A man was sentenced for having inappropriate relationships with a child and planning to kill the minor’s family.
The Buncombe County District Attorney’s Office says that a man from Leicester will spend at least 13.5 years in prison after pleading guilty to murder plots and indecent rights with a child.
District Attorney Todd Williams said that 23-year-old Austin Dakota Haynie pleaded guilty on May 28 to two counts of felony solicit to commit first-degree murder and one count of felony indecent liberties with a child. Judge Steve Warren of the Buncombe County Superior Court told Haynie that he would have to serve three active sentences in a row, for a total of 162 to 229 months (13.5 to 19 years), in the care of the N.C. Department of Adult Correction in Raleigh.
Court papers say that on February 7, 2023, a family member of the 14-year-old victim found Haynie hiding in the closet of the victim. Haynie had no connection to the victim’s family. The family of the young victim called the police right away. That day, Haynie was 22 years old. Anyone younger than 16 years old in North Carolina is not allowed to officially agree to sexual activity. An adult who has sex with someone younger than 16 can be charged with a sex crime.
The minor victim and the Buncombe County Sheriff’s Office were interviewed, and it came out that Haynie was having a sexual connection with the minor victim. Investigators found text messages that supported the connection, and Haynie later admitted to having a sexual relationship with the person. He was arrested.
At the Buncombe County Detention Facility, one inmate said Haynie tried to hire other prisoners to kill the family member who first saw him hiding in the closet of the child victim. One of the prisoners also said Haynie tried to hire other prisoners to kill the lead officer who was investigating the sex crime.
Court records show that Haynie gave specific information about both the family member and the investigating officer to the prisoners in order to help them carry out the killings that were asked for. The prisoner who testified also said Haynie offered a prize that would be paid when the job was done.
A BCDF prisoner told police about Haynie’s plans, which led to the discovery of her plot.
Judge Warren read and listened to the accounts of both the family member of the minor victim and the victim-detective. Both asked that Haynie get the longest jail sentence that the law allows. Judge Warren also told Haynie that she had to register as a sex offender for 30 years and that she could not talk to the child victim again for the rest of her natural life.