Jeff Davis 8

Serial Killer

The Jeff Davis 8 Murders

Overview

The Jeff Davis 8, also known as the Jennings 8, is the name given to eight women whose bodies were discovered in and around Jennings, Louisiana, between May 2005 and August 2009. The victims were found in canals, drainage ditches, rural fields and other isolated locations throughout Jefferson Davis Parish. Authorities publicly investigated the deaths as the possible work of a serial killer, although no individual has been proven responsible for all eight cases. The exact dates on which most of the women died could not be conclusively established because several bodies were significantly decomposed when discovered. For that reason, the dates listed below are the verified dates on which their bodies were found rather than presumed dates of death. Four deaths were classified as homicides, while the causes or manners of death in the remaining cases could not be determined with certainty. The victims knew one another through family relationships, friendships and their shared social environment in Jennings. Several struggled with poverty, substance dependence and exploitation. Some had worked in the local sex trade, and several reportedly supplied information to law-enforcement officers about drug activity. These overlapping relationships created an unusually complicated investigation involving victims, witnesses, suspects, informants and members of law enforcement who frequently knew one another.

Victims

• Loretta Lynn Chaisson Lewis, 28 Found May 20, 2005: A fisherman discovered Lewis floating in the Grand Marais Canal south of Jennings, Louisiana. She had reportedly last been seen on May 17 near the Boudreaux Inn in Jennings. Lewis was the mother of two sons. Decomposition prevented investigators from establishing a precise date and cause of death, although authorities treated the circumstances as suspicious.
• Ernestine Marie Daniels Patterson, 30 Found June 18, 2005: Patterson's body was discovered by people searching for frogs in a drainage canal near Louisiana Highway 102, outside Jennings. Her throat had been cut, and her death was classified as a homicide. Investigators arrested Byron Chad Jones and Lawrence Nixon on second-degree murder allegations, but the charges were eventually dismissed after evidentiary problems weakened the case. No one has been convicted of killing Patterson.
• Kristen Gary Lopez, 21 Found March 18, 2007: Lopez was discovered in a rural canal near Welsh, Louisiana, west of Jennings. She had last been seen leaving a residence with individuals who later became subjects of investigative attention. Her body was badly decomposed, and the precise cause and date of death were not established. Lopez was a cousin of later victim Brittney Gary.
• Whitnei Dubois, 26 Found May 12, 2007: Dubois was found near the intersection of two secluded dirt roads in a rural area of Jefferson Davis Parish. She had been missing for several days before her discovery. The condition of her remains prevented a definitive determination of how or exactly when she died. Dubois had children and was closely connected to several people who also appeared in the broader investigation.
• Laconia "Muggy" Brown, 23 Found May 29, 2008: Brown's body was discovered near a rural roadway outside Jennings. Her throat had been cut, and investigators classified the death as a homicide. Witness accounts later suggested that Brown feared for her life shortly before she disappeared. Her killing intensified public concern that the deaths were connected and that someone was deliberately targeting women from the same social circle.
• Crystal Shay Benoit Zeno, 24 Found September 11, 2008: Zeno's remains were discovered in a roadside ditch near Jennings. She had reportedly been missing for several weeks. Decomposition made it impossible to determine her exact date or cause of death. Zeno knew several of the other victims and had allowed Brittney Gary to stay with her shortly before Gary disappeared.
• Brittney Gary, 17 Found November 15, 2008: Gary disappeared from Jennings on November 2, 2008. Searchers found her body approximately two weeks later in a wooded area near Louisiana Highway 1126. The remains were formally identified on November 17. Authorities classified her death as a homicide, and suffocation or asphyxiation was reportedly considered a possible cause. Gary was the youngest of the eight victims and the cousin of Kristen Gary Lopez.
• Necole Guillory, 26 Found August 19, 2009: Guillory's body was discovered near Interstate 10 outside Jennings, approximately ten miles from the city. She had reportedly expressed fear that she might become another victim before her disappearance. Her remains were decomposed, preventing investigators from determining an exact date or cause of death. Guillory was the final woman officially included among the Jeff Davis 8.

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Confirmed Victims: (8)

Loretta Lewis Age: (28)

Jeff Davis 8: The True Story of the 'Murder in the Bayou' Killings