Friday, May 24 2013 9:24 PM EDT2013-05-25 01:24:18 GMT
Concealed weapon permits are popular certain parts of Louisiana, though some of locations may surprise you. Louisiana Department of Public Safety officials gave a report to state legislators detailingMore >>
Concealed weapon permits are popular in certain parts of Louisiana, though some locations may surprise you.More >>
Friday, May 24 2013 11:45 PM EDT2013-05-25 03:45:03 GMT
Officers are on the scene of a deadly shooting in East Feliciana Parish. There is very little information right now, but we're told it happened around 4 p.m. at a home on Highway 10, near Smith Road, justMore >>
Investigators have arrested a suspect in a murder that happened on Friday afternoon in a small community near Clinton.More >>
Friday, May 24 2013 6:49 PM EDT2013-05-24 22:49:23 GMT
Cameron Stringfellow
A teenager was killed and a second was arrested on DUI charges in an overnight accident, according to the South Carolina Highway Patrol. Investigators say a BMW being driven by 18-year-old Cameron StringfellowMore >>
A teenager was killed and a second was arrested on DUI charges in an overnight accident, according to the South Carolina Highway Patrol.More >>
Friday, May 24 2013 11:57 PM EDT2013-05-25 03:57:02 GMT
Friday afternoon's elimination game was a bit of déjà vu with No. 2 LSU (50-9) and Alabama (34-26) colliding once again. Even more so when the Tigers won 3-2 to knock the Tide out of the SEC Tournament.More >>
Friday afternoon's elimination game was a bit of déjà vu with No. 2 LSU and Alabama colliding once again. Even more so when the Tigers won 3-2 to knock the Tide out of the SEC Tournament.More >>
LAFAYETTE, LA (WAFB) -
15th Judicial District Attorney Mike Harson is looking back at an unsolved murder that's been on the books for more than a decade. It involved a multi-agency search in Acadia Parish. 34-year-old Lisa Pate had disappeared. Authorities believe she knew her alleged killer, Brandon Lavergne.
"I think they possibly knew one another, but to what extent is not clear," said Harson.
Authorities say a rice farmer found Pate's body in an empty field about 20 miles north of I-10. They sent the remains to forensic scientists. But they couldn't identify it was Pate.
Lavergne spent the next eight years in prison after being convicted of sexual battery. Harson says he spent those years building evidence in Pate's murder.
One of Pate's sons, Bryant Martie, released a statement:
"The only thing we would like to say at this time is that we are glad he is finally getting charged for this. (We) waited 13 years for this and if they would of gotten him then he wouldn't have be able to do what he (has) done today. We send our thoughts and prayers out to the Shunick family and thank everyone for their condolences and prayers."
A conviction would have kept Lavergne behind bars, but that never happened.
"Case went to grand jury in 2008 but there was no verdict. No evidence at the time to indict him," said Harson.
That changed on Wednesday, when a Lafayette grand jury ruled there is enough evidence to indict Lavergne on first degree murder for Pate's death and UL-Lafayette student Mickey Shunick.
Does Harson think he has a serial killer on his hands?
"I'm not going to comment on that," said Harson. "All I can say is we have an individual who appears in two homicides."
Investigators have been careful not to release any information they have that links Lavergne to either murder.
"I'd rather not have this case tried like the Casey Anthony trial in Florida or all the other ones that stay on TV for a year and a half," explained Harson.
Shunick vanished nearly two months ago. While searches continue from Louisiana to Texas, Harson says investigators have no solid leads on where her body might be.
"It's like looking for a needle in a haystack. We're hoping for the public's observances," he added.
Shunick search called off in Whiskey Bay Search intensifies for missing bike riderMissing student's bike foundCrews search area where missing woman's bicycle foundFind Mickey Now: The search continue
Lisa Pate
