In the best-case scenario, prosecutors will collaborate to determine which murder cases are the strongest – those with the strongest evidence, beyond the sometimes-questionable statements in a confession – and pursue those first, Fox said. Such serial-killings cases, with alleged murders across multiple court jurisdictions, commonly face a number of potential pitfalls, James Alan Fox, a professor of criminal justice at Northeastern University in Boston and frequent consultant on mass-murder cases and issues, said in a telephone interview. Other parish district attorneys are still considering whether to charge him with murders he allegedly confessed to in their jurisdictions.
Though he currently has only been charged in Terrebonne, whether Dominique will first stand trial here has yet to be determined. They said his confession indicates he killed those two men in New Orleans, not in Jefferson Parish, effectively moving those cases to Orleans Parish. In late December, Jefferson Parish prosecutors dropped their charges against Dominique. Soon afterward, a grand jury ruled that there was enough evidence to prosecute Dominique in Terrebonne Parish for the murder of nine men he allegedly killed inside the parish limits. After his arrest, Dominique allegedly told investigators that he killed 23 men over the past 10 years and left their bodies on back streets in suburban New Orleans and in remote cane fields and shallow drainage canals in Terrebonne, Lafourche, and surrounding parishes.
1 at an east-Houma homeless shelter on warrants for the murders of two men whose bodies were found in Jefferson Parish in the late 1990s. Attorneys for both sides will meet April 9 for a status conference with the judge.ĭominique was arrested Dec. No date was set for Dominique’s next court hearing. District Judge Randy Bethancourt asked Dominique if he was satisfied with his appointment to Bethancourt’s courtroom, to which Dominique replied, “Yes, sir,” in the same soft voice. The only motion offered during the brief hearing was by Tony Champagne, formally designating himself Dominique’s lead attorney, with attorney Kentley Fairchild as his associate in the case. Three members of Dominique’s family were also present, but they declined to speak to a Courier reporter. “Not on this earth, but in the penitentiary.” “We have quite a bit of information that we have developed over a long period of time and it’s all going to be coming out pretty soon,” said Banano.Īt the time of the press conference, Friday evening, Dominique had not given an official statement.Īuthorities are asking anyone with additional information to contact either the Terrebonne Parish Sheriff’s Office at (985) 876-2500 or Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Office (985) 449-2255.“We don’t want him to walk this earth again,” agreed Octavia Bell, standing with and comforting Smith.
Whether his record is violent in nature, authorities would not say. There is no apparent motive for Dominique’s actions but he has a previous criminal history, according to authorities. Charles, Assumption, Iberville.Įach of the six parish’s sheriff’s offices supported the task force as well as the Houma Police and Kenner Police Departments, Louisiana State Police and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. “This is an open investigation and as we are standing here, we have men throughout the entire area who are actively working, pursuing other leads and we do believe we will have more information to come,” said Banano.Īccording to authorities, Dominique recently moved to the area and was employed with the Bunk House Inn on Main Street in Houma and had lived in each of the parishes where investigations are currently taking place: Terrebonne, Lafourche, Jefferson, St. There has been no forensic evidence like that which led to the conviction of Derrick Todd Lee and the arrest and reported confessions of Sean Vincent Gillis, according to authorities.