Did retired Charleston detective Vincent Hayes solve a cold case by recognizing missing woman Aaliyah Porter's face in a wax figure at a gala? No, that's not true: This story is just another fabricated tale from a YouTube channel that has been riffing on a mystery theme where dead bodies are hidden in plain sight as medical models, dolls, mannequins and wax figures. There is no record of a Charleston police detective by the name Vincent Hayes or a crime victim Aaliyah Porter who died on Aug. 12, 1994 -- this story is fiction.
The story, illustrated with AI-generated images, appeared in a video (archived here) published by the YouTube channel Minority Struggles on Dec. 10, 2025. It is titled:
A Retired Detective at a Gala Spotted a Wax Figure That Matched His 21-Year Unsolved Case
The narration begins:
Click below to watch the video on YouTube:
A Google search (pictured below and archived here) for the keywords, "Vincent Hayes" AND "Charleston, South Carolina", only produced duplicate copies of this clickbait story and one unrelated findagrave.com entry.
(Image Source: Lead Stories screenshot from google.com/search.)
Another Google search (pictured below and archived here) for, "Aaliyah Porter" AND "Charleston, South Carolina", also failed to surface any relevant results. There were no news reports to indicate there was ever a solved or cold case regarding a woman named Aaliyah Porter in Charleston, South Carolina.
(Image Source: Lead Stories screenshot from google.com/search.)
The video bears a YouTube disclaimer which says:
How this was made
Altered or synthetic content
Sound or visuals were significantly edited or digitally generated.
The channel's description (archived here) does not explicitly state the content is fictional, but relies on the word "inspired" to convey that understanding:
We tell the stories no one else dares to.
Each video is inspired by real emotions, real injustices, and real hope.
From stolen adoptions to unexpected reunions...
This is where forgotten voices are finally heard.
In recent weeks the Minority Struggles channel has published multiple mystery stories where the surprise ending is rather predictable. Examples of how the body was found hiding in plain sight can be seen in the video titles below:
- Dec. 9, 2025 -- A Woman Opened a Victorian Doll's Head After 30 Years & Discovered the Truth About a Missing Child
- Dec. 8, 2025 -- A Maid Accidentally Broke a Billionaire's Wax Figure & Discovered the Truth About Her Missing Sister
- Nov. 25, 2025 -- A Mother Was Told Her Son Was "Cremated" in 2012 --6 Years Later She Found Him at a Las Vegas Exhibit
- Nov. 11, 2025 -- A Movie Theater Kept a 'Prop Body' for 28 Years -- A YouTuber Discovered It Was a Missing Actor
- Nov. 1, 2025 -- Antique Shop Sold a "Life-Size Doll" for $2 Million -- Buyer's Appraisal Uncovered the Horror
- Oct. 29, 2025 -- PART 2 A Modelling Agency Kept a "Mannequin" for 20 Years -- A Janitor Discovered It Was
