Florida ‘serial killer’ arrested after DNA links him to 4 murders

A suspected serial killer who police believe murdered at least four women in Florida since 2005 was arrested on Sunday after DNA found on his cigarette linked him to the victims.

“We believe we took a serial killer off the street,” Palm Beach sheriff’s Capt. Michael Wallace declared at a Monday news conference announcing the bust of 37-year-old Robert Hayes.

Hayes has so far been charged with the March 2016 strangulation of Rachel Bey, a prostitute who was found dumped on the side of the road in West Palm Beach. Her teeth and jaw had also been broken.

Through ballistics and DNA evidence, investigators suspect Hayes, then a college student, also shot dead three other women in Daytona Beach over the course of three months beginning in December 2005.

All three victims — Laquetta Gunther, 45, Julie Green, 34 and 35-year-old Iwana Patton — were shot in the head and found nude, lying face down in nearby areas of the city.

“If we hadn’t put this individual in jail, he would’ve done this again and we would have had another victim,” said Palm Beach Sheriff Ric Bradshaw.

But Wallace said on Monday that there could be more victims from Hayes’ past.

During his initial suspected rampage, Hayes was a student at Bethune-Cookman University in Daytona Beach. He graduated with a degree in criminal justice.

At the time of his arrest on Sunday, Hayes was living with a woman and a young baby, believed to be about 2 years old, in an apartment in West Palm Beach. The relationship between the three is unclear.

Neighbors said Hayes had been working as a chef. They were also shocked to learn of his sinister past.

“He was always friendly with me,” Craig Brown said.

Hayes was finally captured after Florida investigators ran a DNA profile extracted from Rachel Bey, the latest victim, through a genetic database for people trying to find lost relatives.

That DNA profile, which also linked to the first three murder victims, connected to Hayes on the database.

Following the DNA match, authorities surveilled Hayes and collected a cigarette butt he left behind after catching a bus.

The DNA on the cigarette linked Hayes to the killings, authorities said.

For good measure, they collected another sample from Hayes after his arrest, which was also a positive match.

With Post wires

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