The Brutal Murder of Genore Guillory
Everyone Loved Genore
Clinton, Louisiana - Monday, June 26, 2000.
Deputy Sheriff Ronald Johnson recognized the smell of death as soon as he stepped into the house. It grew stronger in the kitchen and became unbearable as he edged toward the master bedroom.
As soon as Johnson peeked into the bedroom, he saw the body. It lay sprawled on the floor. Naked. Bloody.
Johnson bolted from the house. The smell gagged him. He threw up near his patrol car. Then he called the dispatcher and told her what he'd found.
It was 10:30 in the morning. Detective Don McKey arrived at the scene at 10:48 a.m.
The two-story, wood-frame house sat near the end of a gravel road on several acres of land in rural East Feliciana Parish. It belonged to 42-year-old Jane Nora Guillory, Genore to her friends and family. Although Genore had lived by herself since the death of her longtime boyfriend two years before, she wasn't completely alone. She shared the property with 30 dogs that she kept kenneled behind her house.
Genore loved dogs. She also loved horses. She had four of them stabled on U.S. Highway 61 not too far from her home.
A personnel specialist for a big insurance company in Baton Rouge, Genore's office was 60 miles away, but she didn't mind the drive. Her co-workers were almost like family. Everyone at work loved Genore. She was a happy person and generous to a fault.
Pauline Pitre worked with Genore for 10 years. Their desks stood just 10 feet apart. "She was kind, gentle, compassionate and generous," Mrs. Pitre said. "She was a wonderful person."
Linda Cuneo worked with her for 11 years. "Genore was the most generous person I've ever known," she said.
Genore had taken a half-day off Friday to do some work around her house.
When she didn't come into the office Monday morning, her friends got concerned. It wasn't like her not to show up for work and it certainly wasn't like her not to call.
A co-worker dialed her cellphone and got no answer. A call to her home phone was answered with a busy signal. The operator said there was no activity on the line. The phone was off the hook.
Genore's friends got scared. They called the East Feliciana Parish Sheriff's Department.