The Jeff Davis 8, sometimes called the Jennings 8, refers to a series of unsolved murders in Jefferson Davis Parish, Louisiana.[1][2] Between 2005 and 2009, the bodies of eight women were found in swamps and canals surrounding Jennings, Louisiana. Most of the bodies were found in a state of decomposition, making the actual cause of death difficult to determine.[1][2]
Critics, including author Ethan Brown, who wrote a 2016 book concerning the case, alleged that the investigations into the murders were severely mishandled by the authorities.[3]
Murders
Victims
The first victim, Loretta Lewis, 28, was found floating in a river by a fisherman on May 20, 2005.[4][5] Other victims were Ernestine Marie Daniels Patterson, 30; Kristen Gary Lopez, 21; Whitnei Dubois, 26; Laconia "Muggy" Brown, 23; Crystal Shay Benoit Zeno, 24; and Brittney Gary, 17.[5] The final body, that of Necole Guillory, 26, was found off Interstate 10 in 2009.[6]
Causes of death
Patterson and Brown had their throats slit; the other bodies were in too advanced state of decomposition to determine the cause of death, though asphyxia is a suspected cause of death.[2]
Connections
Ethan Brown's book Murder in the Bayou alleged that there were close connections between the victims, suspects, and investigators.[2][7] Most of the victims knew each other well.[4] Some were related by blood (such as cousins Kristen Gary Lopez and Brittney Gary) or lived together (Gary lived with Crystal Benoit shortly before her death).[2] The victims also shared in common traits such as poverty, mental illness, and histories of drug abuse and sex work.[1][2]
The women all also served as informants for the police about the local drug trade and often provided police with information about other Jeff Davis 8 victims before their own deaths.[2]
Kristen Lopez, one of the victims, was present when police shot and killed a drug dealer named Leonard Crochet in 2005 along with several individuals connected to the Jeff Davis 8 case, including Alvin "Bootsy" Lewis, who fathered a child with victim Whitnei Dubois and was also the brother-in-law of the first victim, Loretta Chaisson Lewis.[2] A grand jury investigated the shooting and determined there was no probable cause for a charge of negligent homicide against police even though a Louisiana State Police investigation into the Crochet shooting concluded that he was unarmed when he was shot to death by law enforcement.[2] However, witnesses told investigators they believed the police had killed many of the victims because of what they knew about the shooting of Leonard Crochet.[2]
Investigation
In December 2008, a task force consisting of 14 federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies was formed to solve the killings.[5][6] From the outset, the task force was searching for a serial killer.[1] However, Brown's recent investigative work exposing connections between victims, suspects, and the police casts doubt on the theory that the Jeff Davis 8 is the work of a serial killer.[5][7] Family members of the victims suspect the police are actually responsible for the deaths.[5]
Allegations of misconduct
Task force investigative reports reveal a series of witness interviews in which local law enforcement were implicated in the murders.[2] Statements from two female inmates portrayed suspects working with the sheriff's office to dispose of evidence in the Lopez case.[2] However, the sergeant who took the statements was forced out of his job, and the allegations were ignored by law enforcement.[2]
Sheriff's office chief criminal investigator, Warren Gary, was also accused of purchasing a truck suspected of having been used to transport a body for the purpose of discarding evidence.[5][8]
In 2009, the sheriff ordered that every investigator working the Jeff Davis 8 case be swabbed for DNA in response to the accusations against investigators.[2] However, the office refuses to comment on the results of the DNA testing.[2]
Suspects
Police have arrested or issued warrants for the arrest of four people in connection with the case.[1] Two people were held on murder charges for months before being released due to issues with evidence.[1]
Frankie Richard, a local strip club owner and suspected drug dealer[1][2] admitted to being a crack addict and to having sex with most of the victims.[1] He was among those last seen with one of the victims, Kristen G. Lopez.[1] Law enforcement's own witnesses have connected Richard to the Sheriff's Office.[4] The two female inmates who stated the Sheriff's Office disposed of evidence in the Lopez case alleged that the evidence was discarded at the behest of Richard.[2]
Byron Chad Jones and Lawrence Nixon (a cousin of the fifth victim, Laconia Brown) were briefly charged with second-degree murder in the Ernestine Patterson case.[2] However, the sheriff's office did not test the alleged crime scene until 15 months after Patterson's murder, and found it "failed to demonstrate the presence of blood."[2]
In media
The murders and investigations have spawned extensive coverage in media. This includes:
The 2010 novel The Glass Rainbow by James Lee Burke is set against the background of the murders. Burke mentioned them again in his later novel Robicheaux in 2018.
A 2011 investigative podcast series, Behind the Yellow Tape on Blogtalkradio (Joey Ortega) spanning 12 episodes.[9]
A 2012 episode of the series Dark Minds, in which show host M. William Phelps visited the area and interviewed several people connected to the case.[10]
The 2016 book Murder in the Bayou: Who Killed the Women Known as the Jeff Davis 8? by author Ethan Brown.[11]
The 2019 five-part series Murder in the Bayou on the Showtime network.[14]
A 2021 two-part podcast on The Casual Criminalist.[15][16]
Despite speculation, the Jeff Davis 8 cases were not the inspiration for the first season of the HBO series True Detective, according to creator Nic Pizzolatto in the series’ DVD commentary.
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