Alexandria resident Robert Blair, 71, is facing two counts of first-degree murder in connection with the deaths of his wife, Isabelle, and her friend Marian Coutee,
The Rapides Parish Sheriff’s Office said Isabelle split with her husband in July 1989. Around that time, she got into a vehicle with Coutee and the two were never seen again.
The case remained unsolved for 30 years. But two months ago, deputies received a tip that reopened the inquiry, KALB-TV reported.
While investigators were searching a lake on a property that formerly belonged to the Blair family, they found a Nissan truck that matched the description of the vehicle Isabelle and Coutee were last seen in, according to the station.
Blair was booked into the Rapides Parish Detention Center on Tuesday, the Town Talk reported. He remains in custody on a $2 million bond.
Maj. Mark Baden, who was originally assigned to the case, said Blair’s arrest provides some closure.
“It feels very good. I always work for the victim. You know, through my whole career, I always had the victim out front — the victim and their family,” Baden said. “What is really sad is both victims’ parents are deceased now. We didn’t quite make it in time.”
The sheriff’s office has not said whether it found the women’s remains. Blair faces life in prison if he’s convicted on the charges.
The post Louisiana man arrested in 1989 murder case first appeared on InsideOjodu.]]>On Wednesday, Visalia police announced the arrest of Nickey Stane in connection with four of the seven sexual assaults, according to reports. The victims were women ages 17 to 47.
On Friday, Fresno police and prosecutors announced at a news conference that Stane will be charged with the murder of Debbie Dorian, a 22-year-old college student who was found dead in her home by her father 23 years ago, Fox 26 Fresno reported.
“Nickey Stane is every woman’s nightmare,” Fresno County District Attorney Lisa Smittcamp told reporters, according to the station. “He appears to be a regular person, and he is a sexual predator who has terrorized women throughout this Valley.”
Dorian’s case was reopened in 2016 when DNA showed that the person who killed her was the same person who sexually attacked the seven Visalia women, the station reported.
Her killer wrapped duct tape around her face, causing her to asphyxiate.
Two retired detectives returned to duty to work on the case.
“Any time you are able to solve a violent crime like this, there is a great deal of satisfaction, knowing that, although we will never bring any type of closure to the family, we can at least bring them some kind of justice,” Fresno Police Chief Jerry Dyer said, according to Fox 26.
Using DNA from the first sexual assault, Visalia investigators pored through genealogical databases to come up with Stane as a suspect, the Fresno Bee reported last week.
Police said that when they compared that crime scene DNA to Stane’s DNA it came back positive, according to the paper.
Visalia police didn’t disclose how they obtained Stane’s DNA, the paper reported.
Stane pleaded not guilty to charges in the Visalia sexual assault case, according to reports.
The post DNA ties California man to decades-old cold case murder, sexual assaults first appeared on InsideOjodu.]]>