ORLANDO, Fla. – Family members gathered at an abandoned home in Orange County on Thursday night, which is where deputies recently found the body of a beloved grandmother.
The victim’s relatives want answers and an arrest, just days after the slaying.
“Denise (Hayes) was a very loving person,” said her sister-in-law, Kelly Powell. "She did not deserve any of this that has happened to her. She would do anything in the world to make anybody else happy."
Family and friends describe Hayes, who was 41, as a loving mother of four and a grandmother of five.
On Thursday night, they laid flowers and lit candles at the house where her body was found. They said they had no idea she was having problems in her relationship with 52-year-old Bobby Lee Story.
Detectives said Story is wanted in connection with Hayes' death.
"A lot of times, in our community, we talk about 'What happens in the household stays in the household,' but it shouldn't be like that because of situations like this," said one of the victim's cousins.
Hayes' body was found last Friday in a house along Pipes O The Glen Way. Deputies said a passerby spotted her two grandchildren walking alone down a Pine Hills road and they directed the woman to the home where the body was found.
Hayes' family is hoping Story turns himself in.
"We just want justice," the cousin said. "Not just for Denise, but for anybody that's involved in domestic violence. It's men that are victims of domestic violence. It's women that are victims of domestic violence."