Suvechha Sarkar
Forrest Timothy Hayes was a Google Executive, a loving father of five, and a dutiful husband. However, his beautiful life came to an abrupt end in November 2013 when he passed away on his yacht in Santa Cruz, California. The untimely demise of the 51-year-old not only left his family and friends grief-stricken but also the community completely shocked. CBS’ ’48 Hours: Kiss of Death and the Google Exec’ pieces together the events leading up to his death and how the investigation revealed it to be a homicide. It also features interviews with the officials who helped solve the case and a courtroom clip pertaining to the case.
Forrest Hayes Was Found Dead on His Yacht in California
Herbert Alvin and Virginia Caudill Hayes welcomed their son, Forrest Timothy Hayes, into this world on May 10, 1962. He was born in Dearborn, Michigan, and was always surrounded by the love of his parents. He was also close to his sisters, Betty and Sandy, and brother, Palmer. Eventually, Forrest began his professional journey as a Manager at the Ford Motor Company in Michigan. He then moved to California to work in the tech industry and joined Sun Microsystems. Forrest then served at Apple before becoming an Executive at Google. He was reportedly hired to serve at Google X, often called the moonshot factory. In adulthood, he met Denise, and since they hit it off, they soon tied the knot. Over the years, they welcomed their children, Lauren, Zosia, Danielle, Lily, and Rosco into their lives.
Since Forrest spent a great deal of time working, he bought a yacht and named it The Escape, where he often sought respite. Everything was going well until his life turned upside down on November 23, 2013, in Santa Cruz, California. The previous day, he had gone to his yacht, but Denise grew worried when he didn’t return home. So, she contacted the captain of that particular yacht to learn about Forrest’s whereabouts. When the captain went on the yacht to check up on him, he shockingly found Forrest lying in the main cabin, prompting him to call 911. After officials arrived at the scene, they found Forrest deceased. Further inspection revealed that he reportedly had a clear injection mark on his arm, indicating a possible heroin overdose.
Detectives further discovered that there were two wine glasses present at the scene, which pointed towards the presence of another individual. However, they noticed that the surroundings were unusually clean. When the yacht was searched, they could not find any syringes or the presence of drugs on board. They noted that multiple CCTV cameras were installed on the yacht. One of them was also installed right in the cabin where Forrest passed away. The coroner reportedly determined his cause of death to be from an overdose of heroin. It was also revealed that Forrest passed away almost instantly after the drug was injected.
Surveillance Footage Unveiled the Truth Behind Forrest Hayes’ Final Hours
Investigators first questioned the captain of the Escape about the CCTV footage of the cabin where Forrest was found. However, the captain claimed that the particular video wasn’t available. However, around three months later, officials were able to retrieve the footage with the help of a court order. It turned out that the surveillance video was actually uploaded to a cloud server. When they checked it, they reportedly noticed a dark-haired woman with tattoos on the yacht with Forrest on that fateful day. According to the statement from the authorities, it seemed like it was a party of Forrest and the woman, which included alcohol and drugs. It captured that both of them spoke for a while before she reportedly began preparing the injection for the drug. It was reportedly visible in the footage that the woman herself brought the drugs and the injection.
After preparing the drug, the woman reportedly first injected herself and then Forrest with the drug. According to the words of one of the officials in the show, Forrest seemed to be nervous during that time, but went along with it. Within a few moments, he reportedly grew visibly distressed and lost consciousness. The video reportedly captured the woman trying to revive Forrest by patting him on the face and holding his head. Following that, she drank the wine in her glass and was seen cleaning up her drug paraphernalia. She reportedly seemed to be wiping off fingerprints and closed the blinds of the cabin. They also noted that she never called 911 to seek help. On checking Forrest’s cell phone, detectives learned he was on a dating website, SeekingArrangement, which connected wealthy men to meet women to pamper. It ultimately revealed that the woman in the footage was 26-year-old Alix Tichelman.
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An Undercover Setup Led to the Arrest of Forrest Hayes’ Killer
It turned out that Forrest met Alix through the website. So, officials began tracking her social media, where they noticed a post indicating that she might’ve been planning to leave the country. So, the authorities made a detective open an account on SeekingArrangement under the name of “Sebastian.” Through continuous emails and texts between the official and Alix, she reportedly agreed to meet, under an arrangement of sex in return for money. The authorities reportedly deposited a few hundred dollars in her account and promised to pay $1,000 more after the meeting. Alix reportedly mentioned that some of her clients spent more than that. Finally, on July 4, 2014, she arrived at the designated Seascape Beach Resort in Aptos, California, with heroin in her bag.
Alix was arrested at the location and charged with prostitution and the murder of Forrest. Following her arrest, another case came forward where her previous boyfriend, Dean Riopelle, also passed away from a reportedly accidental drug overdose on September 24, 2013, in her presence. The prosecution later charged her with manslaughter, prostitution, administering drugs, possession of heroin, and destruction of evidence. On May 19, 2015, Alix appeared in court for the setting of her trial date, and she was initially facing 20 years in prison. However, she pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of involuntary manslaughter and administering drugs. Right after, Alix was sentenced to six years in a local prison and received credit for the time she already served, as well as a reduction for good manners. Ultimately, she served her time in Santa Cruz County Jail before she was released on March 20, 2017, and deported to Canada.
