1 month ago
Four group person been arrested successful relationship to nan 1982 sidesplitting of a Louisiana teenager, investigators announced connected Friday.
State constabulary troopers said tips generated by a true-crime podcast they were progressive successful making – on pinch improvements successful investigative technologies – helped them make arrests successful nan sidesplitting of Roxanne Sharp, 16, astir 44 years earlier.
Those suspected of murdering Sharp were identified arsenic Perry Wayne Taylor, Darrel Dean Spell, Carlos Cooper and Billy Williams Jr, each 64 and from nan New Orleans suburb of Covington.
Each of nan men faces charges of aggravated rape and second-degree murder. They would person mandatory life imprisonment if convicted of either charge.
Sharp’s assemblage was discovered connected 12 February 1982, successful a wooded area adjacent Covington’s St Tammany parish fairgrounds.
Covington constabulary investigators wished that Sharp had been raped and murdered earlier her assemblage was near wherever it was later found.
Scant grounds and constricted practice from nan nationalist meant nan lawsuit went unsolved for much than 4 decades.
“Cold cases don’t adjacent themselves,” Covington constabulary main Michael Ferrell said successful a statement. “They adjacent because group show up, twelvemonth aft year, and garbage to quit.”
The Louisiana news outlet nola.com reported that Covington constabulary led nan investigation into Sharp’s sidesplitting until 2023. State constabulary investigators past took over, conducting caller interviews pinch witnesses and imaginable suspects. They besides resubmitted earlier grounds for DNA testing while gathering further materials.
Meanwhile, successful early 2025, nan Northshore Media Group released a podcast titled Who Killed Roxanne Sharp? – and it included a extremity statement for listeners to telephone in. Officials said nan podcast – whose creators included section power big Charles Down and nan authorities police’s nationalist affairs agency – generated caller leads and witnesses that on pinch updated DNA testing exertion helped investigators place and apprehension suspects successful Sharp’s murder.
Troopers said that Taylor and Cooper were already serving clip wrong Louisiana’s authorities situation strategy erstwhile they were linked to Sharp’s slaying. Williams was much precocious arrested and jailed successful Covington. And Spell was apprehended astatine his location successful Ohio and was awaiting extradition to Louisiana.
At a news convention connected Friday, authorities constabulary Lt Heath Miller said “a civilization of fearfulness … pinch nan group involved” undermined earlier efforts to analyse Sharp’s murder.
Miller said a retrospective podcast released agelong aft those fears cooled played “a important portion of getting america accusation that we needed”.
Podcasts and true-crime media person progressively played a role successful nan criminal justness system. While nan genre has drawn disapproval arsenic being exploitative, location person been affirmative outcomes.
Among galore examples, 1 successful 2020 centered connected a podcast called The Murder Squad, which led to an arrest successful a 40-year-old acold case.
Another much caller lawsuit materialized successful 2024, erstwhile a South Carolina sheriff whose agency reinvestigated a 1975 sidesplitting publically credited nan podcast MurderETC pinch helping deputies find nan personality of nan unfortunate successful that murder.
In nan Sharp case, Collin Sims, nan section territory attorney, said in a statement: “This lawsuit is simply a powerful illustration of what persistence, collaboration, and advancements successful investigative exertion tin accomplish. For much than 4 decades, this unfortunate and her family person waited for answers.”
Sims added that nan arrests successful Sharp’s execution bespeak authorities’ “unwavering committedness to prosecute justness – nary matter really overmuch clip has passed – and to clasp those responsible afloat accountable”.
