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Dykes, Heather

Status: active

Profile written August 2, 2026

Current Position Deputy Warden Of Administration Mcrae Women’s Facility
Salary $39,180 2025 · state payroll
Deaths Under Their Watch 4 during their tenure

This profile reflects positional accountability — this individual held the leadership roles shown during the dates shown, during which the listed deaths or lawsuits occurred. Inclusion does not constitute a legal finding of personal culpability for any specific incident.

Tenure Summary

Heather Dykes began her employment with the Georgia Department of Corrections in a series of financial staff roles at Dooly State Prison — first as a Financial Operations Generalist 2 in 2023, then as an Accounting Technician 3 from 2024 through the first half of 2025. On August 16, 2025, Dykes was promoted to her first facility leadership position: Deputy Warden of Administration at McRae Women’s Facility, a post she still holds. GPS records attribute four deaths to McRae Women’s Facility during her tenure as deputy warden. All four deaths occurred within a nine‑week window in the spring of 2026. No lawsuits naming Dykes as a defendant have been identified.

What happened on their watch

McRae Women’s Facility (Deputy Warden of Administration, August 16, 2025 – present)

During Dykes’s tenure as deputy warden, four deaths were recorded at the facility. The first, on March 16, 2026, was Beverly Suzanne Sipple, age 59. Two deaths followed in close succession in May: Kristal Lyn Layne, 55, on May 10; Shannon Michelle Rush, 43, on May 16; and Chasity King, 26, on May 18. All four decedents are listed under cause category 6 in Georgia Prisoners’ Speak records. Apart from the death records themselves, the GPS database contains no additional intel reports, news articles, or litigation tied directly to Dykes’s leadership at McRae Women’s Facility that would illuminate the circumstances of these deaths.

Litigation

  • None found.

Sources

  • Georgia Prisoners’ Speak records — four deaths attributed to McRae Women’s Facility during Heather Dykes’s tenure as Deputy Warden of Administration (Beverly Suzanne Sipple, Kristal Lyn Layne, Shannon Michelle Rush, Chasity King); all four classified under cause category 6.

Synthesized by GPS Intelligence System on Aug 2, 2026 from positions, attributed deaths, lawsuits, intel reports, and news mentions in the public corpus. The supporting data tables follow below.

Positions Held

TitleFacilityTenure
Deputy Warden of AdministrationMcRAE WOMEN’S FACILITY2025-08-16 → present
ACCOUNTING TECHNICIAN 32025-01-01 → present
ACCOUNTING TECHNICIAN 3DOOLY STATE PRISON2024-01-01 → 2024-12-31
FINANCIAL OPS GENERALIST 2DOOLY STATE PRISON2023-01-01 → 2023-12-31

Deaths attributed during tenure

4 people died at facilities under Dykes, Heather's leadership.

DateDecedentAgeFacilityRole at time
2026-05-18CHASITY KING26McRAE WOMEN’S FACILITYDeputy Warden of Administration
2026-05-16SHANNON MICHELLE RUSH43McRAE WOMEN’S FACILITYDeputy Warden of Administration
2026-05-10KRISTAL LYN LAYNE55McRAE WOMEN’S FACILITYDeputy Warden of Administration
2026-03-16BEVERLY SUZANNNE SIPPLE59McRAE WOMEN’S FACILITYDeputy Warden of Administration

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