By Chuck Hustmyre

(Continued)

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TO CATCH A KILLER

In March 2005, law enforcement officers from across Louisiana's bayou country west of New Orleans formed a multi-jurisdictional task force aimed at catching the murderer some have dubbed the "Bayou Serial Killer." State Attorney General Charles Foti led the task force.

Earlier this year, task force investigators got a tip from a state probation and parole agent. One of the agent's parolees mentioned to the agent that four or five years ago a man who lived in a camper on Bayou Blue Road promised to let him have sex with the man's wife if he would allow the man to tie him up first. The potential victim got nervous and bolted from the camper.

After the parolee came forward with his story, investigators identified the man who lived in the camper as Ronald Joseph Dominique.

Investigators also discovered that in 1996, Dominique had been arrested in Thibodaux, La., a small town 15 miles north of Houma, for raping another man. After three months in jail, the case was dismissed because the victim disappeared.

According to Sheriff Larpenter, spending time in jail forced Dominique to re-evaluate his technique. "That was the turning point," Larpenter said. "He didn't want to leave any more live victims. A dead man can't talk."

Police discovered the first body the following year.

Nine years and 22 bodies later, task force investigators took a DNA swab of Dominique's saliva. The Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office Crime Lab and the FBI Crime Lab later matched it to DNA material found on at least two of the victims.

They had their man.

"This was a team effort," Louisiana Attorney General Charles Foti said during Monday's press conference. "Everybody worked together. We have captured a person who has been responsible for the deaths of 23 people in this community."

Monday police booked Dominique with an additional nine counts of first-degree murder. He is being held in the Terrebonne Parish jail. A bond hearing is set for Tuesday.

Terrebonne Parish District Attorney Joseph Waitz Jr. said he will seek the death penalty for Dominique.

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Lousiana Cops Nab Ronald Joseph Dominique, Suspected Serial Killer

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Contact Chuck Hustmyre at chuck3174@yahoo.com

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