Richard Crowder, a 65-year-old White man, was found fatally shot inside his Exeter, California, home shortly after 1:00 a.m. on May 30, 2022. Authorities responded to reports of gunfire; Crowder was pronounced dead at the scene. Both of his dogs were also shot during the incident and one did not survive.

Investigators treated the death as a homicide but initially did not identify a suspect or disclose a motive. Nearly three years later, Tulare County detectives obtained a warrant for Nicholas Hayes and arrested him at a Goshen residence on March 21, 2025, booking him on a murder charge. Many details about motive, the relationship between Hayes and Crowder, and the evidence leading to the warrant were not publicly disclosed in initial reports.

The case moved from an unsolved killing to a criminal prosecution with Hayes in custody. If anyone knew Richard Crowder, his home, or observed suspicious activity in Exeter around May 30, 2022, please share what you know.