Haley Nicole Smith was 22 when she was killed while working the closing shift at a Papa John’s in Elkhart, Indiana, on the night of February 12, 2022. Her fiancé, 37-year-old Dustin Carr, was also found dead the next morning by an employee who arrived to open the store. Prosecutors described the killings as a targeted attack.

Investigators focused on a former employee, 19-year-old Jose Benitez-Tilley. Surveillance showed a gold Dodge Caravan entering and leaving the restaurant parking lot several times that night, and a coworker who left earlier said only Haley, Dustin, and Benitez-Tilley remained. Benitez-Tilley later confessed, admitting he shot both victims, tried to dispose of the bodies, stole items from the scene, and said he partially disrobed Haley and attempted sexual intercourse after her death. He was charged with two counts of murder; a plea agreement led to dismissal of an attempted abuse of a corpse charge and a prison sentence of 65 years for each murder, to be served concurrently.

Haley was remembered by friends and family for her love of reading, sunflowers, and an infectious, generous personality.