GUILTY but INSANE

July 19, 1983                                           

The murder scene was compared to a Vietnam battlefield, with blood everywhere.

There are no witnesses to the crime.  All witnesses are dead.

One hot summer evening, five family members including a two-year old child were brutally murdered. 

A small community of 3,500 was shattered by the discovery of five bodies in two separate homes.

Townspeople were gripped with fear as a mass murderer was on the run for twelve long and frightening days.

Imagine a place where the only thing you heard at night was a good Cajun joke or a bullfrog croaking, and during the day, people from neighboring towns would walk through the park located along the Mermentau River.

Clusters of Spanish moss hung from tree branches like old men''s beards in a small south Louisiana town.  It is a quiet community where everyone knows everyone.   People helped each other, many times a meal, and didn''t bother to lock their doors at night. 

Along the highway, there''s a large billboard that reads, "A Good Place To Live."

This is known as Lake Arthur, a town I grew up in.  A small gossipy town where everyone waves, but sometimes gossiped if one of the neighbors kids didn''t attend church on Sunday.

Job security was defined as being a farmer, trapper, fisherman, or an oil field worker, along with many unemployed families. 

The park was filled with oak trees, pavilions, game rooms, and a boardwalk on the water.  On Sundays it was alive with Cajun music and good food.

People enjoyed the sunshine and friendship a beautiful town had to offer.

The park was the only attraction besides a huge Nightclub known to many as the LakeShore Club.  A large dance floor and restaurant over the water entertained thousands of people over a three-day weekend.

Well known Louisiana musicians Joel Sonnier, Johnny Allen, Clint West and The Fabulous Boogie Kings, Cookie and The Cupcakes, Wayne Toups, T.K. Hulin, G.G. Shin are just to name a few that performed before large crowds of Cajuns.

They arrived in carloads to party, drink, and dance until the sun came up. 

A small room next door The Yucca Lounge, was rumored to be one of the first gambling casinos in Louisiana