A Kansas jury on Thursday found Rachael Hilyard guilty of killing her ex-boyfriend’s mother in 2017 and cutting off her head, KWCH reported.
The verdict came a day after Hilyard testified that voices in her head told her to kill Micki Davis, 63, on April 9, 2017.
Police found Davis’s body in a garage in Wichita after her 9-year-old grandson fled the house and used his grandmother’s phone to call 911, telling dispatchers his grandmother was being attacked, as CrimeOnline previously reported.
Hilyard, 38, testified that Davis and her grandson came to her home that day to collect items belonging to Davis’s son, who was in prison at the time of the murder, and got into an argument over a painting. The argument became physical and moved from the laundry room into the garage, where Hilyard said she stopped when Davis was on the floor not moving, KWCH said.
She testified that she didn’t check to see if Davis was breathing because of the voices in her head, and instead went outside to see where the grandson had gone. She found him inside Davis’s truck and was talking with him when, she said, the voices returned and told her “you don’t have much time.” She testified that she returned to the garage, where Davis lay.
“The things told me I didn’t have much time, and I had to get her head away from her body so her soul could get free, so her soul could get out and go to heaven,” she said. That’s when, Hilyard said, she removed Davis’s head, put it in her kitchen sink, and went into the bathroom, where police officers found and arrested her.
Davis’s family said after the verdict they were pleased with the result.
“This is justice for Micki,” said Jeremy Rush, her son. “We might’ve won this battle, but we lost the whole war, because our mom is not here, and she should be here.”
Rush had particular words of praise for his now 11-year-nephew.
“Actually, he was the heat of the case,” he told KWCH. “He knew exactly what happened. He was a very smart and brave young man. Love him to death.”
The boy’s maternal grandmother, Brigitta Christner, said Davis’s grandson is doing well, under the circumstances, and had plenty of support. “He seems very happy, plays in the orchestra. He’s doing really good,” she said.
Sentencing for Hilyard is set for March 27. She faces life in prison.
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[Featured Image: Micki Davis/Family Handout, Rachael Hilyard/Sedgwick County Jail]
