The documentary features an interview with Soering himself.

By Katelyn Mensah

Published: Monday, 06 November 2023 at 14:43 PM


Netflix’s latest true crime series examines the murders of Derek and Nancy Haysom, who were brutally killed in 1985 in their Virginia home. 

The subsequent investigation focused on their daughter Elisabeth Haysom and her boyfriend Jens Soering.

Though they weren’t initially considered suspects, Soering and Haysom fled to England after the murders where they lived under false names. In 1986, they were arrested.

Soering later confessed to the double murder, saying he killed his former girlfriend’s parents while she was waiting for him at a hotel. However, he later recanted and said he was the one waiting at the hotel.

He told the authorities he made his initial confession in a bid to protect Haysom, under the belief he would be granted diplomatic immunity.

In 1990, Soering was convicted of murdering the parents of his former girlfriend, Elizabeth Haysom, with Haysom being convicted of two counts of accessory before the fact to murder.

Thirty three years after the trial, the case of Soering vs Haysom is the subject of a new Netflix documentary. Read on for more information about where Jens Soering and Elizabeth Haysom are now.

Where is Elizabeth Haysom now?

Elizabeth Haysom served 32 years of a 90-year prison sentence after pleading guilty to two counts of accessory to murder before the fact in 1987.

She, along with Soering, were paroled in November 2019, but not pardoned.

Haysom was released from prison to the custody of the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement and was then deported to her home country of Canada in 2020.

Where is Jens Soering now?

Jens Soering wearing a grey shirt with blue jeans
Jens Soering.
Netflix

Jens Söring, often spelt as Jens Soering in English, is the son of a German diplomat who, in 1990, was convicted of murdering Derek and Nancy Haysom.

Soering pleaded not guilty, and said he made a false confession to protect Haysom.

He was tried for two counts of first degree murder in 1990 and was sentenced to two consecutive life sentences.

In 2019, Soering was granted parole, after his previous parole requests were rejected 14 times.

In a statement, board chair Adrianne Bennett said (as per USA Today): “The parole board has determined that releasing Jens Soering and Elizabeth Haysom… is appropriate because of their youth at the time of the offences, their institutional adjustment and the length of their incarceration.

“The release and permanent expulsion from the United States is an enormous cost-benefit to the taxpayers of the Commonwealth of Virginia and we have determined that their release does not pose a public safety risk to the community.”

At the time of his release, Soering said in a news conference: “This is the best day of my life,” and was deported to Germany.

According to The Washington Post, Soering is barred from returning to the United States or having contact with the victims’ family, including Elizabeth Haysom.

As of 2019, Soering is estranged from his father and brother and said he had plans to turn his ordeal into a motivational speech on resilience.

“I came through this pretty well, I think,” he said. “They didn’t break me. … I was a free man who was imprisoned against his will, and I fought my way out.”