Convicted killer Jens Soering has another reason he feels he should get out of prison. Having rolled the dice and lost, Soering tells a lot about truth. He touches on comedy, television and heaven. It seems his last hope lies in DNA testing from a year and a half ago.
Soering is doing time for killing a wealthy couple on the Bedford County side of Lynchburg.
"I've spent 24 yrs. 9 mos , + 25 days in prison," said Soering.
While he's counting the days, he's lost track of the number of institutions.
"...and at his latest stop in the road is at the Buckingham Correctional Center in Dillwyn," said Soering.
News7's Keith Humphry spent almost two hours with him. Soering says he spends almost all his waking hours pondering the case, pouring over it in his head.
"I think about this from six in the morning to nine at night. Then I watch Gray's Anatomy," said Soering.
He's a German citizen, fled to Europe, along with his girlfriend, Elizabeth Haysom, after the crime was committed in Bedford County in 1985.
He took the rap for killing her parents, Derek and Nancy Haysom, for slashing them to death in their home on Holcomb Rock Road.
"I decided to lie and to cover this up," said Soering.
He was 18, assumed he wouldn't pull more than 10 years if he was returned to Germany.
"Ultimately, the person who's really to blame is me," said Soering.
Twenty six years later, he's still hoping to be deported. Keith Humphry asked him what he'll do if he ever gets back to Germany.
"Try not to take the fall for other people's crime for a while," said Soering.
He says it took him ten years to get over his anger and accept responsibility. He's become a Christian, looks forward to working in a Catholic publishing house in Germany someday.
"Will I go to heaven? That's not my decision to make. If there is some sort of judgment, ultimate parole board, I know the facts speak for me," said Soering.
The DNA test results are inconclusive. They don't clear him. They don't put him at the crime scene. But Soering hopes Gov. McDonnell will reconsider his decision and grant him a conditional pardon.
The lead investigator in the case sent the governor a letter over the weekend asking him to deny Soering clemency.
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Convicted murderer Jens Soering is hoping DNA evidence is his ticket out of prison.
Soering, who is serving a double life sentence for the 1985 murders of Derek and Nancy Haysom in Bedford County, spoke Friday with News7’s Keith Humphry at the Buckingham Correctional Center in Dilwyn.
He claims that since there isn’t any conclusive DNA evidence of his from the scene, it raises doubt about his involvement.
Reasonable doubt is the standard a jury applies to evidence at trial.
“You look at the fact that they recovered 42 samples and none of them can be linked to me, then you’re going to say to yourself, ‘Wow, that's not proof but it is reasonable doubt,’” Soering said.
For the hour-long interview Soering wore eye glasses, a wristwatch, brown boots, and prison-issued blue shirt and blue jeans.
Soering, now 44 years old, expressed a range of emotions from profound and remorseful to spiritual and agitated.
He was even funny, saying that when he’s not working on the case he watches “Grey’s Anatomy.”
Throughout the interview he proclaimed his innocence.
Soering almost didn’t have to rely on DNA evidence for his freedom.
Former Governor Tim Kaine agreed to Soering’s deportation back to Germany in 2009.
However, current Governor Bob McDonnell rescinded that decision.
Now, Soering believes a conditional pardon is what he deserves.
He went on to express frustration at the political process, saying that he “just wants to go home.”
He also accepted accountability for helping Elizabeth Haysom, the victims’ daughter and his former girlfriend, cover up the crime.
Also, he says Elizabeth Haysom committed the murders, but she shouldn’t be held entirely accountable because of her mental state.
Without going into detail, Soering revealed that he’s lost touch with his father, a former German diplomat. He also said his mother died in 1997, and that he recently got back in touch with his great aunt.
Soering pointed out that since he’s been incarcerated, he has never been issued an institutional infraction.
For more on this story, watch News7 at 6 Monday for a follow up on the interview.
