LA - Louisiana Shooting Leaves Five Dead, Livingston & Ascension Parishes, Jan 2019 *ARREST*

Livingston Parish Sheriff

From our law partners in Richmond County:

SHERIFF’S DEPUTIES TAKE HOMICIDE SUSPECT INTO CUSTODY

On January 26, 2019, Sheriff Steve Smith and the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office received notification of an ongoing homicide investigation in Louisiana. The suspect, Dakota Theriot, was believed to have family ties and lived in Richmond County. Deputies with the Richmond County Sheriff's Office began checking places Theriot was known to associate and investigating other leads regarding his potential location. During this search, Deputies received a request from a family member of Theriot's to check a residence prior to their return in the 14,000 block of Historyland Highway. While Deputies were on site, Theriot arrived at the residence in a motor vehicle with a firearm pointed out of the window. The Deputies sought cover and challenged Theriot, who then dropped the firearm upon their commands and was taken into custody without incident. Theriot was transported to the Northern Neck Regional Jail, and is currently being held without bond pending his appearance in court.



Richmond County Sheriff's Office

Ascension Parish Sheriff's Office

 

Obvious when you put it like that.. ❤️

 

It says they met at a funeral.. this is all so senseless.. Poor family, the video of them asking why broke me xx

 

Those red flags were visible long before this happened. The problem is usually, the services the perp needed were stopped, or never started to begin with. Mental health care in this country should be a basic service beginning at the pediatricians office. I can assure you, as the parent of a young adult with mental illness, it is there for the rich. If my X hadn’t kept our child on his insurance, the massive amounts of treatment our child needed, never would have happened. They slip thru and spiral out of control because their needs aren’t met until they go off the deep end.

 

2 counts of murder are in Ascension Parish
3 counts of murder in Livingston Parish

 

The threads' title can be changed now.....
The DM pics totally blow my mind. Who lets a child into a crime scene ? I realize that by then the bodies would've been removed.
But still.
A lot of people living at that single trailer home.
Thank goodness some of them were out at the time of the murders-- it could have been even worse.

 

I completely agree with you on making mental health care available to anyone who needs it. However, I don’t believe that this is the solution to everything.

There is no therapy for psychopaths. And, for those not born with a defect like this, there are other factors that contribute to antisocial behavior like upbringing, education, environment. How can we expect a mental health professional to fix something parents caused by years of abuse, negligence, or denial? They can’t do magic. Would those parents even request help?

Yes, better mental health care would help those parents trying their best to get help for their children. My guess is that these parents are a minority, and as long as unstable parents can reproduce and keep their children, as long as parents ignore warning signs, we will always have mass/spree/serial killers. Damaged people damage people.

 

Agreed, once the damage is done it’s nearly impossible to undo. Mental health professionals are not miracle workers, nor should they be expected to be. I do believe Pediatricians can be trained in mental health signs so that kids are diagnosed earlier, rather than later. Parents may not recognize it. They need a trained professional to point the way. It’s exhausting to parent this type of kid. I totally get why some parents give up. It took 5+ years of hard work for our family. It was worth every effort.

 

I think the grandmother's reaction to leave was very smart. She was right on money! She's the reason he was captured when he did by asking police to check her house. No telling how many more would have been killed. Can't imagine what motive Dakota had in all this all I've seen so far is that it's presumed drug-induced. Have they released what drug? And if he had it in his system upon arrest. Seems like he targeted people that cared about him. Him and Summer only dated for three weeks before he killed her!

 

Fine post -- thanks. Hard work does get things accomplished even if it does take sweat & tears

This is late, but it needs to be said --

Welcome to Websleuths, PayrollNerd !!​

 

Oh my. What a smart move by Gram. I think she saved her own life.

"Theriot was located at his grandmother’s home, police say, but she “spent the night in a hotel because she feared her grandson might come to her home.”

"“While deputies were on site, Theriot arrived at the residence in a motor vehicle with a firearm pointed out of the window,”

Mom posted about a mass shooting on Facebook. Then she learned her kids were victims.

 

Not making light of this case at all, but in his arrest photo he reminds me of what a young Charles Manson may have looked like...especially his eyes. jmo

 

Yes -- I think you can tell a lot about someone when you look the person in the eyes. Manson did have that "dead" look about him, and at times, a wild look.
People said Ted Bundy had an empty look in his eyes, and some said his eyes could change from blue to black.
Wild eyes, dead eyes, etc. I saw it in Theriot's eyes, too. Just something "not right." Scary.

 

It’s an unyielding, mind-made-up look. Creepy.

 

21-year-old Louisiana man confesses to killing his parents and three in another family

'A Louisiana man accused of shooting to death five people, including his parents, at two locations last week has confessed to the killings, but the motive is still unknown, authorities said Tuesday.

[...]

Theriot said he used a handgun stolen from his father, Keith Theriot, and that it was the weapon recovered after he was arrested, Livingston Parish Sheriff Jason Ard said at a news conference Tuesday.

"He has confessed to killing the five victims," Ard said. The sheriff said Theriot is cooperating with the investigation.

"We've got a better picture on how this happened. As far as why this happened, that motive is still unclear," Ascension Parish Sheriff Bobby Webre said at the news conference.'

 

Dakota Theriot grimaces as he is booked for murders of his parents in Louisiana | Daily Mail Online

The man suspected of killing five people, including his parents, in Louisiana has been extradited back to the state where he grimaced as he faced murder charges.

Dakota Michael Theriot, 21, was extradited by plane on Friday from Virginia to Louisiana, where he was booked into the Ascension County Jail on murder charges.

[...]

His court-appointed lawyer says that Theriot made the trip to Virginia to try to hug and kiss two aunts and grandmother goodbye before going to prison.

'He basically wanted to say 'I love you, I'm sorry,'' attorney Steve Barnette said. 'He knows he's probably never going to see the outside of a jail again.'

[...]

At the Ascension Parish Courthouse, Theriot was stone faced as deputies led him inside, the Advocate reported.

However, inside the courthouse, the suspected killer screwed his face into a grimace as he appeared to confer with legal counsel, photos show.

Officials at the courthouse said that that Theriot had shown 'some decorum' while in law enforcement custody.

[...]

 

Dakota Theriot to remain in Ascension Parish jail after denied bond on murder charges

Feb 04, 2019

"(WAFB) - Accused mass murderer Dakota Theriot, 21, will remain in jail after he was denied bond on two of the first-degree murder charges on Monday, according to the Ascension Parish Sheriff’s Office.

Theriot was granted a $75,000 bond for home invasion and $50,000 for illegal use of a weapon. He will remain in the Ascension Parish jail until he goes to Livingston Parish to face charges connected to the three murders.

Theriot had waived extradition during a Feb. 1 hearing in Virginia and has been sent back to Louisiana to face judgment in the deaths of five people....

Theriot was returned to Ascension Parish Friday night, where he faces two counts of first-degree murder in the shooting deaths of his parents, Keith and Elizabeth Theriot.

After being charged there, he will go to Livingston Parish, where he is expected to be charged with three counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of Billy Ernest, Summer Ernest, and Tanner Ernest. Autopsies show all five victims were shot in the head.

“We know what happened here," Ascension Parish Sheriff Bobby Webre said during a news conference Jan. 29. "He killed five people. This is a monster.”

He added if the district attorney moves forward with the case, the prosecution would not be opposed to seeking capital punishment.

Authorities say a motive for the killings remains unclear."

Dakota Theriot to remain in Ascension Parish jail after denied bond on murder charges


(Keith and Elizabeth Theriot)


(Summer Ernest)


( Tanner and Billy Ernest)
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Thanks for the article, YESorNO -- Things are getting serious for him now.
In a couple of those photos, his eyes just look soul-less. Scary. Makes me shudder.

 

Why death penalty prosecution is murky in case of Dakota Theriot, accused of killing 5

FEB 6, 2019

"On its face, the man who authorities say admitted to killing five people, including his own parents, in a two-parish shooting rampage last month would be a clear candidate for the death penalty.

But the top prosecutor in Ascension Parish has not come to a decision on the matter. And the district attorney in Livingston Parish said he is giving it a hard look, citing in particular reports that Dakota Theriot has struggled with mental illness.

"I think it's just prudent to get as much information as we can, especially in light of the reports that he might have had a mental health issue," District Attorney Scott Perrilloux said.

Perrilloux is taking the case to a Livingston Parish grand jury Thursday morning, seeking formal charges against Dakota Theriot on three counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of his girlfriend, Summer Ernest; her brother, Tanner Ernest; and her father, Billy Ernest.

First-degree murder opens up the possibility of the death penalty. But a mitigating issue like mental illness is just one of a number of factors, from the opinion of the victims’ families to the cost of a years-long appeal process....."

Why death penalty prosecution is murky in case of Dakota Theriot, accused of killing 5
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