North Bellmore children find mother stabbed to death in murder-suicide

Four North Bellmore children returned to their Smith Avenue home from school on May 1 to find blood in their kitchen and their mother stabbed to death in the nearby laundry room. Sherrelle Hayes, 44, was stabbed three times by her husband, Thomas, 43, Nassau County police said.

After killing his wife, Thomas went upstairs, locked the door and hanged himself. Police found him, and he was later pronounced dead at Nassau University Medical Center in East Meadow.

"There was certainly some marital discord," Det. Sgt. Gregg Lesmeister said at a news conference the next day. "There's absolutely some indication of problems."

Police would not specify what problems the couple might have had, but said there was speculation that Sherrelle was planning to leave her husband.

On Tuesday, the couple’s oldest daughter came home from Grand Avenue Middle School to find her home locked. Thomas spoke to the 13-year-old through the front door and asked her to go pick up her three younger siblings from Newbridge Road School. When the four children, ages 7 to 13, returned together, the front door was still locked, but they entered through the back door, where they discovered blood that led to their murdered mother. Police say the children found a note that said their mother and father were hurt and they should call 911.

Authorities added that they found multiple weapons in the home.

Acorrding to a published report, Hayes was a fire safety inspector in Manhattan. He recently pleaded guilty to federal grand larceny charges. Hayes admitted that he stole discarded prison uniforms and telephone equipment from a federal building in Manhattan, and sold them on eBay for $25,000. He faced up to a year in prison.

The Hayeses normally crossed paths briefly in the morning before Sherelle left for her job at an insurance company in Jericho. Police confirmed that neighbors had heard arguing on Tuesday morning, but are unsure what time Thomas attacked and stabbed his wife.

Neighbors gathered outside the Hayes’ home on May 1 expressed shock and dismay. “They always seemed to get along,” said Michael Sudlow.

“I never would have thought,” said his wife, Dolores. “This was so out of character.”