Law enforcement failed to make any arrests and barely had a list of suspects. 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. The victims who have become known as "The Jennings 8" or "The Jeff Davis 8" were all different, but they were also deeply connected in various ways. local news and culture. 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.. Bell eventually pleaded guilty to all four murders and was sentenced to LWOP. Intricate murder cases like the Jeff Davis 8 can remain open for years, even decades. Alexander, Jeffrey Kirk. The show is based on investigative journalist Ethan Brown's 2016 book 'Murder in the Bayou: Who Killed the Women Known as the Jeff Davis 8?' When the body of victim number one, 28-year-old Loretta Lynn Chaisson Lewis, showed up in 2005, her death was associated with her drug habits and a possible fallout in the trade. ga('ads.send', { The book, obviously a much more detailed account than the Medium article, includes a particularly jaw-dropping revelation that came to light since 2014: In the second-to-last chapter, Brown discovers a connection between some of the victims and Louisiana Congressman Charles Boustany. Eight women were mysteriously murdered in Jennings, Louisiana from 2005-2009 and as the investigation progressed, the small town's dark secrets began to unravel. Its important to note that none of the allegations Brown highlights amount to accusing anyone of the murders. Meanwhile, the saga had expanded past the realm of local coverage and into the national media. 1 dead, 1 injured in Jefferson Davis County shooting, One dead, one wounded Friday night in Jefferson Davis County shooting, 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. The backlash spooked him. "The Jefferson Davis County Sheriff's Office, along with the U. S. Marshals Task Force, is taking every step necessary to locate Loftin and he will be brought to justice," said JDC Sheriff's Investigator John Wayne Tolar [1], Frankie Richard, a local strip club owner and suspected drug dealer[1][2] admitted to being a crack addict and to having sex with most of the victims. Karol-Chik told investigators with the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office that he and Koenig had thrown rocks and even a statue at passing cars on at least 10 other days before Bartell was. },false) Members of the Jones County Sheriffs Department assisted in the arrest. There was going to be an HBO show based in southwest Louisiana, which is where this case is set, and it was going be about unsolved homicides and sex work, to an extent. He realized that if the show was a success, it could potentially renew interest in the case. 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. April & July, 1999. }) },false) Worse, the malicious undercurrent that had killed the eight women and silenced the witnesses was threatening to come for him next. [1][2] Between 2005 and 2009, the bodies of eight women were found in swamps and canals surrounding Jennings, Louisiana. The article caught the attention of New Orleans-based writer Ethan Brown, who ventured to Jennings to conduct his own investigation beginning in mid-2011. 4. Despite the large body count, the evidence collected was close to none. Chronicled in the book .css-47aoac{-webkit-text-decoration:underline;text-decoration:underline;text-decoration-thickness:0.0625rem;text-decoration-color:inherit;text-underline-offset:0.25rem;color:#A00000;-webkit-transition:all 0.3s ease-in-out;transition:all 0.3s ease-in-out;}.css-47aoac:hover{color:#595959;text-decoration-color:border-link-body-hover;}Murder in the Bayou: Who Killed the Women Known as the Jeff Davis 8?, less than a month later, on June 18, another prostitute, 30-year-old Ernestine Marie Daniels Patterson, was discovered in another canal off a highway south of Jennings. (WDAM) - A shooting in Jefferson Davis County left one dead and one injured, investigators with the Jefferson Davis County Sheriffs Office said. Despite speculation, the Jeff Davis 8 cases were not the inspiration for the first season of the HBO series True Detective, according to creator Nic Pizzolatto in the series DVD commentary. document.querySelector("#google_image_div").addEventListener('click',function(){ April 15: Corbin Dahmontrey Holston, 23, was killed in the same incident. Hed spent years compiling the story, but by the fall of 2013 it was languishing in editorial limbo at a mens magazine. [2] Brown's work has revealed that there are multiple suspects in the Jeff Davis 8 case and that therefore it is unlikely that this is a serial killer case; furthermore, Brown has revealed that law enforcement's own witnesses have named members of local law enforcement as suspects in the case. }); The victims, he wrote on Medium, not only knew each other well and shared similar woes with their drug addictions and financial problems, they had all served as police informants. In December 2008, Jefferson Davis Parish Sherriff Ricky Edwards announced the formation of a task force culled from local, state and federal law enforcement agencies to investigate the murders. Emergency crews had to use the jaws of life to rescue those in the car. Jefferson Davis County Sheriff Ron Strickland said the shooting happened around 3 a.m. Wednesday at 288 Smith Jones Road.. Strickland said a domestic dispute between Lee Sandifer and his 47-year-old girlfriend, Christine Lewis, led to the shooting. Which was problematic, because I had to speak to a number of people in the parish. For a long time after the sheriffs note was published, Brown would meet witnesses and refuse to get out of his car, instead driving them outside the parish to conduct interviews. 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. 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. While what happened in Jefferson Davis Parish is a snarled web of power dynamics and deep-rooted corruption, Brown believes its symptomatic of a kind of system-wide brokenness that applies all over the country. Cloudflare Ray ID: 7c0ef6dd7e3c8296 2) Murder She Spoke (Ep. Louis area for bringing the issue of law enforcement misconduct into the public discourse., Trending They interviewed more than 100 people. He wrote that one of his contacts in Jennings, who is deeply connected to the case, told him, Ive already heard more than once that youll never get that book out. Investigators said one suspect has been identified in the shooting and asked for the communitys patience. All prisons and jails have Security or Custody levels depending on the inmate's classification, sentence, and criminal history. At the center of it all was Richard, the pimp and former strip-club proprietor who was also allegedly an informant and claimed to have been sexually involved with most of the women. He is reportedly home and recovering. }); They were doomed by their own social status, by the inescapability of their poverty, and because the people who were supposed to protect them, at best, didnt give a shit about them. }); eventAction: 'click_adunit' Later that day, speaking with some former police officers, Brown recounted his experience. 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. Beyond the backlash from those named in its pages, Murder in the Bayou drew a largely positive response en route to becoming a best-seller. 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. After escaping from prison, Bell murdered a convenience store clerk in Broomfield, and later shot and killed three men in Lefthand Canyon in Boulder. People who live in Jefferson Davis County generally consider the south part of the county to be the safest for this type of crime. ga('ads.send', { There were allegations that officers had sex with the women who later became Jeff Davis 8 victims, and the task force was, Brown writes, a near case study in conflict of interest. There was also evidence in the Jeff Davis 8 cases including the truck where one of the victims had her throat slashed that was seemingly tampered with or was removed from the parish entirely. Send us a tip using our anonymous form. You can take that however you want to.. Jefferson County. Less than a month later, victim number two, 30-year-old Ernestine Marie Daniels Patterson, was found in a canal off a highway. Denver. Last year, Radelet put together a letter to Governor John Hickenlooper's office that highlighted studies he'd conducted arguing against the death penalty, with one section pointing out how inconsistently (and rarely) it's been sought in Colorado even for the most shocking crimes. The victims were either intimately connected and/or related. As Brown pointed out, Richards had multiple allegations made against him and had been arrested around 23 times but was never convicted for any of his crimes. [2] However, the sheriff's office did not test the alleged crime scene until 15 months after Patterson's murder, and found it "failed to demonstrate the presence of blood."[2]. These women werent doomed because they were in a dangerous milieu. He dropped the lawsuit in December, after losing the race. Brothers Cameron and Colby Burroughs were arrested and charged with capital murder. Soon afterward, he was out of a job. [1] However, Brown's recent investigative work exposing connections between victims, suspects, and the police casts doubt on the theory that the Jeff Davis 8 is the work of a serial killer. Crime is ranked on a scale of 1 (low crime) to 100 (high crime) Jefferson Davis County violent crime is 25.4. The rate of murder in Jefferson Davis County is 0.03 per 1,000 residents during a standard year. We are reaching out to you in hopes that you will make an announcement to the citizens in your . But he also got less than ideal attention. Tucker Carlson Bashes Fox Nation in Leaked Video, Obviously I wrote the Medium piece years ago, and researched it years and years ago, says Brown. Thirty detectives worked the case full time. 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. Elections. window.adsContainer = {"position2":{"code":"Article_Mobile_Above_Next_Rel","max_width":300,"max_height":250},"position3":{"code":"Article_Mobile_300x250_ATF_Rel","max_width":300,"max_height":250},"position4":{"code":"Article_Mobile_Middle_Rel","max_width":300,"max_height":250},"position5":{"code":"Article_Mobile_Middle1_Rel","max_width":300,"max_height":250},"position6":{"code":"Article_Mobile_Middle2_Rel","max_width":300,"max_height":250},"position7":{"code":"Article_Mobile_Middle3_Rel","max_width":300,"max_height":250},"position8":{"code":"Article_Mobile_Middle4_Rel","max_width":300,"max_height":250},"position9":{"code":"Article_Mobile_Middle5_Rel","max_width":320,"max_height":250},"position10":{"code":"Article_Mobile_Middle6_Rel","max_width":320,"max_height":250},"position11":{"code":"Article_Mobile_Middle7_Rel","max_width":320,"max_height":250},"position12":{"code":"Article_Mobile_Middle8_Rel","max_width":320,"max_height":250},"position13":{"code":"Article_Mobile_Middle9_Rel","max_width":320,"max_height":250},"position14":{"code":"Article_Mobile_Middle10_Rel","max_width":320,"max_height":250},"position15":{"code":"Article_Mobile_Middle11_Rel","max_width":320,"max_height":250},"position16":{"code":"Article_Mobile_Middle12_Rel","max_width":320,"max_height":250}} Four people were in a vehicle when shots were fired, hitting two of the individuals, JDCSO said. [1][2], Author and investigative reporter Ethan Brown has revealed how police investigations have been plagued by missteps in the sheriff's office, contributing to lost or missing evidence. 5) Bottom of the Map (Season 1 July 8 & July 15, 2019) A raid of Richards' home in 2009 found weapons, cash, and drugs in his possession. The law enforcement agencies in Jefferson Davis County, MS, do not report crime statistics in a manner that lends itself to compiling general yearly crime data for their county. Davidson has since been sentenced to death for the crime. Alexander broke into the victims' home and waited for two hours before the victims arrived, when he then shot them. In a town with a population of around 10,000, the excess amount of easily available drugs resulted in corruption, addicts, and people looking to make some easy money. Nearly 150 evidentiary items were labeled. Boulder. 56 total Bessemer. document.querySelector("#ads").addEventListener('click',function(){ 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. }); The show is based on investigative journalist Ethan Brown's 2016 book 'Murder in the Bayou: Who Killed the Women Known as the Jeff Davis 8?'. Jefferson Davis County Sheriff's Deputies have arrested and charged one with murder in the death of Jarriyon Davis. [2], Police have arrested or issued warrants for the arrest of four people in connection with the case. The murder occurred after Gus agreed to testify in court about the Taylor brothers' dishonest money-making schemes. Though the victims causes of death varied several had or appeared to have asphyxiated, two women had their throats slashed the women of the Jeff Davis 8 had plenty in common. Jefferson Davis County is in the 81st percentile for safety, meaning 19% of counties are safer and 81% of counties are more dangerous. Mississippi Skies: How long will the great weather last? Academy Slaps Down New Rules After Andrea Riseborough, Tom Cruise, Michelle Yeoh Controversies Notifications can be turned off anytime from browser settings. None of them had been able to count on the police for protection. This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks. With a lack of evidence, a narrow list of suspects, the heavy involvement of the police in prostitution and drugs, the Jeff Davis 8 case looks to be more the work of a complex cover-up than the work of a serial killer. eventAction: 'click_image_ads' I stayed out of Jefferson Davis Parish for months, he says. Were sure youve never seen anything like this in your life. And these were cops.. We may earn commission from links on this page, but we only recommend products we back. 'Stop it!' Me and my husband hurt, said Alice Abram. [2][6] Most of the victims knew each other well. One also can be charged as an adult if they were in use of a deadly weapon. This page was last modified on 1 May 2023, at 13:59. Could this really be chalked up to police incompetence? If you have any information regarding Loftin, please contact the Jefferson Davis County Sheriff's Office at 601-792-5169. Your IP: . In one instance, the Times noted, the chief investigator bought a pickup truck from an inmate known to be friends with one of the victims. March 29: Walterius Jamal Barnes, 21, died at UAB Hospital from wounds suffered when he was shot multiple times from another car while he was driving, and crashed into a house on the 2900 block of Fairfax Avenue. A gendas. Unsolved MURDERS of Jefferson Davis 8. Residents have gone as far as to accuse the police to be involved in benefitting from the drugs and the chaotic environment. Northeast Alabama Regional Medical Center, Jefferson County District Attorney's Office, https://www.bhamwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=List_of_homicides_in_2023&oldid=201245, March 14: Timothy R. Davidson, 62, was died at, March 19: Djuante Nyjuwan Dickers, 23, died at. Deshotel was a street player in town who had dated two of the Jeff Davis 8 victims. 601-792-5169. At this time, investigators are not releasing the names or ages of the individuals involved. Brown clearly recognizes the pull: he named his book Murder in the Bayou. That takes time.. According to Browns book, what the evidence started pointing to was not a serial killer evading capture but a steady escalation of blatant misconduct by law enforcement. This is a List of homicides in 2023, including homicide cases reported throughout the Birmingham District. He also generated pushback from the Jefferson Davis Parish law enforcement, with new Sherriff Ivy Woods denigrating Brown as an "author of fiction stories." 1. April 15: Marsiah Emmanuel "Siah" Collins, 19, was killed in the same incident. According to relatives, many seemed excessively anxious or frightened before they disappeared, with the article making it clear that they couldn't rely on protection from police. All of them were from South Jennings, the poor side of town, and knew each other. You can almost smell it on True Detective all chemical refineries and Spanish moss and creeping swamps which captured it marvelously. JEFFERSON DAVIS COUNTY, Miss. Edna Brister was found dead outside her burned home on Hwy. Gordon Lightfoot, Canadian Folk-Rock Troubadour, Dead at 84 County. All callers are given an identification number to claim cash reward money. } In 1894 in Linn County, four members of the Meeks family (Gus, Delora, Hattie and Mary) were brutally murdered by George and William Taylor, wealthy citizens of northeast Missouri. The September 2016 release of Murder in the Bayou: Who Killed the Women Known as the Jeff Davis 8? [4][7], In 2009, the sheriff ordered that every investigator working the Jeff Davis 8 case be swabbed for DNA in response to the accusations against investigators. [2], Kristen Lopez, one of the victims, was present when police shot and killed a drug dealer named Leonard Crochet in 2005 along with several individuals connected to the Jeff Davis 8 case, including Alvin "Bootsy" Lewis, who fathered a child with victim Whitnei Dubois and is also the brother in law of the first victim, Loretta Chaisson Lewis. Lopez. Showtime's five-part series titled 'Murder in the Bayou' looks deeply into the case and highlights the negligence, harmful environment, and lack of police involvement that surrounds the untimely deaths of these women. [4][6] Family members of the victims suspect the police are actually responsible for the deaths. 2330 Columbia Ave, Prentiss, MS 39474. 2023 Rolling Stone, LLC. When the body of victim number one, 28-year-old Loretta Lynn Chaisson Lewis, showed up in 2005, her death was associated with her drug habits and a possible fallout in the trade. Anaya pleaded guilty to second degree murder for killing Ronnie Regalado in July 1999, and to manslaughter for the death of Ruben Macias Morales in July 1999. Her body was so dismembered that the coroner was unable to determine the specific cause of death. Click to reveal Copyright 2022 WDAM. There are references to mistaken deaths in Atlanta and Tampa as the result of shoddy police informant tips. The two were killed on White Rogers Road. Most were decomposed and displayed virtually no sign of trauma, their deaths believed to be the result of asphyxia. Anaya, Steven. However, crime means there are criminals with outstanding arrest warrants, and those people could, at any time, be in Jefferson Davis County. and help keep the future of Westword, Use of this website constitutes acceptance of our, seek the death penalty against Dexter Lewis, killing five people at Fero's Bar & Grill. Jefferson County Food & Safety Report April 30, 2023 at 2:25 a.m. There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase, a SQL command or malformed data. [1] Law enforcement's own witnesses have connected Richard to the Sheriff's Office. Anyone with information is encouraged to contact the Jefferson Davis County Sheriffs office at (601) 792-5169. The Jefferson Davis parish sheriff, Ivy Woods, posted a note on the departments official website, calling Brown an author of fiction stories, and decrying the article for insinuating corruption in our Sheriffs Office. The notes still up there, under the heading, From the Desk of Sheriff Woods. (In an emailed comment to Rolling Stone regarding Murder in the Bayou, Jefferson Davis Chief Deputy Christopher Ivey says that Brown speculates on many of the instances [in the book] based on information he obtained from people he admits he doesnt trust, adding that the cases have not been forgotten. The action you just performed triggered the security solution. Families and friends of the victims have also commented on the silence from the police and their slow attitude towards the case. [1] He was among those last seen with one of the victims, Kristen G. 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. Brown was shocked after all, this was the murder of someone intimately connected to other homicide victims. Suspicious of his colleagues, Ewing sent the tapes to a regional FBI office, only for them to be relayed to supervisors on the taskforce. From May 2005 - Nov 2009, 8 Beautiful women from Jennings and Lake Charles Louisiana (Jefferson Davis Parish) mysteriously disappeared only to be found murdered shortly after disappearing. eventCategory: event.slot.getSlotElementId(), [2] The victims also shared in common traits such as poverty, mental illness, and histories of drug abuse and sex work. [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. 8 years on and zero answers. }) Murdaugh faces dozens of charges related to financial crimes, and documentaries have highlighted a number of additional deaths that are or could be connected to the family, including of a. The Mystery Novelist Who Committed a Real Murder, Boston Marathon Bombings Survivors, 10 Years Later, A Complete Timeline of Adnan Syeds Trial, Release. 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. window.googletag.cmd.push(function() { Advertisement Around 6:30 p.m. Sunday night, the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office was dispatched to the 300 block of 20th Avenue NE to conduct a welfare check. The residents of Jennings explained that the north side of Jennings is full of the privileged and rich while the south side is known for poverty, prostitution, and drugs. Alexander also shot and critically injured a 6-year-old nephew of the former girlfriend. eventCategory: event.slot.getSlotElementId(), 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.
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