

- #LOUISIANA SERIAL KILLER OF WHITE WOMEN HOUMA LA SERIES#
- #LOUISIANA SERIAL KILLER OF WHITE WOMEN HOUMA LA FREE#
Police and sheriff pooled their resources and redoubled their efforts. The Louisiana Attorney General’s Office started a task force. Seven months later, the homicide count numbered 21. By February 2005 there were six more victims, both African American and Caucasian.
#LOUISIANA SERIAL KILLER OF WHITE WOMEN HOUMA LA SERIES#
In October 2002 in Houma, a community about 15 miles from Jefferson Parish, a series of homicides mirroring the earlier ones began. Investigators, who continued to work the cases, questioned whether the killer had died or been incarcerated. Rage as well as sexual deviancy can drive such murders, he added.īut by 2000, the murders came to a sudden halt. The mark of a murder by strangulation is “very interpersonal,” forensic neuropsychologist John Fabian told producers. By the end of 1999, the body count had risen to nine. The crime scenes were basically the same, as was the cause of death: strangulation. Over the next couple of years, more bodies “popped up,” said investigators.
#LOUISIANA SERIAL KILLER OF WHITE WOMEN HOUMA LA FREE#
Watch More 'Mark Of A Serial Killer' Episodes In Our Free App Steve Caraway, of the Kenner Police Department. “We knew that we were looking at a serial killer,” said Sgt. Officials compared notes in the cases and observed the many commonalities. Investigators hoped that DNA evidence from the victim could be matched to an individual in their DNA data bank. The coroner determined the victim, Manuel Reed, 21, had been strangled and sexually assaulted. Then the body of another Black man was found in Kenner, another community in the investigators’ jurisdiction. This effort failed to move the investigation further. A composite sketch was released to a local newspaper and French Quarter gay establishments, according to investigators. “Mitchell’s lifestyle was similar to Oliver’s background,” said Thornton.Ī witness came forward with a description of a white man Mitchell was with before his murder. There were no defensive wounds but there were signs of sexual assault. The autopsy revealed the death was caused by strangulation and neck compression. This victim, identified as Mitchell Johnson, 34, also had ligature marks. In August 1999 investigators were called to another murder at the same location where LeBanks’ body was found. Ten months passed and no leads were turned up. “There was an indication that he would hang out on the street corner and possibly engage with passersby, other males, potentially to have a sexual encounter.”

The father of five children, LeBanks “was unemployed at the time,” said Thornton. Hair identified as belonging to a Caucasian person was found on LeBanks’ body and collected as evidence. More men with the same deadly marks would turn up dead over the next nine years. Dennis Thornton, of the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office, told “Mark of a Serial Killer,” airing Saturdays at 8/7c on Oxygen. “There were clearly visible marks on the side of the neck,” Det. He had died from asphyxia due to strangulation, according to the autopsy report. The victim, identified as Oliver LeBanks, lived near the French Quarter in New Orleans. Then, in October 1998 in Jefferson Paris, police were called to investigate the murder of an African American man whose body was found beneath a roadway overpass. He pleaded guilty, paid a $74 fine and court costs.In the late 1990s, New Orleans and its suburbs were experiencing a spike in violent crimes. June 12, 1985: Arrested and charged with telephone harassment.May 15, 1994: Arrested and charged with driving while intoxicated and speeding.In November 1996, the judge continued the case indefinitely. When the case was brought to court, the victim could not be found to testify. According to neighbors, a partially dressed young man escaped from the window of Dominique's home in Thibodaux, screaming that he had tried to kill him. 25, 1996: Dominique was arrested on forcible rape charges and booked on a $100,000 bond. Since it was a misdemeanor, he was able to plead guilty and pay a fine to avoid appearing in court. May 19, 2000: He received a summons to appear in court on disturbing the peace charges.Reports show he met all his conditions in the program in October 2002. He was arrested but entered a parish offender's program instead of standing trial. The woman apologized, but Dominique continued to verbally assault her, and then slapped her across the face. According to the reports, Dominique accused a woman of hitting a baby stroller in a parking lot.

10, 2002: Arrested in Terrebonne Parish after he allegedly slapped a woman during a Mardi Gras parade.
