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Anita Alvarez
Cook County State's Attorney
Communications Department
Chicago, IL 60602
(312) 603-3423
saomedia@cookcountygov.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

April 22, 2010

Murder charges have been filed against the estranged boyfriend of a South Suburban woman who disappeared last January shortly before she was scheduled to testify against the man for a previous attempt to kill her, Cook County State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez announced today.

Terrence Coulter, 33, of Dolton, has been charged with First Degree Murder in connection with the murder of Dana Hayes, 35, whose badly decomposed and beaten body was discovered March 23 in a field in south suburban Thornton.

Prior to today’s charge, Coulter had been charged with the attempted murder of Hayes in an attack that occurred in Riverdale in November of 2007. In that incident, the two were arguing in a car when Coulter stabbed Hayes more than a dozen times and then left her for dead in an alley where neighbors heard her cries and called the police, according to prosecutors.

Hayes survived the attack, obtained an order of protection against Coulter, and was scheduled to testify against him when she disappeared last January, just two weeks before the trial was set to begin.

According to information presented in court today, Coulter and Hayes had a prior dating relationship that spanned more than a decade. Hayes was last seen alive with him on or about January 25, 2010, at a South Holland motel. According to prosecutors, Coulter violently attacked Hayes at the motel causing numerous injuries that resulted in her death. Coulter then concealed the homicide by moving her body to a secluded wooded area in Thornton, where her remains were ultimately discovered on March 23.

Coulter was questioned by police shortly after Hayes was reported missing and police obtained a search warrant for his home where they discovered a loaded .380 handgun. He was taken into custody and has been held at Cook County Jail since that time.

“This is a tragic case involving the senseless murder of a victim of domestic violence who was struggling to break away from a relationship with a violent man who had brutally attacked her in the past,” said Alvarez.

“My hope is that it does not discourage women, but rather that it encourages communities to stand up with the victims of this violent crime to help support them and to help hold offenders accountable.”

Coulter appeared in court this morning before Judge Brian Flaherty who set bond a $10 million for the murder case and $1 million each for two counts of violating the terms of his bail bond. The case was continued to May 12.

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