Jury reaches verdict in trial of man accused of murdering elderly couple in 2015

BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) - A jury has reached a verdict in the trial of one of the two men accused of murdering an elderly Baton Rouge couple in 2015.

District Attorney Hillar Moore says the jury has found Ernesto Alonso guilty on two charges of first-degree murder for the deaths of Denis and Suzanne Duplantier.

Denis and Suzanne Duplantier (Source: Facebook)

Investigators found the bodies of the Duplantier couple bound and beaten inside their truck at a gas station in Hammond on Oct. 19, 2015. The couple’s home on Highland Road had been broken into the night before and officials say a large amount of money was missing out of the safe.

Alonso and the second man charged for their deaths, Frank Garcia, were arrested days later in Hollywood, Fla.

Ernesto Alonso and Frank Garcia — Ernesto Alonso and Frank Garcia(Broward County Sheriff's Office and East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff's Office)

Detectives with the Baton Rouge Police Department said Alonso was a handyman for the Duplantiers. He was staying on their property and was sometimes an employee of the victims, according to the arrest records.

Garcia accepted a plea deal from prosecutors on Sept. 29, 2021, and pleaded guilty to two counts of manslaughter. He was sentenced to 30 years in prison.

Garcia accepts plea in elderly couple's murder

Click here to report a typo.

Copyright 2022 WAFB. All rights reserved.