Could this really be chalked up to police incompetence? According to the Jefferson Davis County Sheriff's Office, 20-year-old Sierra Inscoe was denied bond during her initial court appearance Wednesday for the murder of 24-year-old Carson. Many of his witnesses had been frequenters of the Boudreaux Inn, a now-shuttered motel where the towns drug dealers and sex workers would convene to get high and see clients. People who live in Jefferson Davis County generally consider the south part of the county to be the safest for this type of crime. JDCSO said the shooting caused the driver of the vehicle to swerve off the road. "To me justice is nobody having to live the way in which these women lived. Less than two weeks later, Reginald Hartzog was found dead of a gunshot wound in a burned home on Hartzog Magee Road. I was floored, he says. eventCategory: event.slot.getSlotElementId(), window.googletag.pubads().addEventListener('impressionViewable', function(event) { Nashville woman denied bond in Jefferson Davis Co. murder investigation, HPD seeks public help locating two suspects in ongoing investigations, Police seeking man wanted in connection to 2 commercial burglaries in Hattiesburg, Jones County volunteer fire department units deploy twice Sunday. } Learn how and when to remove this template message, List of fugitives from justice who disappeared, List of serial killers in the United States, "8 Deaths in a Small Town, and Much Unease", "In Louisiana, 8 Women Were Murdered and Cops May Be Their Killers", "Jennings 8: Unsolved murders haunt town, police", "Jeff Davis 8: Why A.G. The investigator was fined and removed from the case and placed in charge of evidence at the Parish sherriff's office. Though the article wasnt particularly long, it detailed the inability of Jefferson Davis law enforcement to get any leads on the case that had so far seen eight deaths not negligible, especially in a town of only 10,000 residents. In a statement quoted in the book, Boustanys communications director denied that Boustany had any connection to any of the victims or had ever even been to the inn. These women werent doomed because they were in a dangerous milieu. According to investigative journalist Ethan Brown, Richards was known to all eight of the victims and had often partied or done drugs with the girls. He also denied that Boustany was aware of Guillorys stake in the inn. Jefferson Davis Co Jail is for County Jail offenders sentenced up to twenty four months. Make a one-time donation today for as little as $1. In his new book 'Murder in the Bayou,' Ethan Brown follows the Jeff Davis 8 murders, a serial killer case that became something more sinister, Dark Truth Behind 8 Sex Workers Murdered in the Bayou, Broadway Theater Shutdown: Ripple Effects Felt Across the World. Derrick Miller, a detective with the Jefferson Davis Parish sheriff's office, spoke with investigators . January 8: Destin Rashard Holley, 23, was found dead in the same incident. But they were also dying under the weight of having no resources for their health problems, no resources for their mental health problems, no resources for substance abuse., Murder in the Bayou could be a story about unconstitutional policing run amok, but by focusing on the women themselves, the takeaway seems to be something far more heartbreaking. To me and years later I actually feel the same way it was the best representation of southwest Louisiana, visually, that Ive ever seen, Brown says of the series first season. Tips are confidential and no calls are taped, traced or recorded. Your IP: Most of the bodies were found in such a state of decomposition as to make the actual cause of death difficult to determine. At one point in the book, a witness tells him, Welcome to the Dirty South. After all, for those in other corners of America, theres something undeniably atmospheric about the bayou. This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks. Menudo Star Says Jos Menendez Assaulted Him. BASSFIELD, Miss. Published 6:26 am Thursday, December 16, 2021. The Abrams' son, Stephen Abram, was murdered, along with a friend Patrick Hartzog, in December 2017. [2] However, witnesses told investigators they believed the police had killed many of the victims because of what they knew about the shooting of Leonard Crochet. Its easy to say, Louisiana is terrible, it has the highest incarceration rate in America, it has the worst criminal justice system in America. All those things are true, says Brown. Indeed, women who provided information on the first few cases wound up victims themselves., It seemed that a new lead, a new horrifying implication, or a new allegation against a high-level individual came up every time Brown scratched the surface of the case. ga('ads.send', { I met him around sunset one evening and I woke up the next morning to the news that hed been murdered a few hours earlier.. Investigators said one suspect has been identified in the shooting and asked for the communitys patience. This Web site is funded through a grant from the Bureau of Justice Statistics, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice (2018-FU-CX-K045). Soon afterward, he was out of a job. Who Is Suspected Pentagon Leaker Jack Teixeira? The murder occurred after Gus agreed to testify in court about the Taylor brothers' dishonest money-making schemes. } They were all living in poverty and had criminal records filled with drug use and petty crime, often supporting their respective habits with sex work. A January 2010 New York Times article reported on the fear and frustration felt by family members of the slain women, as well as the missteps of local law enforcement in charge of solving the crimes. Brown clearly recognizes the pull: he named his book Murder in the Bayou. Cloudflare Ray ID: 7c0ef6dd7e3c8296 Click to reveal pg.acq.push(function() { Strickland said Sistrunk had been shot. [4][6] Family members of the victims suspect the police are actually responsible for the deaths. The September 2016 release of Murder in the Bayou: Who Killed the Women Known as the Jeff Davis 8? Parents of Stephen Abram spoke with the Jefferson Davis County Board of Supervisors at its meeting Monday concerned over unsolved murders in the county. ga('ads.send', { eventAction: 'click_adunit' 5) Bottom of the Map (Season 1 July 8 & July 15, 2019) The Prince William County Police Department remains committed to solving the below unsolved homicide cases. The community of Jennings lost faith in the police who were anything but helpful or effective in their search to find the killer. But he also got less than ideal attention. The tiny city made headlines when the bodies of eight young women showed up over the span of four-and-a-half years between 2005 and 2009. View Official Website. Johnson is being charged as an adult. In this case, both apply. },false) }); The case remains unsolved until today with no new leads to give the victims' families the closure they deserve. While reassuring to some, the beefed-up scrutiny wasn't enough to prevent an eighth death in August 2009, 26-year-old Necole Guillory was spotted off I-10 in nearby Acadia Parish or provide any new answers. [4][5] From the outset, the task force was searching for a serial killer. All callers are given an identification number to claim cash reward money. Between 2005 and 2009, eight women from. As a result, Richards was arrested but over time the evidence against him slowly started to disappear from the police department and Richards was out again after his charges were dropped. Through extensive interviews with families, suspects and taskforce personnel, and careful examination of public records, Brown uncovered evidence that pointed him away from the serial killer theory and toward a more complex cover-up orchestrated by authorities. If you have any information regarding Loftin, please contact the Jefferson Davis County Sheriff's Office at 601-792-5169. One of the prime suspects was drug addict, pimp, and former strip-club proprietor Frankie Richards who was known to brag about his violence and conquests in bed. Mississippi Skies: How long will the great weather last? All rights reserved. Halfway through the trip, he met a drug dealer named David Deshotel, who had recently earned the nickname Bowlegs after a gunshot wound to the leg left him with a limp. Once authorities arrived on the scene, they discovered that Davis had also been wounded with multiple gunshots. [2] A grand jury investigated the shooting and determined there was no probable cause for a charge of negligent homicide against police even though a Louisiana State Police investigation into the Crochet shooting concluded that he was unarmed when he was shot to death by law enforcement. After escaping from prison, Bell murdered a convenience store clerk in Broomfield, and later shot and killed three men in Lefthand Canyon in Boulder. were handled by local law enforcement with some in the town even thinking local sheriffs were involved. Brown was a writer and a private investigator living in New Orleans when he first read about the Jeff Davis 8 in a 2010 New York Times story. Look below to learn more about 35 Colorado murders, whether or not prosecutors asked for capital punishment and what ultimately happened, featuring text from Radelet's letter. Mississippi clerk facing up to 30 years in prison for alleged fraud, Former lead singer of Bishop Gunn arrested for allegedly mailing an obscene image to a prison. He dropped the lawsuit in December, after losing the race. Amid a tight battle for a Senate seat, Boustany filed a defamation lawsuit against Brown and his publisher. The Meeks were tenants on land owned by the Taylors. Click here to subscribe to our newsletter. (WDAM) - A shooting in Jefferson Davis County left one dead and one injured, investigators with the Jefferson Davis County Sheriffs Office said. [2] The victims also shared in common traits such as poverty, mental illness, and histories of drug abuse and sex work. local news and culture. The one common link between the victims was that they were all somehow involved in the sex trade and had difficulties with drug abuse. Further digging revealed multiple witnesses who alleged that Boustany was not only present at the Boudreaux Inn on multiple occasions, but was a client of at least three of the victims. Despite the fact that Richards' path crisscrossed with the police and all eight victims, he managed to remain free for many years after the murders. "This is not to say that people didn't love them. }) On May 20, 2005, the decomposed body of 28-year-old Loretta Lynn Chaisson Lewis was fished out of a canal on the outskirts of Jennings, in the Jefferson Davis Parish of southwest Louisiana. The Jefferson County Sheriff's Office (JCSO) said they arrested Joseph Koenig, Nicholas "Mitch" Karol-Chik, and Zachary Kwak. Rolling Stone is a part of Penske Media Corporation. Later that day, speaking with some former police officers, Brown recounted his experience. Click here to subscribe to our newsletter. }); Over the next year and a half, the bodies of four more prostitutes 26-year-old Whitnei Dubois, 23-year-old Laconia "Muggy" Brown, 24-year-old Crystal Shay Benoit Zeno and 17-year-old Brittney Gary were found in or near Jennings. He was either in a wheelchair or on crutches, and he made an impression just because he had been shot and he was kind of a mess, Brown tells Rolling Stone. According to authorities, an unidentified Walmart truck driver traveling toward Prentiss initially called 911 to report a young black male trying to flag down traffic in the eastbound median of Highway 84. Davis, 24, was found dead on Highway 84 at Lucas Nov. 14 in what was originally thought to be a hit-and-run. The details of the Jeff Davis 8 murders are so incredible - and so quintessentially bayou - that if they were fiction they'd seem a little heavy-handed. 2330 Columbia Ave, Prentiss, MS 39474. Alexander broke into the victims' home and waited for two hours before the victims arrived, when he then shot them. According. April 15: Philstavious Dowdell, 18, was killed in the same incident. Denver. Buddy Caldwell doesn't intervene", "The Jennings Eight, Part 1: "True Detective" Brought to Life in the Louisiana Bayou", "The Jennings Eight, Part 2: The Unmatched Incompetence of the Jennings Police Department", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Jeff_Davis_8&oldid=1152510286, Part of the "True Crime Tuesday" series in 2018 on, This page was last edited on 30 April 2023, at 17:35.