January 2019 Louisiana shootings
Part of mass shootings in the United States
LocationAscension and Livingston parishes, Louisiana
DateJanuary 26, 2019
Attack type
Spree shooting, familicide, domestic violence, mass murder
WeaponsHandgun
Deaths5
Injured0
PerpetratorDakota Theriot

On January 26, 2019, a gunman shot and killed five people in Ascension and Livingston parishes, Louisiana, before being taken into custody in Virginia. It is the deadliest mass shooting in Louisiana history.

Incident

A few weeks prior to the incident, Dakota Theriot was taken in by his girlfriend's family, after being kicked out by his own parents.[1] Investigators claim that Theriot, using a handgun he stole from his father,[2][3] killed three members of his girlfriend's family in Livingston Parish, before he stole a truck and drove to the neighboring county of Ascension and killed his parents.[4] The victims in Livingston Parish were Billy Ernest, aged 43, Summer Ernest, aged 20, and Tanner Ernest, aged 17; Elizabeth and Keith Theriot, both in their early fifties, were killed in Gonzales.[5] The neighbor of the Ernest family told reporters that the two surviving Ernest children; aged 7 and 1 years old, ran to her home to call 9-1-1 and were unharmed in the incident.[6] Police found both Elizabeth and Keith Theriot alive at their house after Keith called 911. Keith reportedly identified his son as the shooter. The couple later died at the hospital.[4]

After a day-long manhunt, Theriot was arrested by the Virginia State Police in Richmond County, Virginia, approximately 1,000 miles (1,600 km) from the crime scene,[4][7] in the driveway of his grandmother's home in Warsaw.[8] He allegedly pointed the gun at the officers, trying to get them to fatally shoot him.[9][10] It was reported he had driven there to "hug and kiss his two aunts and grandmother goodbye" and did not fight extradition.[1]

Perpetrator

Twenty-one-year-old Dakota Michael Theriot[11] was identified as the suspect in the shootings. He had prior brushes with the law and short involuntary mental health stays. Friends and family have claimed that he reported hearing voices, threatened to burn down his parents’ home, and his ex-wife has claimed to Kenner Police he was schizophrenic.[12] His ex-wife also raised claims of abuse throughout their three-year relationship and eleven-day marriage. At a court hearing seeking a protective order against Theriot, she alleged that he not only choked, punched, and slapped her, but also broke her wrist when he threw her through a window. Contending the wife had not proven her allegations, the judge dissolved the temporary order of protection against Theriot; the judge instead ordered both parties have no contact with each other via joint injunction.[13]

Theriot confessed to the shooting soon after his arrest, saying that he did it in "pure, cold blood," according to a deputy who testified in court.[9][10]

In March 2019, he entered a not guilty plea on three counts of first-degree murder in Livingston Parish and later entered the same plea for two counts of first-degree murder in Ascension Parish a month later.[14] His lawyers asked for the Ascension Parish judge to halt proceedings until sources of funding can be found for his defense, as they have been working pro bono for the past month and that Theriot is indigent.[12]

On January 11, 2023, Theriot pled guilty in the shootings and was sentenced to life in prison.[15][16][17]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "Dakota Theriot fled Louisiana to apologize to relatives, attorney says". nola.com. Associated Press. Retrieved 2019-02-05.
  2. ↑ GRUESKIN, CAROLINE. "Louisiana sheriff says 'a monster,' Dakota Theriot, admits killing 5 with stolen gun". The Advocate. Retrieved 2019-12-06.
  3. ↑ Vincent, Melinda Deslatte, Rebecca Santana, and Mykal. "Autopsy results released for Dakota Theriot's parents". www.kalb.com. Retrieved 2019-12-06.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  4. 1 2 3 Paris, Francesca (January 27, 2019). "Police Arrest Louisiana Man Suspected Of Killing Parents, Girlfriend and 2 Others". National Public Radio. Retrieved 2019-01-27.
  5. ↑ CNN (26 January 2019). "5 dead after shooting spree in Louisiana". CNN. Retrieved 2019-01-27. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  6. ↑ Bacon, John (January 27, 2019). "Dakota Theriot, suspect in 5 killings in Louisiana, arrested in Virginia". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2019-01-27.
  7. ↑ Maria Pasquini (January 27, 2018). "Louisiana Man Suspected of Shooting 5 — Including His Parents & Girlfriend — Arrested in Virginia". People. Retrieved January 27, 2018.
  8. ↑ Kennedy, Emma; Grueskin, Caroline (January 27, 2019). "Dakota Theriot's escape to Virginia: Alleged killer arrives at grandmother's with officials waiting". The Advocate. Retrieved January 29, 2019.
  9. 1 2 writer, JACQUELINE DEROBERTIS | staff. "Report: Dakota Theriot said he killed 5 people in 'pure, cold blood;' attorney says trial may be halted". The Advocate. Retrieved 2019-12-06.
  10. 1 2 "Deputy: Theriot admitted to killing 5 in 'pure, cold blood'". WBRZ. Retrieved 2019-12-06.
  11. ↑ "Inmate Detail - Theriot, Dakota Michael". 206.124.223.114. Retrieved 2019-12-01.
  12. 1 2 Mitchell, DAVID (April 29, 2019). "Lawyers for accused killer Dakota Theriot request funding for his defense, halt in prosecution". The Advocate. Retrieved 2019-05-11.
  13. ↑ writers, BRYN STOLE, GRACE TOOHEY and EMMA KENNEDY | Advocate staff. "Dakota Theriot's troubled past: Accused mass shooter's life dotted with failures". The Advocate. Retrieved 2019-05-11.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  14. ↑ "Another hearing date set for Dakota Theriot in Livingston Parish". WBRZ. Retrieved 2019-05-11.
  15. ↑ "Dakota Theriot pleads guilty to killing 5 in 2019 shooting spree". WBRZ2. Retrieved 2023-01-11.
  16. ↑ "Dakota Theriot pleads guilty in deadly shooting spree; receives life sentence". WAFB9. Retrieved 2023-01-11.
  17. ↑ "Dakota Theriot pleads guilty in deadly shooting spree; receives life sentence". KSLA NEWS 12. Retrieved 2023-01-11.
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