Ta’Haley Payton died from hypothermia in Charlotte, death ruled accident, report says
Ta’Haley Payton, the 22-year-old mother from South Carolina who was found dead in Charlotte in December, died from hypothermia, according to a Mecklenburg County Medical Examiner’s Office autopsy report. Her death was found to be accidental.
Payton was visiting Charlotte from Spartanburg in November with her boyfriend to celebrate her birthday. Her family reported her missing on Nov. 20, the day after her birthday.
Her body was found on Dec. 9 near the 1100 block of Baxter Street, across from Kenilworth Avenue, where her friends and family had organized a search a few days before.
Friends and an employee at the Microtel Inn & Suites by Wyndham in north Charlotte said Payton and her boyfriend got into an argument, and her boyfriend drove away, leaving her at the hotel.
Payton’s friend, Kelanie Davis, previously said Payton and her boyfriend “got into an altercation, and she got left here with no phone, no money, no resources” the night she disappeared.
A witness said Payton went into a Crumbl Cookies store in midtown three times that night asking for help and to use someone’s phone.
One woman who let Payton use her phone said Payton texted her boyfriend, saying she would sleep outside and that she was “sorry for everything.”
Employees at an Arby’s and the Trader Joe’s in the area also reported seeing Payton that evening.
The autopsy report said Haley was found “mostly unclothed” in a streambed.
“Autopsy examination reveals no evidence of acute injury, but there are dark hemorrhages in the stomach,” the report said. “These hemorrhages in the stomach are consistent with hypothermia.”
The report said the cold temperatures when Haley was found, and her state of undress, further supported that hypothermia was responsible for her death.
Isopropanol, or rubbing alcohol and non-pharmaceutical benzodiazepine, also known as benzos, were found her in system but were below lethal levels, the report said.
This is a developing story.
This story was originally published March 3, 2025 at 10:53 AM.
