Former college cheerleader found guilty in killings of 3 Florida women after DNA from beer can is linked to murders

A former criminal justice major and college cheerleader was convicted in the killings of three Florida women who were working prostitutes more than 15 years ago. Jurors deliberated more than eight hours before returning the guilty verdict against Robert Hayes, who was linked by DNA evidence to the three victims after another killing in Palm Beach County, where he had been working as a chef until his arrest in 2019.

Detectives testifying at the beginning of the trial told the jury they then put Hayes under surveillance and secretly confiscated a beer can and cigarette butt he discarded and, prosecutors say, the DNA from those items matched the killer's, CBS Miami reported.

Hayes, 39, showed no reaction as the clerk read the jury's verdict Tuesday evening, The Daytona Beach News-Journal reported. Prosecutors will seek the death penalty during the sentencing phase beginning next week.