Haven child killings

The Haven child killings was a series of child abductions and torture killings in Haven, Virginia, and surrounding towns in the late 60s to early 70s.

The killings were mainly performed by Adelaide Modine, with Connel Hyams acting as an accomplice.

## Disappearances

In fall 1969, Etta Mae Tyler (age 9), daughter of Walt Tyler, disappeared on the way back home from Haven. Her mother reported her missing, but the police did not respond for a day or two. In that time, the Tyler family searched and asked around town for their daughter, with no luck. Three days after the disappearance, Walt Tyler was arrested by the police as a suspect. He was questioned, accused and severely beaten for a couple of days before being let go.

About three months later, Dora Lee Parker disappeared. She was believed to possibly have fallen through the ice, as she was known to play on the ice a lot, but searching and dredging of the local ponds and rivers produced no results. Walt Tyler was again suspected and questioned by the police but not charged.

Two weeks later a third child, Bobby Joiner, was abducted from Willisville, about 40 miles from Haven. The police did some questioning, mainly focusing their efforts on black, gay and/or poor men.

A few months went by without developments. On the night of February 6, 1970, Amy Demeter, age 11, disappeared on her way to deliver a jar of homemade jam to a friend's house. Amy was the first white child to disappear, and the police largely increased their efforts after her abduction, launching a full investigation and questioning people for miles around, but they found no leads.

## Identification of Adelaide Modine and murder of William Modine

Shortly thereafter, Adelaide Modine, alone, attempted to kidnap a young boy from Batesville. The boy fought back and managed to scratch her face and escape. He was able to describe the woman as well as the make of the car and part of the license plate. The woman was connected to be Adelaide Modine the next day. The sheriff was out of town, so a mob of people from Haven, Batesville, and surrounding towns went to the Modine house to find Adelaide Modine.

When they arrived, the only person present was William Modine, the brother of Adelaide Modine. William was rumored to be gay, and the mob deemed him to be an accomplice because of this, despite his claims to the contrary. Then deputy Earl Lee Granger knew this was not the case, as him and William had been seeing each other for a time, including on the dates of some of the disappearences, but said nothing, and William was hanged in the basement by the mob. The death was later certified as a suicide by Dr. Hyams, the father of Connel Hyams.

## Escape of Adelaide Modine, and discovery of the bodies

Adelaide Modine escaped from Haven with the help of Connell Hyams. The body of a woman was dumped in a house which was then set on fire. The woman was wearing Adelaide Modine's jewelry and had a bag containing money and bank papers from the Modine house. The body was burnt badly enough that it was only identifiable through dental records. Connell Hyams, being the son of the doctor responsible for autopsy and identification, swapped out the records, causing the body to be officially identified as Adelaide Modine and leaving the real Modine able to escape and assume a new identity as Isobel Barton.

Soon after, a hunter was taking shelter from the weather in an old house owned by the Modines, known as the Dane House. The hunter's dog found a trap door leading to a cellar, where the remains of the children were found. The children had all been tortured and sexually assaulted before being killed.

## Conclusion

In 1997, Catherine Demeter, the sister of Amy Demeter, spotted Adelaide Modine in the New York store she worked in and recognized her. She left work early and attempted to reach Earl Lee Granger, the sheriff of Haven, but was unable to as the sheriff was out of town taking a few days off. Catherine travelled to Haven, but before she was able to reach out to anyone, she was found by Hyams, who took her to the Dane House and shot her to death in the cellar. Hyams also abducted Earl Lee Granger when he returned home, killing him in the Dane House cellar as well. The bodies were later found by Charlie Parker, who uncovered the truth of the case.

Hyams was killed by Bobby Sciorra and Adelaide Modine was shot by Charlie Parker, before burning to death amidst the wreckage of her car.