Timothy Hayden, 27, was shot to death inside his Menomonie home on March 28, 1987. Hayden, a custodian at the University of Wisconsin–Stout, had met Alvin Taylor in the fall of 1986 while both were involved with a local musical production; Taylor later stayed with Hayden. Investigators say Hayden was shot multiple times in the head and soon focused on Taylor after linking shell casings and firearms evidence to other killings.

Taylor was arrested on April 3, 1987, while attending Hayden’s funeral and was charged with first-degree murder in Dunn County. He later admitted to killing Hayden and three other men and to an attempted murder; his post-arrest statements and mental-health history described delusional beliefs and claimed messages from television and radio. Taylor was found not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect on four first-degree murder counts and was committed to the Wisconsin Department of Health Services at Mendota Mental Health Institute, where he remained while seeking conditional release in 2026.

Anyone who knew Hayden or saw him in Menomonie in 1987 is asked to share information that might clarify his last days.