GUILTY ID - Amber Schwenn, 23, found strangled, Payette, 25 July 2014

The parents of a Payette man charged with second-degree murder say a "twisted, sick kind of love" led to his ex-girlfriend's death.

Cody Hays is accused of strangling Amber Schwenn on Friday. Her coworkers say the relationship was one marked by domestic violence...

Schwenn had two children, including one with Hays.

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Payette Police Chief Mark Clark says Cody Hays faces a second-degree murder charge in the death of Amber Schwenn. Payette County Coroner Keith Schuller says Schwenn was strangled to death. Schwenn’s mother called police on Friday morning when her daughter didn’t show up for work.

The mother told police Schwenn was supposed to drop her toddler off with Hays, who is the child’s father. Hays was spotted driving Schwenn’s car. A police report says he told officers they could find Schwenn’s body at his apartment and that he had killed her.

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The trial for a Payette man charged with murdering his ex-girlfriend is on hold until spring.

Attorneys have asked for an extension in Cody Hays’ trial. The defense and prosecutors are looking for a qualified mediator who may be able to help avoid a trial, deputy prosecuting attorney Joshua Dolton said...

The jury trial, which had been slated for this month, has been continued to April 7, with a pretrial hearing scheduled for March 6.

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A 25-year-old Payette man has pleaded guilty to strangling his former girlfriend to death last summer.

Cody D. Hays is scheduled for sentencing on the second-degree murder charge April 7. He changed his plea to guilty earlier this month.

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Judge Susan E. Weibe of the 3rd Judicial Court in Payette on April 16 imposed a 23-year fixed sentence for second-degree murder.

Cody Hays, 24, will be eligible for parole after 23 years. He could serve an additional 20 years after that point, but if the Parole Board releases him, he will have to be monitored or supervised until he is 67 years old.

Hays agreed to the 23-year fixed sentence in February when he pleaded guilty to the second-degree murder of Amber Lee Schwenn.

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