COLD CASE: 7News investigates 1984 murder of Ray Stevens in Cameron

Cameron, LA (KPLC) - A tight-knit community in Southwest Louisiana holds a 40-year-old secret.

The mysterious death of a Cameron businessman remains unsolved to this day, leaving his family questioning who would do such a terrible thing to the man who was always there for the community.

The year is 1984. Yvonne Stevens and her husband Ray Stevens, affectionately known as Ray Boy, and their three children live in Cameron where they co-own a popular seafood restaurant called The Jettie’s.

“We had this big grand opening,” Yvonne Stevens said. “It was a very nice place. For this area, it was a top-notch restaurant.”

Owning a restaurant was a dream of Ray Boy’s, but later, that dream would be the scene of a nightmare.

“We opened in January, the beginning of January,” Yvonne said. “In March of 1984, is when this happened. I got the call about 4 o’clock in the morning, he had been shot.”

“One of our deputies at the sheriff’s office were making their normal rounds around the Jettie restaurant located off of Davis Road here in Cameron, and they discovered a white male victim on top of the stairs that had died of apparent gunshot wounds,” Cameron Chief Deputy Chris Savoie said.

It was an apparent robbery gone wrong with obvious signs of a struggle.

“There was a weapon located that was identified as Mr. Stevens,” Savoie said. “That weapon was discharged twice. The evidence shows that one of the rounds went into the floor of the porch, and the other was discharged into Mr. Stevens.”

Savoie is one of the many who have spent many years examining this case. Investigators have questioned every suspect, investigated every lead and tested every piece of evidence from broken glass to blood at the scene.

“There is some evidence that does link us to possible suspects in this case,” Savoie said. “We want to ask the people of the community and the people of Southwest Louisiana that if they have any information on this case, no matter how irrelevant. We ask you to please call us, because that may be the little piece of the puzzle.”

Stevens’ three children grew up without their father.

“I asked God to forgive them and to also give them peace in this, because I couldn’t imagine living 39 years with that kind of secret and that kind of pain in your life,” Steven’s son, Charles ‘Chuck’ Stevens said.

Stevens’ family is still searching for answers, even nearly four decades later.

“I’m not honoring him if I let it go, and I refuse to let it go,” Steven’s daughter Stephanie Crawford said.

Investigators are leaving no stone unturned.

“We know that there is people out there that may have some information for us that may make the difference in this case,” Savoie said.

The Jettie’s restaurant shut down and was later sold and moved to Texas.

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