Family says Baton Rouge teen who killed father went missing 11 years ago

BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) - The family of a Baton Rouge teen accused of killing his father earlier this month says they had been searching for the boy for more than a decade.

The teen’s sister says she only just found out where Anthony Templet, 17, is located after he was arrested for manslaughter.

“After 11 years of waiting to hear if my brother was still alive, he is found,” the sister said.

“He has been secluded and abused all these years by his own father. My brave brother had to defend himself for the last time against that evil man.”

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The sister, Natasha, told WAFB by phone Monday that Burt Templet took Anthony from their home in Texas in 2008 when the boy was 5-years-old.

“He snatched him from our home,” the sister said.

“Burt and my mom were together for about ten years and it was extremely violent,” she said.

“I can only imagine what Anthony’s been through. When he was a baby, Burt would hold him in his arms while abusing my mother.”

Natasha said she and her mother, knowing Burt Templet has parents living in Baton Rouge, posted missing boy flyers around Baton Rouge eleven years ago.

The “missing boy” posters had photos of both Anthony and Burt on it along with a phone number for a sheriff’s office in Houston.

Deputies charged Anthony earlier this month for the death of Burt Templet inside their home on Gray Moss Avenue.

The teenager allegedly told investigators that he and his father got into a fight and his father was drunk and aggressive. Anthony Templet grabbed two guns to protect himself and eventually shot his father, deputies said.

The teen remains incarcerated at a juvenile facility in north Louisiana.

Burt married another woman once he was in Baton Rouge. That woman left him earlier this year and filed for a protective order against him. She posted on social media that Burt had allegedly knocked out several of her teeth.

“I talked to him by phone yesterday for about 15 minutes,” she said. “It was great. He’s really sweet. We talked about things we did when he was younger.

He asked if he remembered correctly a family vacation we took to Seattle. I could not believe he still remembered that trip. You could hear the smile in his voice.”

Neighbors say Burt Templet was very secretive about his son, Anthony, and told them the boy was home-schooled.

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In recent months, the teen had started a job at a local plant nursery, neighbors say.

Anthony was also able to talk to his mother, brother and grandmother by phone this weekend for the first time in 11 years. His grandmother is now 80.

District Attorney Hillar Moore said Monday his office has been in contact with several of Anthony’s relatives since the teen’s arrest.

“My office has received information from several people and we will speak with them and review whatever information anyone has before deciding what action to take,” Moore said.

WAFB has contacted the sheriff’s office in Texas that the family says was investigating the missing child’s case to get more information.

There was no missing person report for Anthony listed with the National Crime Information Center (NCIC), the East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff’s Office said Monday.

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