Ernestine Marie Daniels Patterson was a 30-year-old Black woman from Jennings, Louisiana, last seen on June 16, 2005. Her body was found two days later, on June 18, in a canal south of town. A group out at night discovered the remains; decomposition delayed identification for weeks. Reports say her throat had been slashed and her injuries were consistent with a struggle.

Investigators later arrested and charged two men, Byron Chad Jones and Lawrence Nixon, with second-degree murder in Patterson’s death, but those charges were subsequently dropped. Patterson’s death became part of the broader series of canal killings linked in public discussion to the Jeff Davis 8; Frankie Richard has been publicly discussed as a prominent figure in coverage of the larger pattern.

If anyone knew Ernestine, saw her in Jennings in mid-June 2005, or has information about her disappearance and death, please come forward with what can help this long-unsolved case.