Ronald Dominique Pleads Guilty to Eight Murders in Terrebonne Parish and Gets Eight Consecutive Life Terms
The plea deal took the death penalty off the table. Victims' families, who sat sobbing in court, did not want years of appeals.
Published
For nearly a decade, the bodies of young men were found dumped in sugar cane fields and near bayous in south Louisiana. On September 23, 2008, Ronald Dominique, 44, pleaded guilty to eight of the killings in Terrebonne Parish and was sentenced to eight consecutive life terms.
Dominique, of Bayou Blue, pleaded guilty to eight counts of first-degree murder for killings between 1997 and 2005, in a deal that spared him a possible death sentence. He gave up his right to a trial and to appeal. Assistant District Attorney Mark Rhodes said the victims' families did not want to seek death mainly because the appeals would take too long. "The lives of eight young men were taken from these families by the actions of the defendant," Rhodes said. Among the men were Wayne Smith, Alonzo Hogan and Chris DeVille, and almost 30 relatives attended. Dominique refused to make a statement.
When he was arrested at a homeless shelter in December 2006, authorities said Dominique confessed to killing about two dozen men in four Louisiana parishes. He had not been indicted in Jefferson, Lafourche or St. Charles parishes, where other bodies were found. "We don't have this many homicides in a year," said District Attorney Joseph Waitz Jr.
Sources
- Bayou killer draws 8 consecutive life terms, Deseret News (Associated Press)
- Victims' families voice outrage at Houma serial killer's plea, arraignment, The Houma Times
Related News
- December 1, 2006: Louisiana Task Force Arrests Ronald Dominique at a Houma Homeless Shelter in a String of Stranglings