Cannibal killer who idolised serial killer asked how vegetarians would taste before killing mum-of-s

Publish date: 2024-06-22

For Charles Hyder June 8, 2014, will be a date that will always haunt him. That was the day he received a call from his ex-wife, Lisa Hyder.

Lisa, 37, was finishing up her shift at the liquor store she worked at, which was located in Manchester, Tennessee.

She asked him if he could pick her up. Charles informed her he was some distance away and requested she wait for him.

When he was en route to pick Lisa up, he called her to let her know he was on the way. Lisa never answered her phone.

Thinking she already got a ride back, he drove home and called her again. Still, she did not answer. To his horror, Charles would later discover his wife did get a ride home that day. It would also be the last day of her life.

Gregory Scott Hale, 37, lived with his parents, whose home was on Pete Sain Road, in Summitville in rural Tennessee but it was an uncomfortable existence.

The neighbours knew enough of Hale to cause them uneasiness. Hale had moved back in with parents when he lost his job at the meat processing plant. He was fired for taking blood, bones, and the eyes of slaughtered animals home with him.

Taking home animal parts was only one of the bizarre habits Hale demonstrated.

He idolized serial killer Richard Ramirez; popularly known as the Night Stalker.

In the summer of 1989, Ramirez went on a killing and raping spree in Southern California. He was convicted of 13 murders, five attempted murders, 11 sexual assaults, and 14 burglaries.

Hale aspired to be like Ramirez and obsessively read Ramirez's “manifesto.” When Ramirez died earlier that year, Hale wrote on Facebook: “R.I.P. Night Stalker….Wish I could have met U…”

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He frequently blogged and posted pictures on Facebook to share his obsession with Satanic worship, weapons, cannibalism, and Ramirez. Hale also posted pictures of himself dressed in black, armed with large knives and other weapons. He also posted pictures holding venomous snakes and the heavy metal group Slayer.

He also posted the following comments: “I hug the people I hate so I know how big to dig their hole in my backyard.”

“If someone were to become a cannibal and eat a vegetarian, would the vegetarian taste like that fake soy meat?”

Hale was driving through Manchester in June 2014 when he stopped off at a liquor store to get some beer. When left the store, he noticed an attractive woman waiting at the corner. That woman was Lisa Hyder, who had just gotten off work.

Hyder had recently separated from her husband. When they had been together, they had lived in the suburbs of Chattanooga, with their six children.

They had separated because of her alcoholism . Her refusal to get help eventually created a breaking point in their marriage. She also had another demon to deal with; she had ovarian cancer.

Hyder was staying with friends in Manchester and was waiting for her ex-husband to pick her up. Hale offered to bring her home. She hesitated at first, but was getting tired waiting. As they drove, Hyder noticed he was not following the directions she gave him. Hale told her that he needed to make a stop at his home.

When they arrived at his home, he invited her inside. She was hesitant until he mentioned they could have a few drinks before taking off again to bring her home. Hyder agreed. She did not have the strength to put up with all the stress she was experiencing in her life and wanted a drink.

Hale got the fireplace going and sat down next to her. He poured her a drink, and they started to talk about each other’s lives.

The effects of sharing each other’s stories, the fire, and the alcohol came together to make her feel comfortable with Hale. Hale could detect this and moved in closer to her. They had a long kiss, and Hale suggested they go to bed.

After having sex, they lay in bed. When Hyder fell asleep, Hale got out of bed, went to his closet, and grabbed his machete. Standing over her sleeping body, Hale swung the machete with a hard downward motion that caused the sharp blade to drive through her torso.

She let out a scream of pain when he swung at her again and again.

Looking at the horrific results of his actions, Hale felt a great sense of pleasure.

He had accomplished the kind of deed that his hero, Ramirez was known for. The bed sheets were soaked in blood as it flowed from her deep gashes. His bedroom walls and carpet were splattered in red.

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Hale disembodied and decapitated Hyder’s body. He placed her head and hands in one bucket, and her feet in another one. Smiling with pride, he picked flesh from the body parts and began to eat them. He even used his phone to take a picture of the buckets filled with flesh.

He decided to bury the rest of her body in his parent’s backyard, which had a burn pit. It was the perfect place to bury a body. Though Hale wanted to be like Ramirez, he was not experienced in committing crimes. He made an unbelievable mistake.

Hale went to one of his neighbours and asked if he could borrow his mechanical digger. The mistake he made was the comment he made to the neighbour. He told his neighbour he needed the digger to bury a body.

His neighbor called police , who arrived at Hale’s home and arrested him. They found Hyder’s body and the buckets at the burn pit. Hale had no choice but to confess to his crime. He was charged with first-degree murder and the abuse of a corpse.

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While many thought Hale was odd, no one could have imagined he would ever commit such a heinous crime. As a neighbor stated: “I don't know what to think that this kid I've known for 28 years could do something this gruesome.”

Hale was in court on June 23 and pleaded guilty to first-degree murder.

Eventually, he was moved from the county jail to Tennessee’s state prison.

A psychiatrist familiar with the case stressed the significance of catching Hale. He stated that Hale was in the beginning stages of learning how to kill.

If he had not been caught, he most likely would have gone on to kill more people. The psychiatrist further stated Hale had most likely rehearsed in his mind how to kill women by stalking them and imagining how to rape, kill, or capture them.

True Crime Stories Volume 1: 12 Terrifying True Crime Murder Cases by Ryan Becker is out now .

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