Jeff Davis Parish investigating 13 unsolved murders

By Lee Peck - bio | email

LAKE CHARLES, LA (KPLC) - "I'm not ashamed of my little sister she was subject to a drug habit. You do things that are not great, but she was a beautiful person... As were all these other girls I'm sure," said Mike Dubois.

Dubois says his sister Whitney Dubois was more like a daughter. "I helped raise her. Her death hurts," said Dubois.

Whitney is the fourth confirmed victim amid a growing list of eight women whose bodies have been found dumped in and around Jeff Davis Parish over the last four years. The victims include: Loretta Lynn Chaisson, Ernestine Patterson, Kristen Gary Lopez, Whitney Dubois, LaConia "Muggy" Brown, Cyrstal Benoit Zeno, Brittany Gary, and Necole Guillory.

"We keep hearing about the 8 unsolved murders, 8 unsolved murders, 8 unsolved murders. Well we've got 13 unsolved murders and that's the facts," said Dubois.

An investigation by the Jennings Daily News reveals there are a total of 13 unsolved murders in Jeff Davis Parish dating back to the early 1990s.

Richard "Butch" Sonnier - body found February 9, 1993; beaten to death.

Harold Pitre - body found March 8, 1994; shot to death inside his home.

Sheila Comeaux - beaten February 14, 1998; died March 19,1999.

Harvey Leigh Burleigh - murdered July 25, 2007; found stabbed inside home.

Derrick Jackson - murdered December 10, 2008; shot to death on Main Street.

While authorities don't believe any of these murders are connected to the Jeff Davis 8, Dubois feels they deserve just as much attention.

"We all want closure we all want justice. We all want to be represented," said Dubois.

Despite the struggles his sister and the other victims faced before their deaths, Dubois says all were loved.

"These girls and these guys were individuals had lives other than these high risk profiles. My sister was a baseball player. At one time she did go to trade school trying to do something with her life. They had a life, the drug took it from them. They were all people," said Dubois.

Dubois says he's speaking out to encourage all the families to come together. "Including law enforcement. Whether we agree or disagree with the law enforcement they are the authority. Whether I trust them or don't trust them, we've got nothing else," said Dubois.

However, he feels it's time that an outside agency be called in to take over the investigation before another a ninth victim turns up.

"This is larger than the Jeff Davis Parish or the Jennings Police Department can handle and it's obvious that this is still going on today and I believe we will have still more murders yet to come because I think it's bigger than they are," said Dubois.

Anyone with information in any of these cases can call the Jennings Police Department at 275-9002 or the Multi-Agency Investigative Team at 824-6662. Tips can be made anonymously.

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