Can you keep a secret? We’ve all been asked this before, more than likely in elementary school. On the playground with all your classmates when a friend approaches you if they can tell you something. Of course, you pause to think but only for a split second before anxiously repeating, “yes, yes, what is it?”. Their reply “well I will tell you but only if you can keep it a secret”? This big secret that means so much to you when you are young is just harmless. Maybe your friend played a trick on someone, or they told you who their crush was. These are harmless secrets and are playful in nature. As adults, do we ever hear this? I know I haven’t, but one family has, the family of Trish Haynes. Just months after she vanished without a trace in 2018, the local police department asked her loved ones just that. They have been fighting for justice for her ever since.
First, I would like to thank Valorie, Trish’s aunt, for speaking with me. Trish was such an important piece in all of their lives. Their hearts are broken over Trish being taken from them so senselessly, but Trish’s family remains strong in the fight for justice. I would also like to thank Chloe, an advocate for Trish and her family. Chloe has spent a significant amount of time helping Trish’s family. Valorie and family are very grateful for her kind heart.
Trish Danielle Haynes was born in Florida on July 22, 1993, to parents Megan and Toby. Trish was an only child to the couple. Toby would pass away due to health complications when Trish was just a young child. Sandy, Trish’s grandmother (Megan’s mother) would ultimately raise Trish along with her husband Steve. Sandy and Steve raised Trish in Florida and New Hampshire throughout her childhood. Sandy owned property in New Hampshire that was rented out to tenants. Trish would often be seen playing with neighborhood children and meeting new friends at the common shared pool. Trish was a good friend to everyone she met she held close to her. Trish was a kind and caring kid that was always there when you needed her. She enjoyed being with her family and friends. Valorie recalls Trish being a girly girl, whom she would often take frequently shopping. The two were close and enjoyed each other’s company. Trish was an average student in the academic department. She was sociable, always trying to make new friends and fit in with the more popular crowd.
In 2014 Trish started dating a man named Chris Hughes, her first official boyfriend. They met through a mutual friend in Florida. At one point Chris moved to a town in New Hampshire, in the White Mountains, called North Woodstock. Trish followed Chris up north and together they started working at a local restaurant called The Landmark. Chris worked as a cook and Trish washed dishes. They lived in an apartment that was rented above the restaurant. The couples’ relationship was a rocky one and it was evident to almost everyone including their employers. Trish would often arrive at her shift with cuts and bruises. One time while Valorie was visiting, she was shocked to see Trish had cut all of her hair off. Trish told her aunt this was because she had babysat for someone, and their children had head lice. Later Valorie uncovered this act was not because of head lice but because of Chris. Chris was an incredibly jealous partner frequently arguing with Trish over her unfaithfulness. Trish never strayed from their relationship, so it is unclear why Chris ever felt this way. During a fight involving this, Chris made Trish shave her hair off because he thought she was cheating on him. For the next couple years Trish would be caught in a cycle of abuse with Chris. Eventually Trish couldn’t handle the abuse and filed a complaint against Chris at the North Woodstock Police Department. At first, the police took the complaint seriously and filed domestic assault charges against Chris. This terrified Chris and he apologized and begged Trish to drop the charges. Trish did not want to ruin Chris’s life and agreed. However, the detective handling her case warned her if she were to drop the statement, she would then be charged with filing a false report, but Trish made the decision to drop the report. The department did not take her withdrawal kindly and ultimately filed a misdemeanor criminal charge against her for filing a false police report.
Trish and Chris stopped dating and Trish moved out. She moved back to Florida to be with her family, but she did receive a summons from New Hampshire court to appear. Trish was potentially facing a short jail term if convicted. Trish’s scheduled court date would be held in January 2018. In December 2017 Trish flew back to New Hampshire and stayed with a friend Becky Bordonaro while waiting for her court date. Becky lived in a very remote part of the state in Rumney. Becky worked often and was away from home most of the day. Trish did not have any means of transportation and was unemployed, relying on her social security checks for a long-term disability. The area provided no cell or internet service, which left Trish alone to her own devices. Trish was an avid social media girl, posting regularly and in constant communication with family and friends. Trish grew restless and hoped for a quick change of serenity. She reconnected with an old classmate from the area, Ashley Smith. Ashley lived with her husband Doug Smith and their children in Grafton New Hampshire. During this same time Trish was made aware that her original court date in January was postponed to April. She explained her frustration about court and her isolation where she was staying. Ashley offered her a place to stay at her home. Trish jumped at the idea and accepted Ashley’s offer. On Sunday, January 28th, 2018, Becky gave Trish a ride to the Citgo Gas Station/Evan’s Express Mart in Canaan, NH, where she was picked up by Ashley and Doug Smith in a red minivan. Doug and Ashley lived at 225 Main Street in Grafton.
Within weeks after moving in with Ashley and Doug, Trish’s cellphone stopped working, the belief is the phone was not functional. Her regular contact with her grandmother, Sandy, was now few and far between. When Sandy did get the opportunity to speak with her it was via Ashely’s phone, and it would only be for short periods of time. This left Sandy with a constant uneasy feeling. Sandy had no way of checking on Trish physically. She also did not have Trish’s exact address or Ashley’s last name to give to someone that could even stop by to check in on her. Hoping the inconsistent contact would die down after Trish’s court date. Sandy knew after court she would make her way back to Florida. April came and went without hearing from Trish. On Wednesday, May 16th, Sandy had a major heart attack, this is when she had her last phone call with Trish. During the call Ashley was pressuring Trish to hang up, she did. This left Sandy with unanswered questions such as how her court date went or when was she making her way back south to Florida. After that final phone call Sandy was only able to speak to Trish via text, and only through Ashley’s phone. Those texts turned into Ashley telling Sandy Trish did not want to speak with her anymore or any of her family. This was unheard of and extremely out of character for Trish. Sandy demanded to speak with her granddaughter only for Ashley to repeat that Trish did not want anything to do with her family anymore. Even claiming Trish actually wasn’t living with Ashley anymore and that she had started dating a new guy from Vermont but, could not provide any further details about the man or where in Vermont to look for Trish.
The same month, Valorie, who lived in New Hampshire during the summer months returned to the state and she made it her mission to track down Trish. Quickly Valorie uncovered Trish never made it to her court date which was the only purpose of her staying in the state altogether. Valorie attempted to ask around to see if anyone knew of Ashely and Doug and where they possibly lived. No one could provide her with any answers. She even contacted Chris, Trish’s ex-boyfriend, but he had not heard from her. May turned to June and Ashley was still attempting to convince Sandy that Trish moved to Vermont with a new boyfriend. This time Sandy gave Ashley an ultimatum, if she did not hear from Trish by the end of the week, she would be contacting the police and file her as a missing person. Ashley boldly replied, “if you file a missing person’s report, you’ll never see your granddaughter again” and abruptly hung up. Sandy was at a loss for words. She sent Ashley a follow up text that read, “Ashley is what you said coming from you or from Trish?” Ashley replied. “I can’t handle this – I just got out of a psychiatric ward.” Ashley was not lying to Sandy when it came to this statement, she committed herself weeks ago. The reasoning for this, however, is unclear.
After this interaction Sandy immediately called the police on June 6, 2018. A report was filed, and this call started the search for Trish Haynes. In the following months Trish’s family and the police worked together. One of the first things that Val and Sandy did was contact the Social Security Administration to apply a stop payment to Trish’s benefits. Their thought process was if she was in hiding somewhere she would have to come out to dispute this. Trish never came forward. On August 28th, state police used K-9’s and helicopters to search several spots in Grafton. All of these areas were associated with Ashley and Doug Smith. The most important location was 225 Main St, the house where Trish lived with the Smith’s. A forensics team roped off the property with caution tape, suggesting to the public that it was a crime scene. In addition to that home, a small cottage on Wild Meadow Rd (house #608) was searched, and a camper located at 91 French Hill Road. On August 29th, 2018, the first public announcement was made about Trish’s disappearance. It was covered by the local news. A representative for the state’s attorney general’s office, Jeff Strelzin, along with New Hampshire State Police, asked for the public’s help, hoping that someone would know something about Trish’s whereabouts. After the initial search, Strelzin said, “Based on investigation today, we are not aware of any particular threat to the public.” During the search Ashley, who still resided at the home, did a on camera interview with the local news station WMUR 9. During the interview Ashley stated Trish had been “gone for a while, at least July, maybe June?” Asley went on to say she had been “best friends with Trish since childhood,” and that she was “worried sick about her.” She made a plea to Trish, “Hopefully Trish will see this and come out and show the public that she’s fine”.
The first week of September reports surfaced that the state police, as part of their search, had pulled some crates out of Grant’s Pond, just off Wild Meadow Road, but Strelzin would not confirm whether or not they discovered anything related to their investigation. After the search of Grant’s Pond was conducted Sandy was asked for a sample of her DNA, which she provided, and three months later in January of 2019, the police gave her some devastating news.
The investigators asked Sandy, “Can you keep a secret”. What they had pulled out of Grant’s Pond was a combo washer/dryer unit, and what they had discovered inside, were human remains, belonging to her child, Trish Haynes. Sandy was told she could not tell anyone, even her own family, about this discovery and emphasized if she were to do so it could harm any future investigation. Sandy convinced them to allow her to tell at the very least one person, Valorie. Investigators allowed Sandy to share the news with Valorie, but it could not go past them.
A year had passed since Trish’s family reported her missing, it had been six months since the phone call when Sandy was asked to keep her secret. The investigation into the murder of Trish was silent and her family did not receive any new answers or any information from the police. This left her family feeling ignored and lost, Sandy was ready to break her silence, and Valorie was right behind her supporting the decision. Valorie called local New Hampshire media and told them she wanted to give an interview on Trish’s disappearance. That same day, the attorney general confirmed that the remains discovered the year prior did in fact belong to Trish Haynes, and they provided an estimated date of death of May 18, 2018, a month and a half before she had been reported missing, and just days after she had last spoken with Sandy. This information was the most heartbreaking news they could have ever imagined. Their loving, sweet, kind, caring Trish was gone. They would never get another chance to tell her they loved her, hug her, give her advice. The family’s world was crushed, and time stopped as they knew it.
During the time Trish was staying with the couple she was sharing a small home with 5 kids and 2 other adults. As more people stepped forward, they painted a picture of Trish as a victim of mental and physical abuse at the hands of Ashley and Doug Smith. Multiple people claimed to have seen instances of varying abuse of Trish that spring. A woman named Kayla Fife filed a report after Trish was reported missing about witnessing her being abused by the Smith. Another woman named Faith Partridge spoke with WMUR said she met her the year before at Doug and Ashley’s and remembered Trish as disheveled and said she avoided making any eye contact by looking at the floor. She also reported to the police that her husband had witnessed Doug backhanding Trish in his presence. A witness Beverly claimed that Ashley and Doug had manipulated and taken control over Trish, beating her and forcing her to clean and take care of the kids. They apparently used her social security money and “pimped her out” to their friends to “earn her keep”. It was also claimed by witnesses that Ashley was the one who was more abusive towards Trish. Ashley would accuse Trish of trying to steal Doug and claimed that Trish had slept with both Doug and Travis. Trish was claustrophobic, and as a joke, Ashley allegedly made her get into a non-working freezer chest in the basement, and lock her in. It was one of those large freezers that had a padlock on it. One time the joke went too far... Doug and Ashley went out for the day, and when they came back and went downstairs to check the freezer, they found Trish dead. She had suffocated inside. One day Angela came over to help Ashley, who wanted to ‘renovate the basement”. The area included a working washer-dryer set, and a non-working freezer that Ashley wanted to dispose of. Sometime later, Angela came back to help Ashley clean it out. She found dark hair in the freezer, and asked Ashley who it belonged to. Ashley said it was from Doug’s deer carcasses from hunting. To this day the freezer has never been recovered.
In October of 2019, the investigation took yet another frustrating turn when a strong message was sent to those who were cooperating with authorities and speaking out against Doug and Ashley. Two separate cars were deliberately set on fire. The fires were determined to be arson by the fire Marshall. Both cars were at a total loss, but no one was charged in either case. Another incident occurred when the family of Trish were attending a local fair and Ashley, and her mother were taunting the family with their own shirts they made depicting phrases involving Trish. Ashley is now 28, and she has been convicted of multiple theft charges, multiple charges of falsifying legal documents, and a charge of ‘filing a false report’ after she claimed that the chief of police assaulted her, stole her gun, and took her money. Their children have been removed from their care and placed into foster care. Doug’s documented criminal history is alarming. He is only in his early thirties and has a rap sheet like a career criminal. Doug has racked up charges including criminal threatening, burglary, assault, harassment, violation of restraining orders, violation of probation and bail conditions, possession of a weapon as a convicted felon, among other things. At least one woman has a permanent restraining order against him. He is a registered sex offender after he was convicted of a felony sexual assault in 2009.
In March of 2018 both Doug and Ashley were arrested for theft by deception and receiving stolen property during an incident at a gas station. This is where the consequences started to get serious for Doug. In August of 2019, Doug allegedly fired a handgun at a moving vehicle, which was both extremely dangerous and a crime in and of itself, but also a serious violation of the rules of him being a felon. Warrants for his arrest were obtained in August, but police couldn’t find him, and he remained at large, avoiding arrest, until he turned himself in September 5th, 2019, a couple of months after the AG had announced that Trish’s remains were found, and that she was murdered. He was arraigned on felony charges of reckless conduct, possessing a weapon as a felon, and several misdemeanors of criminal threatening, mischief and theft. His bail was set at $10,000. In December of 2019, Doug was charged with tampering with public records’ and ‘voter fraud’, after he registered and voted in both Grafton and Danbury. He had also failed to register as a sex offender.
While he was out on bail, in January 2020, he sexually assaulted a woman in Croydon. Doug again fled from his arrest. The US Marshalls and the NH Fugitive Task Force then got involved, assisting the NH State Police who were seeking Doug on outstanding arrest warrants from multiple jurisdictions. He was even featured on A&E’s crime show, “Live PD” as the ‘fugitive of the week’ in March with a $2,500 reward. He was considered armed and dangerous. Doug was finally arrested on June 9, 2020, in Vermont where he had taken on a new identity. They quickly arrested Doug with Ashley also present in the home. This time Doug was not given bail, for obvious reasons. In December, he was convicted and was sentenced to only five to ten years, as part of a plea deal. He is currently serving concurrent sentences for all, and his latest possible release is in 2030. Neither Doug nor Ashley have been charged with anything related to Trish Haynes. Leaving her family to pick up the pieces of what once was.
Chloe and Valorie have created a community online. A community that advocates for Trish and spreads the word about her case. A community that grows stronger and larger every year. In August 2024, Trish’s family spoke at the gathering at the State House in New Hampshire. Demanding accountability from the state for Trish’s homicide. “They know who did it, there is no question, why has no one been charged?”
Valorie speaking at the Gathering at the State House about Trish (August 2024)
What happened to Trish Haynes in May of 2018? A chance reconnection of meeting of old acquaintances who were far from friends turned tragic, forever tied up in the cycle of “what if”. What if Trish dumped Chris before it got to the point of filing a police report? What if Trish did not come across Ashley and Doug on social media? What if Trish had gone back to Florida? What if someday the children speak up about what they witnessed in that home? “What if” won’t bring Trish back. Neither will be getting her justice. But at the very least, justice will take a violent criminal off the street, and Trish’s family can lay her to rest and finally be at peace. The questions we should be asking, why has no one been charged with Trish's murder? Or better yet why did law enforcement ask this family to not speak of what happened to Trish? Loved ones of Trish continue to bring attention to her story, speaking loudly about what happened to her and the injustice in her case. This is the only option her family has left. To continue to fight, and to ask people to fight with them, instead of keeping secrets.
Follow the Facebook page set up for Justice for Trish Haynes
Listen to Trish's story
Trish Haynes: Tragedy in Rural New Hampshire — Murder, She Told: Maine & New England True Crime (murdershetold.com)
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