Kurt Michael Cunningham was 23 and living in Houma when he was killed on April 28, 2005. His partially clothed, decomposing body was found face down in muddy water in a drainage ditch beside Highway 307. Investigators estimated the body had been there about five days, which initially made determining the exact cause difficult; the coroner speculated asphyxiation.

Cunningham’s death was later linked to Ronald Joseph Dominique, known as the Bayou Strangler, whose pattern involved luring victims with promises of drugs or sexual encounters, then raping and strangling them before leaving the bodies in remote locations. Dominique’s arrest in December 2006 and subsequent prosecutions tied Cunningham’s killing to a series of murders across southern Louisiana.

If anyone knew Kurt, saw activity near Highway 307 in late April 2005, or has information that wasn’t reported, please share what is known with investigators.