SAN FRANCISCO — An alleged prostitute has been charged with manslaughter for injecting a Google executive with heroin and then leaving him to die of an overdose on board his yacht.
Alix Tichelman, 26, who is being held on manslaughter and other charges, did not enter a plea Wednesday when she appeared in a Santa Cruz, Calif., courtroom in a red jailhouse jumpsuit.
Her bail has been set at $1.5 million. She is due back in court next week.
The sensational charges rocked Silicon Valley where Forrest Timothy Hayes, 51, was a longtime — albeit not well-known — executive.
Hayes, who also worked for Apple and Sun Microsystems, died Nov. 23 on his 50-foot yacht, Escape, in the Santa Cruz harbor.
Alix Tichelman, 26, who is being held on manslaughter and other charges, did not enter a plea Wednesday when she appeared in a Santa Cruz, Calif., courtroom in a red jailhouse jumpsuit.
Her bail has been set at $1.5 million. She is due back in court next week.
The sensational charges rocked Silicon Valley where Forrest Timothy Hayes, 51, was a longtime — albeit not well-known — executive.
Hayes, who also worked for Apple and Sun Microsystems, died Nov. 23 on his 50-foot yacht, Escape, in the Santa Cruz harbor.
His body was discovered the following morning by the yacht's captain.
Police say security footage from the yacht shows Hayes suffering "medical complications" after shooting up heroin.
Instead of trying to get help for Hayes, Tichelman is seen gathering her belongings including drugs and needles, downing a glass of wine and lowering the blinds before leaving the yacht, Santa Cruz Police Deputy Chief Steve Clark said.
"She showed no regard for the victim," Clark told KXTV-TV in Sacramento.
TANGLED WEB: Hayes seemed a model of Silicon Valley success
THE SUSPECT: 26-year-old faces manslaughter charge
A Google executive shooting up drugs and hiring prostitutes contrasts sharply with the spic-and-span public image of Silicon Valley as a place where geeks in hoodies sleep under their desks and devote their lives to inventing the next big thing.
But people here say that illicit activity is not uncommon.
Tichelman had an "ongoing prostitution relationship" with Hayes that began when she met Hayes on SeekingArrangement.com, which specializes in connecting "sugar daddies" and "sugar babies," authorities say.
An undercover policeman lured Tichelman back to Santa Cruz by posing as a client and offering her $1,000 for sex.
Tichelman, who was living with her parents in Folsom, Calif., was arrested Friday.
Police say they are also investigating Tichelman's possible involvement in a similar death in a different state.
Her attorney, Diana August, did not respond to a request for comment from USA TODAY.
Assistant District Attorney Rafael Vazquez said authorities could file more serious charges.
"The investigation is ongoing," Vazquez said.
Tichelman, 26, described herself on social media as a makeup artist, writer, model, hustler, exotic dancer and "baddist bitch."
She was fond of posing for pursed-lipped selfies with dyed red hair, tattoos and black lingerie.
Tichelman had a fixation with fictional blood spatter expert and serial killer on cable television's Dexter. And she wrote poetry about drugs, even an ode to heroin.
At least on the surface, Hayes seemed the model of Silicon Valley success.
Married for 17 years to his wife Denise and the father of five children, he started out in the automotive industry in his native Michigan before segueing into tech.
After stints with Sun Microsystems and Apple, he joined Google, where he was an executive with the Internet giant's high-profile X division responsible for experimental "moonshot" projects such as Google Glass and driverless cars.
Google put out a statement late Wednesday: "Our hearts go out to Forrest's family during this difficult time."
Hayes' other former employers did not respond to requests for comment from USA TODAY.
"You showed us how to be better engineers and a better team. It is wonderful to reflect on all the advice and direction you shared in our short time on Glass," one Google X engineer wrote on a memorial website. "Your impact and focus was tremendous, but your touch for inspiring those around you is what made you an incredible leader."
Friends remembered a decisive man who lived fully.
Fed up with his 40-minute commute from Santa Cruz to Google's headquarters in Mountain View, he bought a hybrid Chevy Volt in order to access car-pool lanes.
"We all know Forrest, he is a very practical guy, yet impatient to fix the issue," wrote Mahesh Krishnaswamy on the memorial website. "He always came up with fairly simple and elegant solutions — very candid in his opinion, yet reasonable in his judgment and caring with his interactions."
A family obituary published in the Santa Cruz Sentinel in January remembered Hayes as someone who "enjoyed spending time with his family at home and on his boat."
Contributing: Marco della Cava, Donna Leinwand Leger and KXTV-TV in Sacramento.
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