Video: Murder Victim's Mother Speaks on Sentencing, Remembers her Daughter

 

Pam Haynes sat quietly in the courtroom for four days, listening to testimony, viewing disquieting images and hearing confessions of the murder of her daughter. 

Seated on a bench next to one of her three living daughters, she was within three yards of the man that had taken her child from her, the two huddling together for support during emotional moments, shaking their heads, tapping their fingers and wiping back tears.

Heather Salazar was killed on Aug. 31, 2013. In 10 days, her family, who will remember her by her maiden name Felts, will go through the pain of the killing once again, as the first anniversary of her passing approaches. 

The trial of Felts' husband Matthew lasted four long days, and after compelling testimony by both the state and defense attorneys, no one could have predicted that the jury would turn out a 99-year sentence in less than an hour. 

Standing before the courthouse after the verdict was read, friends and family of Felts smiled, relieved that the jury had finally served justice. 

In an interview after the verdict, Haynes had a lot to say about her daughter, and remembered her fondly as a hardworking and competitive woman who was intelligent, passionate and a good mother. 

During the most emotionally-trying moments of the trial, Haynes said she pushed through, asking herself what her daughter would do and knowing that she would stay strong. 

Her life, and the life of her family, has changed over the past year, she said, but the most difficult part is the moments when she realizes that her daughter is not there. She still sees things that remind her of Heather and picks up the phone to tell her about things, only to realize that it won't ring.

Heather Felts would have turned 31 this year. She left behind two boys, both under the age of 10. 

Below is a portion of the video interview conducted immediately after the trial. Some parts have been ommitted due to technical errors with memory on the recording device.

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YOUR DAUGHTER HEATHER WAS NOT LILLY WHITE. SHE DESERVE WHAT MATT DID TO HER. BRADLEY FLOYD IS AN ADULTERER WHO SHOULD BE LOCKED UP. WE KNEW WHERE SHE WAS GOING THAT DAY. MATT WAS NOT FOLLOWING HER. SHE TOLD EVERYONE SHE WAS MEETING FLOYD. SHE DID NOT KEEP IT SECRET. WE WILL DO WHAT WE CAN TO GET MATT A REDUCE SENTENCE LIKE HE DESERVES. #TeamMattSalazar #WeSupportMatt #ReduceMattSalazarsSentence #FreeMattSalazer #SalazerIsInnocent
He should have kept the gun at home. Why did he feel it necessary to take it? Was he in fear of losing his life if he caught them together? Was he such a weakling that he couldn't defend himself by hand? What was his intention taking that gun into that house? There were other choices, he could have filed for a divorce, he could have acted like a man! He's in jail based solely on the emotional decisions he made originating at the moment he first decided to pursue a relationship with her. And she didn't, nor does anyone else, deserve to die for infidelity. I understand how his emotional state could have been clouded, but your comment paints you as delusional Nicole.
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Nicole, we live in an extremely misandrous culture. The double standards which we hold men and women to are blatant exercises in idiocy, with the man (right or wrong) almost always falling under the veil of suspicion. A teen girl who willingly runs of with her boyfriend will be portrayed as a vulnerable child under the spell of a controlling, manipulative Svengali. A woman who's apprehended after a nationwide crime spree with her male partner will throw herself on the mercy of the court and cite brainwashing, threats of violence etc.. This milieu of contradictory criterion is all too often the elephant in the room which most people tend to ignore, either out of necessity or convenience. As a consequence of these accepted and privileged absurdities, any man under the delusion of successfully ironing out issues of infidelity with a gun is doing nothing short of nailing his coffin shut. Realistically Matt would've been portrayed as the bad guy anyway. In divorce court and child custody proceedings his character would be ran through the wringer. He'd be painted as the abusive and vindictive husband who (of course) drove his wife into the arms of another man, due to his inability to cater to her emotionally -- and now wants to add insult to injury by stealing HER children. Worst case scenario, he'd lose a few friends and possibly be sentenced to another 10 years or so of the common tactics of bitter and jaded ex-wives who use their children as pawns to feed their egos and pocketbooks -- but he'd be FREE to pick himself up and begin a new life. As it sits now Matt is a convicted murderer. Any wrongdoing on his wife's part will now be lost in the fact that an angry man picked up a gun and killed this wonderful woman. At least 30 years of his life are gone, thrown away over someone who placed more value in sporadic sexual urges than the sanctity of their marriage or any irreparable damages her actions could do to their family or the man she purportedly loved. Any dreams or aspirations Matt may have had, anything of value which he may have wanted to leave the world or his children will now take a backseat, due to a moment of lapsed judgement. "Convicted murderer" is a tough title to carry, and sadly now this is his legacy.
WOW!!! You people and your ideas are what is wrong with society today!! Because she cheated she deserves what she got??? And if they divorced he would always be the "bad guy"?? From testimony it seems he is the one, by y'alls standards, that should have been shot. He cheated on his first wife, cheated on his second wife with his first wife, and cheated on his second wife and first wife with heather. So by all rights, he deserves 3 times what he did to heather?? No, someone was unhappy and should have asked for a divorce. Killing her or him because of cheating is a cowardly action. Trying to destroy another person because you are unhappy never ends well for either parties. Personally, my opinion is that he laid in wait , just so he could catch them in the act and justify what he had PLANNED on doing when he headed over there with a gun, broke in and killed her. The death penalty should have been sought and applied. One must take FULL responsibility for their actions. They make decisions to do bad things and should have to pay for them. Period!
jdgt, Fri, 08/22/2014 - 09:51
Hashtags on SAL... that's a new one. (and completely pointless.) Is that you're way of spewing your complete ignorance? You have NO IDEA how stupid you're making yourself sound right now. You might as well chant in front of the mall with signs saying "The sky is really purple!" Yeah... Matt might not have cheated on Heather (how would I know, I didn't know them as a couple.) But he's not innocent of murder. You don't get a 1-time, free pass because you had your little heart broken. I hope that anyone who attempts to have his sentence reduced has their little, pea-sized brains squashed back down to size because you guys are seriously, SERIOUSLY trying to stand on a podium that's way too big for you.
My take on this matter was that he made things worse by choosing to kill his wife. I never implied he was completely devoid of faults and shortcomings. In fact if he was as adulterous as many claim, he should've treaded lightly in respects to how he handled his marital issues. Had his wife been the one to kill HIM, you can bet the slant would've been towards a "self defense" argument or allegations of abuse in the past. Many would've given her the benefit of the doubt as well -- more than likely resulting in a sentence far less than 99 years. Infidelity (on either end) isn't an excuse for murder. You should however realize the differences and contrasts in such cases. Accused men who claim they were driven to murder their wives will almost always be disbelieved and convicted, while women who claim their husbands drove them to kill are often sympathized with and treated far more delicately. Knowing this, a man should err on the side of caution before he decides to pick up a gun and kill his wife/girlfriend -- premeditatedly OR in the heat of the moment.
Lares, I think that is "misandrist culture". You make valid points although they are probably wasted on this particular situation. Unless I'm mistaken, which happens frequently, Heather had 2 children and Matt had 2 children so there shouldn't have been that battle to fight. I do not agree that Matt had a "moment of lapsed judgement". He took the gun with him, that was more than a moment and I believe it speaks to his character and his intent.
"Misandrous", an adjective which I used to describe the attitude of society as a whole. The suffix "ous" indicates having the properties/qualities OF or full OF, and usually utilized to Anglicize Latin and Greek words (e.g. Misandry - derived from misos+andros) -- while "ist" would be used commonly (but not always) to describe a singular subject who performs a specific action, produces a specific product or a person who practices or is concerned with something. I'm not at all familiar with the dynamics of their family structure, regarding their respective children. I cited however the common outcomes of failed marriages which eventually end up in bitter court battles. Again, premeditated or not I don't believe there was any reason or excuse for Matt to take things in the direction he did. Whether or not he planned it, he clearly didn't consider what ramifications he'd ultimately suffer. The price one pays for murder is usually that of their own life -- a hefty fee to seek revenge on a woman who can't keep her pants on. As far as coming off as "a bit bitter", I'm not sure how you arrived at this premise. I'd welcome the evidence that would disprove the double standards which men and women are held to in respects to criminal prosecution and penalty phases. The validity of these double standards are pertinent to this case, in the sense that Matt screwed up twice: resolving to kill his wife and then expecting any semblance of leniency from a jury with a socially ingrained bias.
Idiots walk among us folks. When someone thinks that a murderer should get a lesser sentence they are truly an idiot. I know both, Heather and Matt. Matt was a douche bag that felt that he was God's gift to women and he was just a pathetic little meth head. He is a very jealous and greedy person so anyone that will want to help him all that you are doing is showing the world what an idiot that you really are. When you choose to take someone's life you better be ready to pay a price for that and now he is getting what he deserves, I'm sure he will find a little friend where he is going. When you want to help him think of those 2 little boys without a mother and ask yourself what if that had happened to your sister or daughter, you would want them to pay the price so stop showing your ignorance.
"A little friend" ha ha Guess, you're most likely correct, he seems to be one who needs constant attention.

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