself taking comfort from their presence. Occasionally she stroked their hair, gave a reassuring pat on a leg or wrapped them in her arms to hold them close.

“They were more like sisters than friends,” said Anthony Hayslett of the relationship the girls had with his daughter.

The girls recalled memories from middle school dances, concerts and Jasmyne’s crushes on Justin Bieber and the Jonas Brothers.

Laughter filled the room and caused Hayslett to roll his eyes at some of the lighthearted stories.

“Like the time Anthony took all of us to the Justin Bieber movie,” said Kelley Wood. “I think he sat in the back and told us to be quiet.”

More giggles.

Anthony Hayslett's expression of good-natured disgust also caused the girls to laugh.

“Jazzy would have wanted this,” Amber Houff said. “She would not want us crying all the time. She hated crying.”

“Jazzy,” as she preferred to be called by her friends and family, loved to bake. Chocolate chip cookies and sugar cookies were some of her favorites.

“But she also loved broccoli, liver and onions and spinach,” said Kelley Wood, causing all three girls to shake their heads and smile.

Jasmyne’s favorite movie treat was puffy Cheetos and M&Ms. At the same time, of course, said Becca Wood.

ROBBED OF A FUTURE

And then there was a sobering shift in the room as the memories turned into a reminder of what they had each lost.

“She was a good mother,” Anthony Hayslett said. “She loved Aiden.”

“Now he isn’t going to know what we knew or get to see his mother,” said Houff. “Jazzy is the victim here. She lost her life so young.”

Hayslett said he doesn’t think his daughter ever imagined Zachary would take her life.

“But I told her, if someone puts their hands on you they will do it again,” Hayslett said. “And it usually escalates. I didn’t think I would be sitting here today dealing with that. Do I wish they had locked him up and left in jail? Most definitely.”

“Look what he did to my granddaughter,” Joyce Hayslett said, starting to cry.

“We lost our best friend,” Houff said. “My heart hurts for his parents and for Zachary, but he took her from us.”

JASMYNE'S LOVE

All three girls said Zachary was funny and charming.

“We learned to love Zack because we had to, because we loved Jasmyne,” Houff said. “That’s hard for me too, because I’m angry at Zack, but hurting for him, too. Obviously he was dealing with demons.”

Houff said Jasmyne probably knew about Zachary’s struggles and was trying to help him.

“She wanted to save him,” she said. “She loved him, and she had to do it for her son. That was probably her biggest downfall. She wanted to save him for Aiden.”

Giving up on Zachary after he strangled her is also not an option Jasmyne would have considered, Houff said.

“She couldn’t give up or she would feel like she was giving up on Aiden,” Houff said. “She told me she never wanted Aiden to think his parents couldn’t work it out.”

A CHANGE

The three girls said there was a history of arguments between the couple prior to Jasmyne’s death.

“She said, at the end of the week I’m going to get a new order of protection, I just have to find the time to do it,” Becca Wood said.

The girls described Zachary as a wonderful father to Aiden and attentive to Jasmyne at first, but then something went terribly wrong.

“He got jealous,” Becca Wood said.

“He imagined stuff, and if you imagine stuff long enough, you start to believe it,” Joyce said.

“She would have to send pictures of where she was at the time because he did not trust her,” Kelley Wood said. “We have been her friends forever and he still did not believe that is where she was at.”

“It was kind of scary,” Houff said. “It got to the point where he was aggressive toward her, and I would tell him don’t talk to her like that. I was scared for her about Zack. I think something went wrong with him. He was not the same person. I don’t know if something snapped in him or if it was different friends he hung out with or what.”

Jasmyne’s father says he is struggling with his daughter’s death.

“I won’t lie,” Anthony Hayslett said. “I’m angry at him. At any point someone can reach out and get help for themselves. He chose not to do that. I’m not angry at his family or anyone else.

“But am I angry with him? Yes. He took my daughter away.”