New developments in unsolved Jennings murders

Couple of items I found on Topix:
http://www.topix.com/forum/city/jennings-la/TP3AHR3961TQE8UNB
Brittany Jones
Opelousas, LA
#2 Jul 20, 2007

I am the sister of Whitnei Dubois, and I would like to first and foremost thank the person who was brave enough to speak up and make this comment. I have a very hard time myself believing that in a small town like Jennings, it is near impossible to solve 4 murders of four women. In my opinion, if these women would have been the daughters of elected officials or some of our higher class citizens of Louisiana, then maybe the job would have gotten done. Let's not forget that these girls lived very troubled lives and no one knew what they went through or what they were going through. My sister was a good person, who had just recently gotten caught up in an unhealthy lifestyle that unfortunately cost her her life. She was also the mother of a 5 yr old daughter who will never again get to see her "mommy". Now if anyone could have been the one who had to tell her on MOTHER'S DAY that her mother was not coming home or if you had to hold her as the tears rolled down her face as we put her mother into the ground then maybe people in this community would be more understanding to this tragedy.
The above post is date 2007......This next one (also from above link) doesn't have the year but I'm pretty sure it's 2008:
Kirk Menard
“Licensed Private Investigator”
Joined: Sun Oct 19
Jennings, Louisiana
#3 Sunday Oct 19


We have just opened an investigation independently of any law enforcement investigation. Since we are not law enforcement officials, we have more leeway in questioning and obtaining answers to many unanswered questions. Due to confidentiality, we cannot disclose our clients but we can say that we are receiving alot more information in our first day of this investigation than they have received since the beginning of the law enforcement investigation.

Another post by PI.....his response when another poster asked how it was going.
Kirk Menard
#8 Wednesday Nov 12

It's going good. We have some leads that we've turned over to several law enforcement agencies and we are still working night and day on this.

This is another Topix link:
http://www.topix.com/city/jennings-la/2008/09/womans-body-found-near-jeff-davis-canal

A poster at Topix asked PI (Menard) if local LE needed to request additional assistance......Menard replied and then I quoted him and asked the questions below......he hasn't posted a reponse as of yet.
Mahmoo
Lafayette, LA
#3Sunday
Kirk Menard wrote:
They can and the FBI has been called in to assist but they can only do so much with the evidence they are given (hint hint)
Any chance you can expound on the "hint hint" part? Not sure if you mean local LE doesn't have much evidence to give or they are just hesitant to turn over what they do have.

What happened with the arrest (connected to the murder of Kristen Gary Lopez) of
51-year-old Frankie Richard and 22-year-old Hannah Conner in May 2007? Is Richard still alive? Is Conner still in the state?
 
Truck he purchased from inmate linked to March slaying
Author: DORIS MARICLE; AMERICAN PRESS
November 27, 2007

~snip~

Gary told investigators he bought the truck for $9,000, the amount he had available without having to take out a loan. He later sold the truck for $15,000 to a grant writer - the ex-wife of a state trooper in Lake Charles - making a $6,500 profit. ........
Now what kind of detective has 9 grand just laying around the house?! I have known many detectives. They drove older cars and lived less than luxurious lifestyles. This seems very odd to me. What does he do as a side job?
 
This fella was cleared but interesting.


Detective cleared

Truck he purchased from inmate linked to March slaying
Author: DORIS MARICLE; AMERICAN PRESS
November 27, 2007

Article Text:

JENNINGS - A veteran Jeff Davis Parish sheriff's detective has been cleared of wrongdoing in connection with his purchase of a pickup truck that may have been involved in the slaying of a local woman.

The finding follows a seven-month state police investigation of Detective Warren Gary's purchase of the truck from an inmate. ..............

Gary bought the truck from Connie Siler, who had been arrested on worthless-check charges, after she was released from jail on March 30............

Post snipped a bit........Wow, glad you found this article.......has my hinky meter going crazy!! What a coincidence is all I can say.

I'm also wondering why the latest victim, Brittney Gary, was walking alone at dark (last seen at 5:30 pm).....especially in light of the other murders not to mention the fact she had told her mother she was afraid :waitasec:.

As for the body that was found in the middle of the road on the way to the police shooting range.........sounds like whoever is doing this is taunting LE big time.
 
Now what kind of detective has 9 grand just laying around the house?! I have known many detectives. They drove older cars and lived less than luxurious lifestyles. This seems very odd to me. What does he do as a side job?

Good point SS........plus, Jennings is just a little podunk town for the most part........I doubt the pay is very high.
 
Now what kind of detective has 9 grand just laying around the house?! I have known many detectives. They drove older cars and lived less than luxurious lifestyles. This seems very odd to me. What does he do as a side job?

Good point SS! Especially in such a little town where median household income is $24,410.
Maybe he did some wheeling and dealing on the side.. why would he even buy the truck from someone who just got out of jail; being that the truck may have been involved in one of the slayings? hm.. 7 month investigation about the truck is a very long investigation. I can't help but wonder if he may know something or someone involved in the murders of these young women.
 
Warren Gary
CHIEF CRIMINAL INVESTIGATOR

http://www.jeffdavis.net/

Wonder if that's a recent promotion?

Also this paragraph goes with the Detective cleared/truck story:

State police investigators were unable to get a statement from Siler, who is now in Yuba City, Calif., according to the report. Gary and Warden Terry Guillory told investigators that Siler offered to sell the truck to Gary after being notified by Jeff Davis Bank of its impending foreclosure on the truck because of overdue payments.

Gary and Guillory allegedly drove the woman to a bank in Lake Arthur in a Sheriff's Office vehicle to complete the transaction after she was released from jail.


Before Gary purchased the vehicle, "he had no knowledge that the vehicle was possibly a crime scene," according to the report. Gary had bought the truck to replace another vehicle, but did not like the gas mileage and sold it.
-----
Okay, the truck sale had nothing to do with it being tied to a murder or the $6,500 profit. :waitasec:

And is anyone else impressed by how accommodating the Warden & Det. Gary were with Ms. Silver? Right to the bank after release!

------------------------------

Sorry to posts bits and pieces but I think there be a copyright issue if full article is posted.
 
Wow......some toasty tidbits you posted capoly......thanks.

In light of the situation, and after much searching (and not coming across a whole lot considering this started in May 2005), it seems as though these murders have kind of been kept hush-hush, on the down-low so to speak.

Bits and pieces are starting to emerge since the number of "assumed" victims is now at 7 (as far as we know) and the situation appears to have really caught the attention of journalists and media in this area.

Looks like there's a very strong possibility that Louisiana has another serial killer on the loose even though officials are reluctant to come right out and say that :waitasec:.

I've been pouring back over what little info we do have right now. I get the feeling that whoever is murdering these young women is not a druggie or drunk themselves. A person that was drugged and/or liquored up would not be able to murder and dispose of those bodies without leaving some type of evidence. Whoever is doing this had their "wits" about them. There also seems to be some merit to the fact that they're leaving the bodies where they'll be discovered rather quickly and all within close proximity of each other. All 7 bodies have been found within a very, very small radius (crime wise). I could be wrong but, I just don't think someone under the "influence" is doing this.
 
Well here's another bit from Det/Truck article.


Gary bought the truck from Connie Siler, who had been arrested on worthless-check charges, after she was released from jail on March 30. She used the proceeds to pay off the truck loan and make restitution as part of her sentence.

The report indicates that the truck had been rented out by Siler to "two black males" in exchange for cocaine and had been found abandoned in a private driveway while Siler was in jail.
...................

I find it hard to believe this is acceptable legal behavior.

..............

Mahmoo, what are you looking for up there? LOL
 
April 10, 2008
Section: News
Page: A01
Veteran deputy violated ethics
State board fines ex-investigator for buying truck from inmate
Author: DORIS MARICLE; AMERICAN PRESS

JENNINGS - A former chief investigator with the Jeff Davis Parish Sheriff's Office has been fined $10,000 by the Louisiana Board of Ethics for violating state ethics laws.

The board found Warren Gary violated the ethics code when he bought a truck from an inmate - a vehicle that may have been linked to a murder - and later sold it for profit.

"I received a written correspondence from the Ethics Board stating that they'd reviewed their investigation and found I was basically guilty," Gary said.

The board was scheduled to hear charges today in Baton Rouge, but the issue was removed from the agenda after Gary paid the fine and signed a consent decree agreeing to the board's finding.
 
Mahmoo, what are you looking for up there? LOL

Thanksgiving, oven on, man with oven mitts looking for turkey, turkey in next room with lampshade on head (hiding)......
1.gif
 
"..the people arrested early this year who were allegedly involved with ONE of the girls...they were release due to lack of evidence. But I say it again, when a cop was caught having sex w/a female who had been arrested for prostitution, he disclosed this along with "other information" to a P.I. The cop was arrested and given a bond of $50K which we know that $5k will get you out...I dont think he's in jail and his trial doesn't have a date yet! Now, scratching your head and going Hum?! would be appropriate.
cuss.gif
"
http://boards.insessiontrials.com/showthread.php?t=345264&page=2
(posted by AngreeCajun on that link there)

Maelstrom5 's post in also interesting:

"..You said “The answer is under Sheriff Edward's nose...he doesn't want to see it” and by that I take it to mean the possible connection to someone in LE. I agree that is an avenue that should be pursued because that is just the type of person whose car Brittney would have gotten in to. But just because Sheriff Edwards has not mentioned that possible connection does not mean he is not looking into it, just that he does not want to go public at this time."
 
Though there hasn't been many details released about the COD on the murdered women, it has been divulged that one of the women had their throat slit (Ernestine Patterson). It was also known that LaConia Brown had been doused with bleach. What wasn't previously released (until this article was published) http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we...e=gannett&s_site=theadvertiser&p_product=LADB was that LaConia Brown ALSO had her throat slit. The info was buried within this article and it really caught my eye so I sent an email to the journalist that wrote the article to verify that the info was in fact true.

From: XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Sent: Tuesday, November 18, 2008 6:33 PM
To: tmacias@theadvertiser.com
Subject: Brittney Gary Death


Hello there,

I'm a big "crime junkie" and long-time poster at Websleuths.com. I have been following the Jennings case about the seven women that have been murdered. I have a question about your article (snipped below) that was published in the Advertiser on November 16th.
Less than a month after Chaisson's body was found, Ernestine Marie Daniel Patterson, 29, was found floating in a drainage canal a couple miles southeast of Jennings. Her death was later ruled as a homicide; her throat was slit.

Patterson was the only official homicide until this year when LaConia "Muggy" Brown, 23, was found in the middle of a gravel road on the city/parish border just hours after she was last seen.
She was doused in bleach but died from what Edwards said was a slit throat. The gravel road leads to a police shooting range, guaranteeing that a police officer would find the body.
I had read somewhere else that Patterson's throat was slit but this is the first time I've read that Brown's throat was slit. Has it been verified that 2 of the women had their throats slit? I may have misunderstood your article so that's why I decided to inquire.

This is journalist's response to my e-mail:

I think I am the first person to write that Muggy’s throat was slit, that’s why I made sure to explicitly attribute the sheriff to this. I checked my interview tape, too, before I wrote that. Both Ernestine and Muggy definitely died of slit throats.
 
November 28, 2005
Section: Local Region
Page: 1B



Officials seek answers in Jennings
Author: Jason BrownThe News-Star

Dateline: Jennings, Louisiana

Edwards said investigators have polygraphed a couple of people and that when asked for a second interview, some requested lawyers. Despite that, he said there are no real suspects in either case.
"It was a cold case when we got it," he said. "The body had been there for three or four days, and a lot of the stuff that we could have possibly used as evidence or put together in a typical crime scene, we don't have."
However, while Edwards and his team of four investigators attempt to overcome those challenges, the bodies of other women continue to surface in waterways around the state.
Earlier this month, officials in Lake Charles reported that the body of 32-year-old Brandy Dyson, a transient originally from Kinder, was found floating in a lake. Lake Charles police said they do not believe a link exists between that victim and the two in Jefferson Davis but said the agencies were in contact regarding the cases.
And on Nov. 14, officials in St. Tammany Parish reported that the partially nude body of an unidentified young female was found floating in the Pearl River, near the Mississippi border.

The bodies of at least 22 other women, all living high-risk lifestyles, have been found all along the Interstate 10 corridor from Lake Charles to Slidell since 1979, according to information Edwards said he obtained from the FBI. All of the cases remain unsolved. Before this year, the latest unsolved case occurred in 2002.

This information was surprising to Edwards, who received the report after asking for assistance from the FBI's Violent Criminal Apprehension Program.
The report, which identified similarities between the two deaths in Jennings and connected them to other crimes and homicides that loosely matched them, has opened new doors for the investigators.

(snips from article)


? for those in the know....is it usual for LE to call it a cold case as Edwards did?
 
Though there hasn't been many details released about the COD on the murdered women, it has been divulged that one of the women had their throat slit (Ernestine Patterson). It was also known that LaConia Brown had been doused with bleach. What wasn't previously released (until this article was published) http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we...e=gannett&s_site=theadvertiser&p_product=LADB was that LaConia Brown ALSO had her throat slit. The info was buried within this article and it really caught my eye so I sent an email to the journalist that wrote the article to verify that the info was in fact true.

From: XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Sent: Tuesday, November 18, 2008 6:33 PM
To: tmacias@theadvertiser.com
Subject: Brittney Gary Death


Hello there,

I'm a big "crime junkie" and long-time poster at Websleuths.com. I have been following the Jennings case about the seven women that have been murdered. I have a question about your article (snipped below) that was published in the Advertiser on November 16th.
Less than a month after Chaisson's body was found, Ernestine Marie Daniel Patterson, 29, was found floating in a drainage canal a couple miles southeast of Jennings. Her death was later ruled as a homicide; her throat was slit.

Patterson was the only official homicide until this year when LaConia "Muggy" Brown, 23, was found in the middle of a gravel road on the city/parish border just hours after she was last seen.
She was doused in bleach but died from what Edwards said was a slit throat. The gravel road leads to a police shooting range, guaranteeing that a police officer would find the body.
I had read somewhere else that Patterson's throat was slit but this is the first time I've read that Brown's throat was slit. Has it been verified that 2 of the women had their throats slit? I may have misunderstood your article so that's why I decided to inquire.

This is journalist's response to my e-mail:

I think I am the first person to write that Muggy’s throat was slit, that’s why I made sure to explicitly attribute the sheriff to this. I checked my interview tape, too, before I wrote that. Both Ernestine and Muggy definitely died of slit throats.

That's a good find...suggests a connection between the two. In reading some of the older articles I get the feeling that there's not much energy REALLY being put into these cases.
 
Must of missed this one...goes back to truck/Det. Gary was the investigating the murder cases for nearly 2 years by the time he was removed.

May 25, 2007
Section: News

Truck inmate sold may be connected to slaying
Author: DORIS MARICLE; AMERICAN PRESS


JENNINGS - State police are investigating a Jeff Davis Parish sheriff's detective who bought a pickup truck that may have been involved in at least one of the four brutal slayings of local young women.

Longtime detective Warren Gary, who has been investigating the women's deaths was removed from the murder investigation Wednesday after Sheriff Ricky Edwards learned the truck may be connected to one woman's death.
 
Lending factors
Although some common characteristics and motives can be connected to serial killers, experts agree that there is no generic template for them.
The South Louisiana serial murders, however, fit a description in the FBI report used to clear the misconception that serial killers often travel and operate interstate.
Serial killers, according to the report, have very defined geographic areas of operation.
They kill within their comfort zones, such as places of residence, employment or residences of a relative.
The report also addresses another widely held view that serial killers often want to be caught.
Criminology professor at at the University of Houston-Clear Lake Steven Egger, who wrote the first dissertation on serial murders in the world, said it is not rare to find several serial killers in places where bodies can be hidden easily.
Serial killers in Louisiana, he said, have access to bodies of water, where victims can be hidden and DNA evidence is often lost.
"Look where the bodies are found," he said. "People are usually not going to find bodies in swamps and bayous. In many cases, serial killers are forensically aware."
He said the Pacific Northwest, where there are several isolated locations, also lends itself as an easy place for serial killers to hide bodies.
Egger said urban areas, which have more concentrated populations, also offer serial killers more victims to choose from.
The only commonality he said he has seen among victims is their vulnerability.
"A serial killer is usually going to pick an easy target, and it's usually not some big man or body builder," he said.

http://www.theadvertiser.com/article/20081116/NEWS01/811160334/-1/NEWSFRONT2
 

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