The Jens Söring Case — 1985 Haysom Murders in Virginia

The Case

The Jens Söring case is one of the most contested American murder convictions of the late 20th century. It centers on the 1985 stabbing deaths of Derek and Nancy Haysom in Bedford County, Virginia, and the prosecution of their daughter's boyfriend, a young German national and University of Virginia honors student named Jens Söring. Söring was convicted of first-degree murder in 1990 and sentenced to two consecutive life terms, while Elizabeth Haysom — the victims' daughter — was sentenced as an accessory before the fact. Although the case is formally solved in court, it remains heavily disputed because Söring has long maintained his innocence and continues to seek post-conviction relief.

The Crime

In 1985, Derek and Nancy Haysom were found stabbed to death inside their home, known as Loose Chippings, in Bedford County, Virginia. The killings were extraordinarily violent, with both victims suffering severe knife wounds. Investigators discovered blood evidence throughout the home, including a now-infamous bloody sock print that would later become a central — and contested — piece of forensic evidence at trial.

The prosecution argued that Söring traveled from the University of Virginia campus to the Haysom home, killed both parents, and returned to provide an alibi alongside Elizabeth. According to later media summaries of the case, the prosecution's core evidence included type O blood at the scene, the bloody sock print, and a series of confessions attributed to Söring during questioning by British and American investigators.

The Victims

Derek Haysom was a retired steel executive, and Nancy Haysom was his wife, a woman with deep family roots in Virginia society. The couple lived a quiet life in rural Bedford County and were known in their community before they were brutally killed in their own home. Their daughter, Elizabeth Roxanne Haysom, born 15 April 1964, was a Canadian-American student at the University of Virginia, where she met Jens Söring. Her complex relationship with her parents — and with Söring — would become a defining element of the case.

Investigation

The investigation initially struggled for direction, but suspicion eventually focused on Söring and Elizabeth Haysom after their behavior drew the attention of investigators. The pair fled the United States and traveled across Europe and Asia before being arrested in England in 1986 on unrelated check fraud charges. While in British custody, Söring gave detailed statements admitting to the killings — confessions he later claimed were false and made to protect Elizabeth, whom he believed would face the death penalty in Virginia.

Extradition proceedings became a landmark European human rights case, ultimately requiring assurances that Söring would not face capital punishment. According to WVTF public radio reporting, later defense efforts have challenged the original forensic conclusions, including arguments that the sock-print evidence relied on what experts now call "junk science," and that DNA testing has raised questions about whether unidentified individuals were present at the crime scene.

Trial and Verdict

Elizabeth Haysom pleaded guilty in 1987 to two counts of being an accessory to murder before the fact and received 90 years in prison. Söring went to trial in 1990 and was convicted of murdering both of Elizabeth's parents. He was sentenced to two consecutive life terms for first-degree murder in Virginia. The prosecution relied on his confessions, blood-type evidence, and the sock-print analysis to secure the conviction.

Throughout the trial and in the decades that followed, Söring maintained that he had falsely confessed and that Elizabeth — or another individual — was the actual killer.

Today

After more than 33 years in Virginia prisons, Söring was paroled and deported to Germany in 2019. He has since become a public advocate for his own exoneration, writing books and giving interviews to outlets including WSET in Virginia and German media. In 2026, his legal team filed a renewed request to overturn his conviction based on new evidence and updated forensic analysis. The case has also attracted significant attention from streaming platforms, including a Netflix docuseries examining the relationship between Söring and Elizabeth Haysom and the disputed forensic record. While the conviction stands, the Söring case remains one of the most actively contested murder convictions in modern American legal history.