Lady Bird Lake killer: Victim John Christopher Hays-Clark remembered as 'great father and bright light'
AUSTIN, TEXAS: Tributes have been pouring in for John Christopher Hays-Clark, a loving father, who was found dead in Austin’s Lady Bird Lake. The 30-year-old Hays-Clark was pulled dead out of the lake just before 1.30 pm on Saturday, April 15 when multiple people called 911 about an apparent body in the water. Hays-Clark’s death made him the fourth person to be found in the lake over the past two months.
Police have launched an immediate investigation into Hays-Clark’s death but no cause of death has been revealed as of now. “It is a very unfortunate incident but up to this point, we have not discovered anything suspicious tied directly to this incident. But we don’t make that final determination until the Medical Examiner has been able to make their review as well,” Austin Police Officer Michael Bullock said, according to the New York Post. He also added that there is no evidence of foul play in these recent deaths.
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'He didn't deserve this'
The death of Hays-Clark has devastated his family, who remembered him as a great father to a 12-year-old boy. “A bright light in my life and my son’s life and in my family’s life and I just want… I just want to know what happened and I just want the world to know he didn’t deserve this,” Reegan Aparicio, the mother of Clark’s child, told Kxan. Aparicio and Hays-Clark's other family members are desperately waiting to see investigatory results. “Chris – I miss you I love you, I love you, you’ll always be my brother,” his friend Carl Bellinger told the outlet.
Fears of a serial killer on the loose
In less than a year, a total of eight bodies were found in or near the city’s famous Lady Bird Lake near Rainey Street. Those who have recently been found in the lake are identified as 33-year-old Jonathan Honey, Jason John, 30, Clifton Axtell, 40, and John Christopher Hays-Clark, 30. Investigating the deaths, police dismissed claims that the deaths were the work of a serial killer, adding that although each incident occurred at the lake, "the circumstances, exact locations, and demographics surrounding these cases vary.”
While safety measures have been increased near Rainey Street, the fear of a potential serial killer has left the city terrified. Locals have created Facebook groups and posted on TikTok to express their growing concerns and investigate the circumstances around the deaths. One of the users claimed that the victim's drinks were drugged as the lake is far from Rainey. While another social media user posted a thread on earlier suspected deaths. Many users drew attention to the fact that the circumstances surrounding the men's deaths are strikingly similar to those of the victims of the Smiley Face Killers, who were responsible for several deaths that began in 1997. The police department has since been trying to put an end to rumors but they are yet to make any solid development in the case.
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