Adam Comeaux
Victims: Ida Voiselle, 72, and Ruby Voiselle Smith, 63
Age at time of murders: 17
Crime location: Alexandria
Crime date: September 1, 1985
Crimes: Home invasion, rape, & double murder
Weapon: Cypress knee doorstop
Murder method: Beating
Sentence: Death, later reduced to life without parole (LWOP)
Incarceration status: Incarcerated
Summary
Ruby and Ida were sisters and lived across the street from one another. They often spent the night at Ruby’s home. It was at Ruby’s home where the sisters were attacked and butchered in 1985. Comeaux invaded the home and beat them to death with a doorstop. The 17-year-old home-invader also raped Ruby. Comeaux was convicted and sentenced to death but his sentence was reversed and another penalty hearing was held. The second jury, upon considering Comeaux’s youth and mental retardation, unanimously recommended the death penalty. Comeaux was sentenced to death but re-sentenced to life at hard labor with no parole after the Supreme Court prohibited the death penalty for intellectually disabled offenders in Atkins v. Virginia. After Miller v. Alabama, Comeaux got another sentencing hearing and was sentenced to LWOP. His sentence was upheld.
Details
Adam Comeaux
Armstrong Desvallons
Age at time of crime: 13
Victim: Viloude Linsey Louis
Location: Terrytown
Date: June 16, 2013
Method: Beating
Conviction: Guilty plea to negligent homicide
Sentence: Three years in juvenile detention
Summary
Desvalloons killed his younger sister while performing WWE wrestling moves on her. He was sentenced as a juvenile to three years in detention.
Details
Cedrick Berryhill
Suspect’s age: 16
Victim: Jonathan Hall, 27, Delmar Noel Soto-Artega, 24, Ricardo Gomez, 35, & Jesus Sanchez-Espinoza, 37
Crime location: St. Roch, Louisiana
Crime date: December 2010
Charges: Aggravated burglary, attempted armed robbery, second-degree kidnapping, rape, attempted second degree murder, & second-degree murder
Summary
In December 2010, residents of St. Roch, Louisiana endured a terrifying crime spree involving home invasions, kidnappings, rapes and murders. A suspect has been charged but ruled incompetent to stand trial.
Details
Cedrick Berryhill
Cedric Howard, Daveon McCullough, Joseph Elie, & Joseph Green
Victim: Rita Sybil Juneau Rabalais, 82
Killers: Joseph Elie III, 17, Daveon McCullough, 17, Cedric Howard, 16, Joseph Green, 15, Fredrick Gradley, Jerry Joseph, Lonnie Simmons, Jr., Frederick Bush, & Joseph General
Crime date: October 24, 1994
Crime location: Alexandria
Crimes: Home invasion, robbery, & murder
Weapons: Pipe, knives, wire, & person
Murder method: Beating and stabbing
Murder motivation: Robbery, gang initiation, & witness elimination
Convictions: Joseph & Elie–guilty plea to manslaughter; Green & McCullough–second-degree murder; Gradley & Howard-first-degree murder
Sentence: Elie-13 years; McCullough–life without parole (LWOP); Howard-death, later reduced to LWOP; Gradley-death
Summary
During a gang initiation, a group of assailants, four of them juveniles, invaded Rita’s home to rob her and then murdered her. Rita, who was targeted because she was believed to have a lot of money, was surrounded, grabbed by the hair, and slammed to the ground. The attackers kicked her, beat her, hit her in the head with a pipe, and stabbed her with knives from her kitchen. Howard also choked the 82-year-old woman with wire. The killers then ransacked Rita’s home. The offenders were apprehended, with some being convicted at trial and some pleading guilty. According to Joseph, the killers planned to murder Rita if she recognized Howard, who lived in the neighberhood. One of the juvenile killers, Joseph Elie, was released from prison but has been charged with second-degree battery and aggravated arson.
Details
Chakha James
Name: Chakha Danny James
Victim: Shelby McCan
Age at time of murder: 17
Crime location: Alexandria
Crime date: May 27, 1995
Partners in crime: Three other juveniles
Crimes: Robbery & murder
Weapon: Person
Murder method: Beating
Convictions: Guilty plea to second-degree murder
Sentence: Life without parole (LWOP) later reduced to life with parole
Incarceration status:
Shelby was sitting on her porch when James and three other youth targeted her for a robbery and beat her to death. Shelby died the next day. James pleaded guilty and was sentenced to LWOP. He later had his sentence reduced.
STATE OF LOUISIANA VERSUS CHAKHA DANNY JAMES
Connor Wood
Victim: Geraldine Wood, John Wood, & Matthew Whittington, 16
Age at time of murder: 15
Crime date: March 14, 2007
Weapon: 9 mm Glock, 9 mm Jiminez Arms pistol, and 7.65 mm MAB pistol
Murder method: Gunshots
Sentence: Life in prison
Summary
Wood murdered his parents Geraldine and John and his neighbor Matthew.
Details
Dale Craig and Zebbie Berthelot
Victim: Kipp Earl Gullett, 18
Murders: Dale Dwayne Craig, 17 years, 11 months, and three weeks; Zebbie Wayne Berthelot, 16; James Conrad Lavigne, 19; Roy Maurer
Crime date: September 15, 1992
Crime location: Baton Rouge
Crimes: Carjacking, kidnapping, robbery, murder, and witness elimination
Murder method: Three gunshots to the head
Weapon: Firearm
Murder motivation: Robbery and witness elimination
Sentence: Craig–Death later reduced to life in prison; Berthelot–20 years
Summary
On the evening of September 14, 1992, the assailants went on a hunt for a car to steal. They came across Kipp, who was driving a Ford Bronco. They kidnapped Kipp at gunpoint from the Louisiana State University campus and drove him around. During his captivity, 18-year-old Kipp cried and pleaded for his life. But his pleas went disregarded. The captors drove him to a secluded construction site and Craig and Lavigne marched him out of his vehicle at gunpoint. Lavigne pistol-whipped him and left him. Craig, who was one week away from turning 18, decided to murder Kipp to prevent him from identifying the assailants. As Kipp lay on the ground in a fetal position, Craig shot him three times in the head. Berthelot pleaded guilty in exchange for a 20-year sentence while Craig went to trial and was convicted. He was sentenced to death but had his death sentence overturned after the Supreme Court abolished the juvenile death penalty. He was then sentenced to life in prison and may soon be paroled due to recent changes in Louisiana law.
Details
Henry Montgomery
Victim: Officer Charles Hurt, 39
Age at time of murder: 17
Crime location: East Baton Rouge
Crime date: November 13, 1963
Crimes: Murder of a police officer in the performance of his duties
Weapon: .22 caliber handgun
Murder method: Gunshot
Sentence: Death later reduced to life without parole (LWOP)
Summary
Montgomery murdered Charles Hurt, a sheriff’s deputy and father of three. Montgomery was convicted and sentenced to death but the conviction reversed on grounds that he did not have a fair trial due to public prejudice. Montgomery received a second trial in 1969 and was convicted and sentenced to life in prison. Following Miller v. Alabama, he filed a new motion to correct his sentence. His case was taken to the Supreme Court which ruled that Miller was retroactive in Montgomery v. Lousiana.
https://www.scotusblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/MontgomeryH.pdf
Larry McClinton
Victim: Angela Hargons, 21
Age at time of murder: 17
Crime location: Pineville
Crime date: April 1991
Weapon: Firearm
Murder method: Gunshot
Sentence: Life in prison
Incarceration status: Incarcerated
Summary
McClinton murdered Angela and wounded her mother. He was denied parole 2019.
Rapides case could set precedent on ‘worst of the worst’ hearings
Louis Gibson
Victim: Latrone Davis plus several injuries
Age at time of murder: 17
Crime location: New Orleans
Crime date: March 18, 1993
Weapon: Firearm
Murder method: Gunshots
Convictions: Second-degree murder
Sentence: Life without parole (LWOP)
Incarceration status: Released
Summary
Gibson murdered one person and injured several others after firing his gun at two occupied cars. He was sentenced to LWOP but later released.
Details
Mark St. Julien
Victim: Alyssa Michelle Case, 13
Age at time of murder: 15
Crime location: Lafayette
Crime date: May 29, 2002
Crimes: Home invasion & murder
Weapon: Candle & knife
Murder method: Beating, choking, & slashing
Sentence: Life in prison
Incarceration status: Incarcerated at the Louisiana State Penitentiary (Angola)
St. Julien invaded Alyssa’s home with the intent to steal. Alyssa, age 13, threw a large candle at the intruder and screamed at him to leave. St. Julien then held Alyssa down, choking her, and repeatedly beat her in the face with the candle. To make sure she was dead he slit her throat.
Raymond Green
Victim: Johnny Mitchell, 17
Age at time of murder: 16
Crime location: Alexandria
Crime date: December 30, 2003
Weapon: Firearm
Murder method: Gunshot
Murder motivation: Argument over a cellphone
Green shot and killed Johnny after the two got into a fight over a cellphone.
“On the evening of December 30, 2003, the victim, Johnny Ray Mitchell, and his older brother, Demarcus Scales, went to a convenience store in Alexandria, Louisiana to purchase cigarettes. While they were there, Bruce Wright, their first cousin, pulled into the station in a car with the Defendant and Shacarra Booze, the Defendant’s girlfriend. Mr. Scales states that his brother and he had known the Defendant all of their lives.
State v. Green, 07-275 (La. App. 3d Cir. 10/3/07), 2007 WL 2854527
“Mr. Scales asked Mr. Wright to borrow a cell phone and the two began to argue over it. Mr. Scales stated that the two fought over the phone and that they hit each other, although the fight was not serious. Mr. Scales testified that the Defendant then walked over and asked him and his brother about a neck chain, which he had apparently lost in a fight that had occurred earlier in the day. Both responded that they had not been around the previous fight and did not know anything about the chain.
“The Defendant walked away, entered the store, and came back to where the other young men were still arguing about the cell phone. The Defendant then pulled a handgun from his pants and pointed it at Mr. Scales and his brother, who were standing beside each other. The brothers raised their hands and began to back away. Mr. Scales stated that the Defendant told the brothers that one of them was going to die that night. Mr. Scales testified that Mr. Wright then asked the Defendant if he was “going to do it or what’ and the Defendant shot Mr. Mitchell once in the chest. Both Mr. Scales and Mr. Mitchell turned to run, but Mr. Mitchell fell and died after only taking a few steps.
“Mr. Wright and the Defendant returned to the car, where Ms. Booze had remained throughout the incident, and fled the scene. Investigating officers on the scene
determined that the Defendant was a suspect in the shooting. They went to his home, where they found the Defendant being escorted from the house by his father to go the police station to discuss the shooting. The Defendant was arrested and his father accompanied him to the police station. He was subsequently charged with second degree murder.”
Rapides case could set precedent on ‘worst of the worst’ hearings
Roderick Thomas
Victims: Donna Stoltz & Mark Stoltz (survived)
Age at time of murder: 17
Crime location: Alexandria
Crime date: 1974
Partner in crime: Frederick Thomas, 18
Weapon: Firearm
Murder method: Two shots to the back
Convictions: Guilty plea to second-degree murder
Sentence: Life without parole (LWOP) later reduced to life with parole
Incarceration status: Paroled
Summary
Roderick Thomas and his brother Frederick Thomas murdered Donna and attempted to murder her husband Mark. Donna and Mark were convenience store managers and were both shot twice in their backs. Both killers were sentenced to LWOP but had their sentences reduced and have since been paroled.
Rapides case could set precedent on ‘worst of the worst’ hearings
Decision on what’s next for Rapides teen killers before judge
Roger Nash
Name: Roger Wayne Nash
Victim: Avy Johnson, 89
Age at time of murder: 15
Crime location: Alexandria
Crime date: May 15, 1982
Murder method: Stabbing and beating
Convictions: Guilty plea to second-degree murder
Sentence: Life without parole (LWOP)
Summary
Nash beat and stabbed to death his elderly neighbor and was sentenced to LWOP but later re-sentenced.
Rapides case could set precedent on ‘worst of the worst’ hearings
Taurus Buchanon
Victim: Joshua “Jacques” Brown, 12
Age at time of murder: 16
Crime location: Baton Rouge
Crime date: July 15, 1993
Weapon: Person
Murder method: Beating
Convictions: Second-degree murder
Sentence: Life without parole (LWOP)
Summary
Buchanan murdered 12-year-old Jacques during a fight and was sentenced to LWOP. His case has been heavily misrepresented by the Louisiana Youth Justice Coalition, who are trying to free him and other teen killers.
