Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, April 6, 1995 TAG: 9504060075
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-6 EDITION: STATE
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: GOOCHLAND LENGTH: Medium
``I can't predict what the board will say, but the odds are less than 4 percent,'' Virginia Parole Board Chairman John Metzger said. Only 4 percent of inmates convicted of violent crimes such as the 1985 killings of Derek and Nancy Haysom are paroled when they first become eligible.
Elizabeth Haysom's former lover, Jens Soering, was convicted of killing her parents in their Bedford County home. She pleaded guilty to two counts of accessory to murder before the fact and was sentenced to 90 years in prison.
Haysom, who turns 31 next week, will be eligible for parole every year until June 20, 2032, when she must be released under mandatory parole. She was arrested in London in 1986 and has been incarcerated since then there or in the United States.
She and Soering served time in England for check fraud before they were extradited to the United States.
Haysom's release is opposed by one of her half-brothers, Howard Haysom, and Bedford County Circuit Judge William Sweeney, who presided over the trial at which she was convicted. Both have written letters to the Parole Board speaking out against release. Another half-brother, Richard Haysom, said he thinks she should be freed but not this soon. Both of her half-brothers say she played a more active role in the double murder than she admitted.
But a Nelson County mystery novelist and friend, Doug Hornig, has written the Parole Board in support of releasing Haysom early. He said she is remorseful for her parents' deaths and has suffered greatly.
``I don't feel like, at this point, she's a threat to society,'' Hornig said recently.
Her cousin, Francesca Haysom of New York City, also thinks Elizabeth Haysom should be paroled immediately from the state women's prison in Goochland. ``I don't believe Elizabeth poses any threat to society.''
Elizabeth Haysom claimed she was in Washington, D.C., while Soering confronted and killed her parents.
But Richard Haysom said he believes his half-sister had to be at the murder scene for Soering to get into the house.
Soering testified during his trial that he falsely confessed to protect Haysom. Now seeking an appeal, he claims he was in Washington, D.C., while she killed her parents.
Soering is serving two life terms at Keen Mountain Correctional Center in Southwest Virginia. He is eligible for parole in 2003.
Haysom and Soering, the son of a German diplomat, fled to Europe when they became suspects.
Memo: NOTE: Shorter version ran in Metro edition.