Kayla Bonita Beason, 32, was found dead in Cordova, South Carolina, in late March 2024 in what authorities call a double homicide that also claimed the life of James Christopher Robinson Jr. Kayla’s family remembered her as someone who loved music and dancing and whose smile lit up a room.

Investigators say stalking preceded the killings: a tracking device had been placed on Kayla’s car and digital evidence allegedly showed an intruder breaking into her home in the early morning hours. Police focused on a man who had worked with Kayla and been considered a friend; that man, Richard Haynes of Cordova, was arrested in a Myrtle Beach hotel and charged with two counts of murder, stalking, and burglary. Tracing the purchase of the tracking devices is described as a key part of the case against him.

Many questions remain about motive and the sequence of events on the night of the killings. If anyone knew Kayla, James, or has information about the devices or movements in Cordova that week, please come forward.