Gerald Hanks
A former Houston postal worker is accused of kidnapping and murdering the mother of his two children.
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Don Gaines is reportedly suspected of kidnapping Gayla Roy, his then-girlfriend and co-worker, at a north Houston post office.
NOW: Don Gaines in fed court, charged w kidnapping ex-gf, Gayla Roy. Court docs say Gaines admitted to choking Roy, shooting her, leaving her in Louisiana woods to die. Roy was the mother of couple’s 2 children #abc13 pic.twitter.com/lXLmqYqbbt
— Courtney Fischer (@CourtneyABC13) November 22, 2017
Police say he is also suspected of murdering her, transporting her body across state lines and abandoning her corpse on the side of a freeway; if convicted, he could face the death penalty.
Roy, 28, and Gaines, 30, formed an intimate relationship for several years, during which they produced two children together.
Loved ones reported Roy missing in early September when she did not appear for work at the post office.
According to prosecutors, during an argument, Gaines choked Roy into unconsciousness.
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Prosecutors also allege Gaines, believing Roy to be dead, took her and drove east on I-10 into Louisiana.
When Roy regained consciousness, prosecutors said they believe Gaines pulled onto a feeder road, dragged Roy into a nearby forest, shot her in the head and left her body behind.
Investigators received reports showing Gaines’ history of violence against women and kept him under surveillance, eventually arresting him for an unrelated case where they said he assaulted a woman.
During the interrogation into the additional incident, Gaines confessed to the murder of Roy and disposed of her body.
Since the crime involved crossing state lines, federal prosecutors say they will be handling the case.
The charges allege Gaines “did unlawfully seize, confine, kidnap, abduct, and carry away Gayla Roy, without her consent, from Texas to Louisiana for a purpose, namely, to dispose of her body or to kill her,” according to the filings.
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Investigators said they recovered Roy’s remains after interviewing Gaines and tracking the GPS system in his car.
They also found the car he used at a Kroger parking lot, where they said they examined it for evidence.
No trial date is set at this time, and a decision to grant bail prior to trial remains to be made by a judge.
