October 8, 2024 • 38 mins
Donna was a mother, a sister, a daughter. Her upbringing was anything but ordinary and those experinces influenced every decision she made. But does any of that matter, and is it relevant to her murder?
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Episode Transcript
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>> Speaker A (00:00):
The claims, views, and opinions expressed are those of the speaker
and do not represent those of But Why Media Media or its
partners. All subjects are innocent until proven
guilty. This is a podcast about
difficult topics and it may not be suitable for all
audiences. Listener discretion is advised.
(00:30):
There are questions about how the Washington Parish sheriff's
office handled a death investigation that has become a, years
long unsolved case.
>> Tucker Simmons (00:37):
The family hopes new eyes on the.
>> Speaker A (00:39):
Case will help bring some closure.
>> Tucker Simmons (00:43):
A murder mystery hangs near the intersection of Washington
and Main streets in Franklinton, Louisiana. The sign
on the brick wall with Donna Arceneaux picture is only a few
months old, but the mystery surrounding her death
has hovered over this small town for years.
>> Speaker A (01:02):
11:58pm October
23, 2017
she told everybody, if anything ever
happens to me, one of them goes.
I wasn't three minutes out when they called me, and I
got over there and I said, there's already an attorney here.
(01:24):
The minute I went in the house, I felt
just this overwhelming feeling
of danger. There was a couple blood drops I
noticed outside of the bed. So why would that
be there? When we went to go clean the house out,
there was still a big smear of blood on
that back door. Donna was a very beautiful,
sexy woman. Everybody had the hot spot.
(01:47):
What she did is her business. She didn't deserve to
be killed. If you want to commit murder and get away with it, the place to
do it is wash it, repairs. 911 was your
emergency.
>> Tucker Simmons (01:56):
Hey, we've tired of the body.
>> Speaker A (01:58):
We've been worried all day. Where's this at now?
What's the address?
21229 highway 16. Please,
please come.
>> Tucker Simmons (02:24):
Just before midnight on Monday, October 23,
2017, 40 year old single mom
and well known cosmetologist Donna Arceneaux
was found lying on her bedroom floor with a
fatal gunshot wound to her lower left breast.
Authorities announced she had committed suicide, and
the local newspaper ran that headline. But
(02:46):
her autopsy was indisputable.
She was murdered.
After more than six years of uncertainty, the case
remains unsolved. But what I know for
sure about my hometown is that
information is currency. Local gossip
never sleeps and secrets aren't
(03:07):
sacred.
I'm feeling heavy?
>> Speaker A (03:11):
There's a pounding in my chest?
The shadow's hiding but I see
the silhouettes?
Fear lives in the quiet
whispers in the sigh.
>> Tucker Simmons (03:30):
I'm Tucker Simmons. This is freeze
frame, an investigation into the
unsolved murder of Donna Arceneaux.
(03:54):
When I think of the word hometown, I imagine those
cheesy Christmas movies set on main Street,
USA. You're guaranteed a fairytale
ending. Maybe those kind of small towns
exist somewhere. But as I've been reminded recently,
that's not the reality. In my hometown,
through fields of pine trees, past dozens of
(04:15):
churches, just 70 miles north of New Orleans is
Franklinton, Louisiana, population
3593.
Franklinton is the Parish seat of Washington Parish.
We call it Louisiana's toe of the boot.
Our first claim to fame dates back to the 20th century, when the
Goodyear family built the world's largest sawmill in
(04:35):
Bogaloosa, 20 miles east of Franklinton.
These days, it's known for hosting the country's largest free fair
that welcomes hundreds of thousands of visitors every October.
Growing up, there was pretty normal. My dad's side of the family
was in the clothing business. My mom's family had jewelry
stores. My brother and I spent our days terrorizing
the neighborhood on bikes and go karts. We
(04:58):
were privileged and mostly unaware of the outside world.
After high school, I moved away to Los Angeles and built a career
in television. For ten years, I developed and produced
hundreds of reality tv shows. But in
2020, after a decade of telling other people's
stories, I realized there was a story back home
that needed to be told.
>> Speaker A (05:19):
Where do you think the drugs around here come from?
That is your man,
M.
(05:39):
I met so many people in jail that was in there because
of that piece of shit. He was fucking
their girlfriend, and then he planted dope,
all
when he would get involved with something, it would be for
political reasons. I would have to find ways
to work around him.
(06:04):
They'll just say and do anything, and they get away with
it. They're godless.
The FBI showed up at my doorstep, and then
the investigation really started heating up.
>> Tucker Simmons (06:23):
You name it, I've heard it. Community leaders
having swinger parties, politicians covering up their
friends misdeeds, drug traffickers
masquerading as pastors, and even crazy
rumors about my own grandparents business dealings.
I'll admit it's been tempting to omit names
and pass over parts of the story that might not sit well with
people I've known my entire life. But that's exactly how we
(06:46):
ended up here in the first place. Since the beginning of this
journey, I've often been asked if I consider myself a
journalist. I guess in some ways I am.
But this story is deeply personal. And as you'll hear,
I won't be hiding my opinions.
(07:10):
Rumors about my family are something I never really talked
about. I would hear things, and kids at school would joke
about what my grandparents really did for a living,
but it was always just talk. So early on in this
investigation, for the first time ever, I asked my
grandma for her thoughts on all the speculation. Here's
Mimi.
>> Speaker A (07:28):
Yes, there's been rumors at times about
the Mosley's because we drove nice cars, had a
beautiful home, but it was because of hard
work. It wasn't because of
anything illegal. We just
dismissed any of that. Some
people can understand that if
you work hard, you may
(07:50):
reap some benefits.
I mean, that's the way it is.
>> Tucker Simmons (07:54):
You know, I have to say, if she and pops were
involved in nefarious business, they did a damn good job of
hiding it. But it's a tricky situation, because to
maintain the integrity of this investigation, I couldn't just
take her word for it. And I didn't.
After months of investigating, reading court
transcripts, interviewing locals, talking to
childhood friends who were in the know, Washington, Parish
(08:17):
wasn't looking so sleepy after all.
M I've lost count how
many times I've been told to stop poking around or,
dude, just leave it alone. I've even been told
a few times, if I'm not careful, I might end up in a ditch
somewhere. I'm not really sure what that means.
Is it a threat? For many locals,
though, the fear of retaliation is palpable, even in
(08:40):
my own family.
>> Speaker A (08:41):
Just be careful.
>> Tucker Simmons (08:42):
Let me go with you.
>> Speaker A (08:43):
Maybe I'm your mom. I mean, I just.
I just want you to be safe, honey.
>> Tucker Simmons (08:52):
I thought a lot about whether to include this next phone
call. I had it early on in this investigation, and
it's not directly related to Donna's case, but
ultimately, I felt like you needed to hear an example of how
locals have been manipulated and intimidated into
silence. This is an excerpt of a woman from a
prominent family in Washington Parish who was unhappy
with my curiosity about her father.
>> Speaker A (09:14):
It takes a galling
man to ask those
things about.
And unbeknownst to you, I was listening to
you because I was on another line
listening to you. I don't even know how this
happened today, but
you fell in my hands. And,
(09:37):
you know, I, Was your paw Paw's
friend. I was
Mosley's friend. He hugged, me m every
time he saw me.
You know, I know
you know, I know everything.
I don't know what you up to.
You may be in California,
(10:02):
but nobody can run and
hide.
>> Tucker Simmons (10:09):
I have a pretty good idea. But I'll let you decide what was
being implied there.
One of my best sources had gone silent, pending
records. Requests were piling up. I was hitting dead end
after dead end. Late one night, I was venting to my
brother who still lives in Franklinton. And he
reminded me of a local detective who had tried to reach me years
(10:29):
earlier about an unrelated case.
With some quick sleuthing online, I found a few
numbers, and to my surprise, the third
time was the charm.
>> Speaker A (10:42):
Let me step outside. I'm doing homework with
granddaughters.
All right. So what can I do for you?
>> Tucker Simmons (10:49):
Well, I'm working on a story about Louisiana,
and I was just curious if you were still in law
enforcement or.
>> Speaker A (10:55):
What you were up to. I actually
retired last year. I had enough.
I tried to make 30 years, but I made 29
years, one month, three weeks, and one day.
>> Tucker Simmons (11:06):
Oh, wow.
>> Speaker A (11:07):
Don't wow on me yet.
>> Tucker Simmons (11:09):
That's retired Washington Parish sheriff's office detective
Demetria Rice. She goes by Demi, or mama
Deeze. She's worked all types of cases in her
career, but she's most well known for her work as the lead
child sex abuse investigator in the Parish.
Almost an hour into our wide ranging conversation,
Demi called attention to the cases that still haunt her.
(11:29):
To my surprise, Donna Arceneaux was among
them.
>> Speaker A (11:33):
I knew I could do it, and it
took me to badger and badger them to let
me have a crack at it.
>> Tucker Simmons (11:40):
I could hardly believe what I was hearing, and I just couldn't shake
the feeling that it was meant to be. Because
what I haven't shared with you yet is that Donna
Arceneaux was my aunt.
The reports that Donna committed suicide never sat well with
(12:01):
me. But what could I do about it? Eventually,
as enough time passes, you start to convince yourself that
there's nothing to see here. And I guess that's where I was
at. I had lost touch with Donna other than the
occasional Facebook message. But she was family, and
if she was murdered, I knew I had to do what I do
best, and that's tell her story.
>> Speaker A (12:30):
My name is Bubba Moseley. Donna and I were
married on October 6,
2001. She was funny.
She had a heart of gold. We had a great time
together.
>> Tucker Simmons (12:41):
The Mosley boy had scored the most beautiful woman in Washington
Parish, and their marriage was the talk of the town. Everyone
loved Aunt Donna. She was in her mid twenties, not too
much older than us. The bond was instant, and
we gained two new cousins, her boys, Scott and Brennan.
Their whirlwind romance was short lived and ended in
2004. But they always remained in contact,
(13:02):
and eventually, Donna remarried and had her daughter in
2006. I shared some of this with
Demi as she reflected on the case, not knowing the
floodgates were about to open. Donna
was my aunt. She was married to my mom's
brother.
>> Speaker A (13:16):
Oh, darling. How much m time you got?
In fact, let me. While we speak, let me put a cup
of coffee on, because it's going to be a long conversation.
>> Tucker Simmons (13:26):
As you can tell, Demi is as outspoken as they
come. After so much innuendo and speculation
during my initial investigation, her brutal honesty
was refreshing. But I need to be clear. These
are Demi's opinions based on her time working the case.
And some of it is very shocking. I always
found it somewhat suspicious that she killed
herself.
>> Speaker A (13:46):
She didn't kill herself. She was killed. She was murdered.
I begged for them to let me get involved in that case.
Finally, they gave it to me after nobody could do nothing.
And I found so many problems based on the way
it was handled. I got the
investigation almost a whole year afterward. You know,
I'm building my trust up with
a suspect, and a few weeks
(14:09):
into it, they just wanted it closed.
They want him to come in and give
a confession. Well, when he refused,
they pulled it. There was no way I could have
done, a proper investigation in
a matter of a few weeks.
>> Tucker Simmons (14:37):
If you're anything like me, I know what you're thinking. Here we
go again with the law enforcement cover up theory.
My first thought was, maybe she's just disgruntled and slinging
mud. So I asked.
>> Speaker A (14:48):
I've been very vocal how I feel about the sheriff's
office and, the leadership there and the ones in
charge. I don't want you to take my word for it. I want you
to go out and do your own investigation, your own
research. And you'll find what
I'm saying is the truth.
>> Tucker Simmons (15:04):
I don't know what I expected her to say, but if she was trying
to mislead me, wouldn't she have doubled down?
I wasn't even calling about Donna's case. But here I am,
sitting on what feels like a gold mine of information.
Demi lives about 13 miles outside of town. So while
I was home to see family, not too long after our first phone call,
I stopped by.
(15:29):
How are you?
>> Speaker A (15:32):
My chin is wrong.
>> Tucker Simmons (15:36):
This meeting with Demi was much like our first conversation.
She stated her opinions loud and clear.
She references Tom, who was captain of criminal
investigations at the Washington Parish sheriff's office at the
time of Donna's death. He retired in January of
2023 after a 27 year career with the
office serving under six different sheriffs.
>> Speaker A (15:56):
I got a phone call. 230 in the morning from Tom
Anderson. I'm like, tom, we forgot. I'm, out of
town. Two days later, went to
Donna's house, and they were telling me
how everything happened. If you're standing at
the bed facing the headboard, the gun was
to the left side. Donna's
(16:17):
body was off of the bed on the right
side. With her foot, it pulled
the covers off the bed. There was an
outline of something on the bed
that had a blood pattern around it.
>> Tucker Simmons (16:32):
Demi explained that whatever was on the bed creating the
bloody 90 degree angle was gone, never
found. So if Donna committed
suicide, what happened to the object on the bed?
It's pure speculation at this point. But doesn't that
suggest someone else could have been there at this
point, I was hoping Demi could dig up some old files about the
case, and I was checking in pretty frequently. Each
(16:54):
time, more and more troubling details.
Obviously, the body was gone by the time you got there two days later.
But did you go in and see, like, the blood that was still
there?
>> Speaker A (17:04):
There was blood on that bed, but there's
very minimal blood. There was very
minimal blood where she was out on the floor,
but there was blood in the bathroom. When the faith police
went back the second time and did the
luminol search, what more do
you need? Right there.
(17:24):
She showed a thug, didn't. Oh, I'm so
sorry. I didn't. I mean, to cuss,
there's no way she could have got off the bed, went in the
bathroom, glared out, and then I
cleaned up the mess with a
bullet going through the heart. The
coroner said she might have lived a minute, a minute and a
half after being shot, and,
(17:46):
ah, the captain pretty much. Oh, well, she
had time to do all that.
>> Tucker Simmons (17:51):
I have to be honest with you, I was feeling way in over
my head. Looking back, I probably was.
I'm not an investigator, but as a tv producer
and a documentarian, the one thing I did know
is I couldn't pass up this story. I
checked in with Uncle Bubba to let him know what I was working on, and
I was curious when he last saw Donna. And I don't
(18:12):
know how much you were in touch with her, but she.
>> Speaker A (18:14):
Was in dire the week before and asked me for
two grand to pay her house to get it caught up or she's going
to lose it. Well, I'd loaned her money since I
divorced her. And, sitting in
the fairgrounds right there by bowling green
kitchen, and she asked me for two grand, and I
told her I couldn't do it. And she started crying, and
(18:34):
I said, donna, I'm sorry. I can't do it. That was the last
time I saw her. No, I saw her the Friday night of the
fair, walking around with that guy,
and she wouldn't even talk to me. She stood
behind him and would put her face into
his armpit area and stay
secluded.
>> Tucker Simmons (18:53):
Tragically, just three days later, Donna was
dead.
A couple of sources around town had also mentioned Donna's financial
struggles and said her estranged boyfriend bought her home
two months before her death. Donna told Bubba
(19:15):
and several others that as soon as she caught up, she would get it
back. That didn't sit well with Donna's closest friends,
who knew she had grown up in extreme poverty and took
pride in being a homeowner. Plus, it wasn't just
her home. Her thriving day spa had operated in
the converted sunroom for many years.
Investigators have never contacted Uncle Bubba, and he
didn't know any details about the case.
(19:38):
But he did get me in touch with Donna's older sister,
Sherry.
>> Speaker A (19:42):
You know, at this point, it's not even about just Donald. it's
like they were almost trying to cover up
what they messed up, trying to write stuff
down as it was happening and as, I would find out
different things and hear different names and things like that. So,
yeah, I would be very willing to sit down with each
other. Absolutely. Okay.
>> Tucker Simmons (20:01):
Why don't we plan for four?
>> Speaker A (20:03):
Okay. That sounds great. 04:00. I'll text you my address
right now. Tucker.
>> Tucker Simmons (20:07):
A few days later, I made the seven hour drive from
Nashville to Franklinton to meet Sherry and her husband,
Pat.
>> Speaker A (20:27):
How is it that my dogs did not come
in?
>> Tucker Simmons (20:31):
Tucker, nice to meet you.
Sherry had just gotten home from picking up kids at school.
Pat was in his recliner, and a fresh litter of puppies
were down the hall. We caught up on life and shared
reality tv stories about Pat's time on the hit CMT
series party down south. And then we jumped right in.
There was no question that Sherry and Pat never believed Donna
(20:52):
committed suicide. Their first red flag was a
series of early morning text messages sent from Donna's phone
the day she was found.
>> Speaker A (21:00):
Donna text, how many people
that night? 4, 5 people. How many months after this
happened?
>> Tucker Simmons (21:06):
I wouldn't talk to them at sheriff's office.
>> Speaker A (21:08):
They didn't even know about this. I'm like,
we don't know about this. I think what happens. I don't think
Donna texting. No, we don't think it was. I think it was
somebody used her phone at that point, all it said was, I love
you. And that's not Donna. She never
wrote I love you, and it was always lowercase.
You know what I mean.
>> Tucker Simmons (21:25):
Mm
>> Speaker A (21:26):
And this was capital I, capital l capital
Y.
>> Tucker Simmons (21:29):
What did you think when you got that message?
>> Speaker A (21:31):
I didn't get it till that morning because my phone's on silent.
So at, like, 06:00 in the morning, I think was 630 or
something. I text her back and was like,
what's going on? And she never texts back, obviously, because she's
already gone.
>> Tucker Simmons (21:45):
Six years have passed, and life must go on.
But Sherry's confusion and anger were still crystal
clear.
>> Speaker A (21:52):
I kept, like, just getting the runaround, and somebody was telling
me, well, they're gonna say that she committed suicide. And I'm
like, why are they saying she committed suicide? Like, how?
First off, the. The paper was saying that
she's found in the bed with the. With the shotgun,
right? That's what the newspaper said, which is a
big, fat lie. She's on the floor
(22:12):
and the guns on the other side of the bed. And there was
droplets all the way from that back door all the
way into her bedroom. But they're saying that it's
a suicide. But my thing was,
how could a sheriff's office
release a report to the media
that she was committed suicide with a
(22:32):
shotgun? There's a big difference between
a shotgun, and a pistol weapon. We called the
newspaper and wanted them to print a
retraction, and they said they couldn't print a
retraction unless the sheriff's office
told them that they could.
>> Tucker Simmons (22:56):
Online sources did publish a shocking amount of false
information about the scene. The weapon used was a
shotgun. Donna was in bed. The
weapon used was never found. And I could go on,
but after reviewing the air leaders archives at its Franklinton
office, I found no mention of a shotgun or
the placement of Donna's body in the three articles it published
(23:16):
about the case. It did, however, run this
headline on February 7, 2018.
October 24, shooting death of Franklinton woman is
ruled a suicide. The article stated
the initial autopsy was inconclusive. Authorities
said with no cause of death released, the case
sparked considerable concern in the Franklinton area.
(23:36):
However, authorities in the Washington Parish Sheriff's Office
said this week that the most recent autopsy results
show it to be a suicide, and it has been officially ruled
as such, end quote.
This appeared in the paper three months after a preliminary
autopsy found Donna's manner of death to be
homicide. The editor of the era leader
(23:58):
is a man named Steve Cooperstock. Mister Steve is an
old friend of my dad's, and my brother played little league baseball
with his son. We exchanged a series of lengthy,
off the record emails about Donna's case, and I eventually
received this on the record statement.
>> Speaker A (24:17):
In working with that particular WPSO
administration for the previous six years prior to February
2018, we had consistently received
accurate information in response to all of our
queries until February 18. I
cannot point to a single query, not one ask,
of that particular WPSO administration,
that resulted in a miscommunication or even
(24:38):
confusion. So we had no hesitation in publishing
the WPSO response that the death was apparently
a suicide.
>> Tucker Simmons (24:46):
It's not uncommon for a medical examiner and investigators
to disagree on a case, but that's not the issue
here. The suicide announcement was given to
the paper before Donna's family was notified, before
the autopsy was even completed, and while homicide
investigators were actively working the case,
this has all contributed to the public speculation of a
coverup. The ERA leader has
(25:08):
limited resources, just like any other community paper, and
that has to be taken into account. But the fact
remains, there was only one autopsy and one
set of results which found Donnas manner of death to be
homicide. A death certificate confirming those
findings was issued on September 10,
2018. The ERA leader has never
corrected the record for the community or Donna's family.
(25:36):
Ive thought a lot about why he may not have printed that
retraction, and so far, Mister Steve hasnt directly
answered that question. But if I were to speculate,
a small paper contradicting the local sheriffs
office would likely damage its access to information,
information it relies on to fill the pages of its
publication. I respect the service Mister
Steve provides for the community, and I personally have fond
(25:59):
memories with him from childhood. But saying Im
disappointed in the way the paper has handled this case is an
understatement.
>> Speaker A (26:12):
The person you are trying to reach is not accepting calls at
this time. Please try your call.
>> Tucker Simmons (26:17):
I've been told chief Criminal deputy Mike Haley, who
retired from the Washington Parish Sheriff's Office in
2022, acted as the public information
officer and provided the improper statement to the eRA
leader. All attempts to reach Mister Haley have been
unsuccessful.
Okay, so I know I sound obsessive about this
(26:39):
article, but it was a pivotal moment in the
investigation. Whether intentional or not, it
shifted the public's attention away from the case.
Here's Franklinton police Chief Justin Brown, who
explained why that can be a death sentence.
Ultimately, it boils down to pressure.
>> Speaker A (26:56):
If it's in the news or it's.
>> Tucker Simmons (26:58):
Being publicized, or the questions are constantly being
asked, then it brings that case to
the forefront and it demands action. You know,
it's an injustice for our community, it's an
injustice for the family and an injustice for Donna.
By early 2019, Sherry and Pat had lost faith in
the investigation. They called a family meeting
(27:19):
with her brother TJ, Donna's ex husband, who was the father
of her daughter, and a few others. It was decided
Pat would meet with Sheriff Randy Seal to suggest it would be
in his own best interest, due to the upcoming election, to ask
the state police to take over the case.
Following that meeting, the Louisiana State Police
Criminal Investigations division agreed to take Donna's
(27:39):
case. And later that year, as expected,
Randy Seal was re elected to his third term.
>> Speaker A (27:46):
It was March 11, 2019. It was on a
Monday, and it said, I text Randy Seal and asked why
Tom Anderson still had Donna's case files on his desk
for over two weeks. Okay, and I'm gonna tell
you, I got the information
because the person, another person called me and said,
Sherry, case files still have not been turned
over. I said, well, I'm gonna call sheriff. He
(28:09):
said, oh, yeah, they've been turned over. They were turned over last week. And I said, no,
sir, they're not. I said, they're sitting on Tom Anderson's desk right
now as we speak. And he said, are you sure? And I said,
100% sure. And about 15 minutes
later, he calls me back and says, sherry, you were right. They're sitting on to this.
He said, but I'm calling the, the, state police
myself right now. And I said,
(28:29):
okay. So on March
14, Tom Anderson goes into the
office, makes a big to do, makes everybody go in and sit
down. He's having a meeting because there is a leak and he is mad
about it. There's a leak? How did they know that those papers were
sitting on my desk?
>> Tucker Simmons (28:46):
I can understand why the lead investigator would be upset about
a leak within his department, but what took so
long to hand over the case file to the state police?
And why did it take the victims sister raising a red
flag for the sheriff to know what was going on in
his own office?
Before arriving at Sherry's that day, I called the Washington
(29:07):
Parish coroner's office, where I had called many times
before. And I finally reached his secretary and chief
investigator to request a copy of Donna's
autopsy. It didnt sound promising,
but this was long before any news of my investigation
went public. So I had hope.
And sure enough, when I left Sherrys there, it was
in my inbox. Within hours, my
(29:30):
request for Donnas autopsy was approved.
I was hesitant to open it. I was excited, of
course, but what did this really mean?
I was suddenly questioning everything. Is there
really anything I can do to positively impact this case.
Why me? Why should I be the one to do this
if I'm not fully committed to solving it? Why would I
(29:51):
ever want to see this kind of detail about a loved one's death?
I could read the first several lines of the document's thumbnail before
I even opened it, and there it was. Manner
of death, homicide.
Donna's family, my family, the entire
community, they had been lied to for years about
(30:11):
Donna's death. And in that moment, every
reservation I had fell away. I felt a sense
of responsibility. That night, I called
several sources close to the investigation, and Demi
was the only one willing to go on the record.
I just got the autopsy from the coroner's
(30:33):
office. I know you've seen it, obviously, and I'll need
to read through it to really understand completely
the big takeaways. At first glance, at
09:30 a.m. on October 25, which is
less than, like, 36 hours after the 911 call,
doctor de Fada performed the autopsy. Cause
of death, gunshot wound to the left
(30:54):
chest. Manner of death,
homicide. And then he goes on to,
say, 2.5 inches left of the
midline and nine inches from the top of the shoulder.
So it's pretty clear,
I mean, that it says homicide.
>> Speaker A (31:10):
Correct.
>> Tucker Simmons (31:12):
So I guess my confusion is,
how is it that the sheriff's office announced
to the paper that it was officially a
suicide in February, 3 months later?
Like, were you guys not made aware of this
autopsy?
>> Speaker A (31:27):
No, we were made aware the day of
the autopsy, that it was a homicide.
The day after the autopsy was performed, I was
told by one of my fellow detectives,
well, actually, two of them came in my office to tell me
the captain, Tom Anderson, even before he
arrived on scene, called and said it was a
suicide. And when he got on
(31:49):
scene, they argued about
it.
>> Tucker Simmons (31:52):
Those other two detectives, what were their
names?
>> Speaker A (31:56):
Raymond Myers and Jimmy Seals. Raymond
Myers was very adamant that it was a
homicide.
>> Tucker Simmons (32:07):
Raymond Myers was promoted to captain of criminal
investigations in January 2023,
following Tom Anderson's retirement. Captain
Myers has not agreed to speak with me yet, but retired
detective Demi Rice and others with intimate knowledge of the
initial investigation, who youll hear from in future
episodes, are hellbent on correcting what they
see as a lack of transparency in Washington
(32:29):
Parish. I took a few weeks to pore over
all the details, and the bottom line is, having the
case be unsolved is bad enough. Theres a murderer
walking the streets of Washington Parish. But then when you
add what certainly looks like a deliberate attempt to
mislead the public, with no compassion for a grieving
family. Its infuriating.
(32:51):
I mean, come on. Like, there's the trajectory of the
bullet. That's not consistent with a
self inflicted gunshot wound. There's evidence
of blood cleanup in the bathroom, but no
trace of blood on Donna's hands that suggests she
didn't clean up the bathroom. Donna was completely nude.
Except for the small t shirt.
>> Speaker A (33:10):
She would not have been found in the condition she
was in. If it would have been suicide, she would have prepped
herself.
>> Tucker Simmons (33:17):
Now, on the other hand, we, also know she was
struggling financially. She had some posts on
Facebook that she was very depressed and felt
lonely. She threatened suicide in the past.
But if we remove all those predetermining
factors, what was there on scene
to make?
>> Speaker A (33:35):
Nothing. There was absolutely
nothing on scene that would
have told me it was a suicide
or any other detective.
>> Tucker Simmons (33:46):
What does the Washington Parish sheriff's office get out of
protecting the killer or kind of just
sweeping it off as a suicide?
>> Speaker A (33:53):
My guess, he knows something about someone.
Because let me tell you something. Arsenal was
known to have information on all the
cops, and he wasn't afraid to use
it.
>> Tucker Simmons (34:36):
There's something strange in the air
tonight. thank you so much for listening
to episode one. Now that you're up to speed with a big
picture view of the case, starting in episode two, we're going to
dive into the dirty little secrets that surround Donna's death.
I was shocked by what we uncovered. I have a feeling you will be,
too. So I'll see you then. Head over to
(34:56):
freezeframepodcast.com for behind the scenes details
on the investigation, and then follow us on socials
at Freeze frame pod for exclusive content.
Freeze frame is a. But why? Media production. It's written
and produced by me, Tucker Simmons. Editing and
post production by Evan Desonnier, narration
by Greg Geringer and Carrie Lauren. And our original
(35:17):
music is "Something Strange" by Tabitha Meeks.
The claims, views, and opinions expressed are those of the speaker
and do not represent those of But Why Media Media or its
partners. All subjects are innocent until proven
guilty. This is a podcast about
difficult topics and it may not be suitable for all
audiences. Listener discretion is advised.
(00:30):
There are questions about how the Washington Parish sheriff's
office handled a death investigation that has become a, years
long unsolved case.
>> Tucker Simmons (00:37):
The family hopes new eyes on the.
>> Speaker A (00:39):
Case will help bring some closure.
>> Tucker Simmons (00:43):
A murder mystery hangs near the intersection of Washington
and Main streets in Franklinton, Louisiana. The sign
on the brick wall with Donna Arceneaux picture is only a few
months old, but the mystery surrounding her death
has hovered over this small town for years.
>> Speaker A (01:02):
11:58pm October
23, 2017
she told everybody, if anything ever
happens to me, one of them goes.
I wasn't three minutes out when they called me, and I
got over there and I said, there's already an attorney here.
(01:24):
The minute I went in the house, I felt
just this overwhelming feeling
of danger. There was a couple blood drops I
noticed outside of the bed. So why would that
be there? When we went to go clean the house out,
there was still a big smear of blood on
that back door. Donna was a very beautiful,
sexy woman. Everybody had the hot spot.
(01:47):
What she did is her business. She didn't deserve to
be killed. If you want to commit murder and get away with it, the place to
do it is wash it, repairs. 911 was your
emergency.
>> Tucker Simmons (01:56):
Hey, we've tired of the body.
>> Speaker A (01:58):
We've been worried all day. Where's this at now?
What's the address?
21229 highway 16. Please,
please come.
>> Tucker Simmons (02:24):
Just before midnight on Monday, October 23,
2017, 40 year old single mom
and well known cosmetologist Donna Arceneaux
was found lying on her bedroom floor with a
fatal gunshot wound to her lower left breast.
Authorities announced she had committed suicide, and
the local newspaper ran that headline. But
(02:46):
her autopsy was indisputable.
She was murdered.
After more than six years of uncertainty, the case
remains unsolved. But what I know for
sure about my hometown is that
information is currency. Local gossip
never sleeps and secrets aren't
(03:07):
sacred.
I'm feeling heavy?
>> Speaker A (03:11):
There's a pounding in my chest?
The shadow's hiding but I see
the silhouettes?
Fear lives in the quiet
whispers in the sigh.
>> Tucker Simmons (03:30):
I'm Tucker Simmons. This is freeze
frame, an investigation into the
unsolved murder of Donna Arceneaux.
(03:54):
When I think of the word hometown, I imagine those
cheesy Christmas movies set on main Street,
USA. You're guaranteed a fairytale
ending. Maybe those kind of small towns
exist somewhere. But as I've been reminded recently,
that's not the reality. In my hometown,
through fields of pine trees, past dozens of
(04:15):
churches, just 70 miles north of New Orleans is
Franklinton, Louisiana, population
3593.
Franklinton is the Parish seat of Washington Parish.
We call it Louisiana's toe of the boot.
Our first claim to fame dates back to the 20th century, when the
Goodyear family built the world's largest sawmill in
(04:35):
Bogaloosa, 20 miles east of Franklinton.
These days, it's known for hosting the country's largest free fair
that welcomes hundreds of thousands of visitors every October.
Growing up, there was pretty normal. My dad's side of the family
was in the clothing business. My mom's family had jewelry
stores. My brother and I spent our days terrorizing
the neighborhood on bikes and go karts. We
(04:58):
were privileged and mostly unaware of the outside world.
After high school, I moved away to Los Angeles and built a career
in television. For ten years, I developed and produced
hundreds of reality tv shows. But in
2020, after a decade of telling other people's
stories, I realized there was a story back home
that needed to be told.
>> Speaker A (05:19):
Where do you think the drugs around here come from?
That is your man,
M.
(05:39):
I met so many people in jail that was in there because
of that piece of shit. He was fucking
their girlfriend, and then he planted dope,
all
when he would get involved with something, it would be for
political reasons. I would have to find ways
to work around him.
(06:04):
They'll just say and do anything, and they get away with
it. They're godless.
The FBI showed up at my doorstep, and then
the investigation really started heating up.
>> Tucker Simmons (06:23):
You name it, I've heard it. Community leaders
having swinger parties, politicians covering up their
friends misdeeds, drug traffickers
masquerading as pastors, and even crazy
rumors about my own grandparents business dealings.
I'll admit it's been tempting to omit names
and pass over parts of the story that might not sit well with
people I've known my entire life. But that's exactly how we
(06:46):
ended up here in the first place. Since the beginning of this
journey, I've often been asked if I consider myself a
journalist. I guess in some ways I am.
But this story is deeply personal. And as you'll hear,
I won't be hiding my opinions.
(07:10):
Rumors about my family are something I never really talked
about. I would hear things, and kids at school would joke
about what my grandparents really did for a living,
but it was always just talk. So early on in this
investigation, for the first time ever, I asked my
grandma for her thoughts on all the speculation. Here's
Mimi.
>> Speaker A (07:28):
Yes, there's been rumors at times about
the Mosley's because we drove nice cars, had a
beautiful home, but it was because of hard
work. It wasn't because of
anything illegal. We just
dismissed any of that. Some
people can understand that if
you work hard, you may
(07:50):
reap some benefits.
I mean, that's the way it is.
>> Tucker Simmons (07:54):
You know, I have to say, if she and pops were
involved in nefarious business, they did a damn good job of
hiding it. But it's a tricky situation, because to
maintain the integrity of this investigation, I couldn't just
take her word for it. And I didn't.
After months of investigating, reading court
transcripts, interviewing locals, talking to
childhood friends who were in the know, Washington, Parish
(08:17):
wasn't looking so sleepy after all.
M I've lost count how
many times I've been told to stop poking around or,
dude, just leave it alone. I've even been told
a few times, if I'm not careful, I might end up in a ditch
somewhere. I'm not really sure what that means.
Is it a threat? For many locals,
though, the fear of retaliation is palpable, even in
(08:40):
my own family.
>> Speaker A (08:41):
Just be careful.
>> Tucker Simmons (08:42):
Let me go with you.
>> Speaker A (08:43):
Maybe I'm your mom. I mean, I just.
I just want you to be safe, honey.
>> Tucker Simmons (08:52):
I thought a lot about whether to include this next phone
call. I had it early on in this investigation, and
it's not directly related to Donna's case, but
ultimately, I felt like you needed to hear an example of how
locals have been manipulated and intimidated into
silence. This is an excerpt of a woman from a
prominent family in Washington Parish who was unhappy
with my curiosity about her father.
>> Speaker A (09:14):
It takes a galling
man to ask those
things about.
And unbeknownst to you, I was listening to
you because I was on another line
listening to you. I don't even know how this
happened today, but
you fell in my hands. And,
(09:37):
you know, I, Was your paw Paw's
friend. I was
Mosley's friend. He hugged, me m every
time he saw me.
You know, I know
you know, I know everything.
I don't know what you up to.
You may be in California,
(10:02):
but nobody can run and
hide.
>> Tucker Simmons (10:09):
I have a pretty good idea. But I'll let you decide what was
being implied there.
One of my best sources had gone silent, pending
records. Requests were piling up. I was hitting dead end
after dead end. Late one night, I was venting to my
brother who still lives in Franklinton. And he
reminded me of a local detective who had tried to reach me years
(10:29):
earlier about an unrelated case.
With some quick sleuthing online, I found a few
numbers, and to my surprise, the third
time was the charm.
>> Speaker A (10:42):
Let me step outside. I'm doing homework with
granddaughters.
All right. So what can I do for you?
>> Tucker Simmons (10:49):
Well, I'm working on a story about Louisiana,
and I was just curious if you were still in law
enforcement or.
>> Speaker A (10:55):
What you were up to. I actually
retired last year. I had enough.
I tried to make 30 years, but I made 29
years, one month, three weeks, and one day.
>> Tucker Simmons (11:06):
Oh, wow.
>> Speaker A (11:07):
Don't wow on me yet.
>> Tucker Simmons (11:09):
That's retired Washington Parish sheriff's office detective
Demetria Rice. She goes by Demi, or mama
Deeze. She's worked all types of cases in her
career, but she's most well known for her work as the lead
child sex abuse investigator in the Parish.
Almost an hour into our wide ranging conversation,
Demi called attention to the cases that still haunt her.
(11:29):
To my surprise, Donna Arceneaux was among
them.
>> Speaker A (11:33):
I knew I could do it, and it
took me to badger and badger them to let
me have a crack at it.
>> Tucker Simmons (11:40):
I could hardly believe what I was hearing, and I just couldn't shake
the feeling that it was meant to be. Because
what I haven't shared with you yet is that Donna
Arceneaux was my aunt.
The reports that Donna committed suicide never sat well with
(12:01):
me. But what could I do about it? Eventually,
as enough time passes, you start to convince yourself that
there's nothing to see here. And I guess that's where I was
at. I had lost touch with Donna other than the
occasional Facebook message. But she was family, and
if she was murdered, I knew I had to do what I do
best, and that's tell her story.
>> Speaker A (12:30):
My name is Bubba Moseley. Donna and I were
married on October 6,
2001. She was funny.
She had a heart of gold. We had a great time
together.
>> Tucker Simmons (12:41):
The Mosley boy had scored the most beautiful woman in Washington
Parish, and their marriage was the talk of the town. Everyone
loved Aunt Donna. She was in her mid twenties, not too
much older than us. The bond was instant, and
we gained two new cousins, her boys, Scott and Brennan.
Their whirlwind romance was short lived and ended in
2004. But they always remained in contact,
(13:02):
and eventually, Donna remarried and had her daughter in
2006. I shared some of this with
Demi as she reflected on the case, not knowing the
floodgates were about to open. Donna
was my aunt. She was married to my mom's
brother.
>> Speaker A (13:16):
Oh, darling. How much m time you got?
In fact, let me. While we speak, let me put a cup
of coffee on, because it's going to be a long conversation.
>> Tucker Simmons (13:26):
As you can tell, Demi is as outspoken as they
come. After so much innuendo and speculation
during my initial investigation, her brutal honesty
was refreshing. But I need to be clear. These
are Demi's opinions based on her time working the case.
And some of it is very shocking. I always
found it somewhat suspicious that she killed
herself.
>> Speaker A (13:46):
She didn't kill herself. She was killed. She was murdered.
I begged for them to let me get involved in that case.
Finally, they gave it to me after nobody could do nothing.
And I found so many problems based on the way
it was handled. I got the
investigation almost a whole year afterward. You know,
I'm building my trust up with
a suspect, and a few weeks
(14:09):
into it, they just wanted it closed.
They want him to come in and give
a confession. Well, when he refused,
they pulled it. There was no way I could have
done, a proper investigation in
a matter of a few weeks.
>> Tucker Simmons (14:37):
If you're anything like me, I know what you're thinking. Here we
go again with the law enforcement cover up theory.
My first thought was, maybe she's just disgruntled and slinging
mud. So I asked.
>> Speaker A (14:48):
I've been very vocal how I feel about the sheriff's
office and, the leadership there and the ones in
charge. I don't want you to take my word for it. I want you
to go out and do your own investigation, your own
research. And you'll find what
I'm saying is the truth.
>> Tucker Simmons (15:04):
I don't know what I expected her to say, but if she was trying
to mislead me, wouldn't she have doubled down?
I wasn't even calling about Donna's case. But here I am,
sitting on what feels like a gold mine of information.
Demi lives about 13 miles outside of town. So while
I was home to see family, not too long after our first phone call,
I stopped by.
(15:29):
How are you?
>> Speaker A (15:32):
My chin is wrong.
>> Tucker Simmons (15:36):
This meeting with Demi was much like our first conversation.
She stated her opinions loud and clear.
She references Tom, who was captain of criminal
investigations at the Washington Parish sheriff's office at the
time of Donna's death. He retired in January of
2023 after a 27 year career with the
office serving under six different sheriffs.
>> Speaker A (15:56):
I got a phone call. 230 in the morning from Tom
Anderson. I'm like, tom, we forgot. I'm, out of
town. Two days later, went to
Donna's house, and they were telling me
how everything happened. If you're standing at
the bed facing the headboard, the gun was
to the left side. Donna's
(16:17):
body was off of the bed on the right
side. With her foot, it pulled
the covers off the bed. There was an
outline of something on the bed
that had a blood pattern around it.
>> Tucker Simmons (16:32):
Demi explained that whatever was on the bed creating the
bloody 90 degree angle was gone, never
found. So if Donna committed
suicide, what happened to the object on the bed?
It's pure speculation at this point. But doesn't that
suggest someone else could have been there at this
point, I was hoping Demi could dig up some old files about the
case, and I was checking in pretty frequently. Each
(16:54):
time, more and more troubling details.
Obviously, the body was gone by the time you got there two days later.
But did you go in and see, like, the blood that was still
there?
>> Speaker A (17:04):
There was blood on that bed, but there's
very minimal blood. There was very
minimal blood where she was out on the floor,
but there was blood in the bathroom. When the faith police
went back the second time and did the
luminol search, what more do
you need? Right there.
(17:24):
She showed a thug, didn't. Oh, I'm so
sorry. I didn't. I mean, to cuss,
there's no way she could have got off the bed, went in the
bathroom, glared out, and then I
cleaned up the mess with a
bullet going through the heart. The
coroner said she might have lived a minute, a minute and a
half after being shot, and,
(17:46):
ah, the captain pretty much. Oh, well, she
had time to do all that.
>> Tucker Simmons (17:51):
I have to be honest with you, I was feeling way in over
my head. Looking back, I probably was.
I'm not an investigator, but as a tv producer
and a documentarian, the one thing I did know
is I couldn't pass up this story. I
checked in with Uncle Bubba to let him know what I was working on, and
I was curious when he last saw Donna. And I don't
(18:12):
know how much you were in touch with her, but she.
>> Speaker A (18:14):
Was in dire the week before and asked me for
two grand to pay her house to get it caught up or she's going
to lose it. Well, I'd loaned her money since I
divorced her. And, sitting in
the fairgrounds right there by bowling green
kitchen, and she asked me for two grand, and I
told her I couldn't do it. And she started crying, and
(18:34):
I said, donna, I'm sorry. I can't do it. That was the last
time I saw her. No, I saw her the Friday night of the
fair, walking around with that guy,
and she wouldn't even talk to me. She stood
behind him and would put her face into
his armpit area and stay
secluded.
>> Tucker Simmons (18:53):
Tragically, just three days later, Donna was
dead.
A couple of sources around town had also mentioned Donna's financial
struggles and said her estranged boyfriend bought her home
two months before her death. Donna told Bubba
(19:15):
and several others that as soon as she caught up, she would get it
back. That didn't sit well with Donna's closest friends,
who knew she had grown up in extreme poverty and took
pride in being a homeowner. Plus, it wasn't just
her home. Her thriving day spa had operated in
the converted sunroom for many years.
Investigators have never contacted Uncle Bubba, and he
didn't know any details about the case.
(19:38):
But he did get me in touch with Donna's older sister,
Sherry.
>> Speaker A (19:42):
You know, at this point, it's not even about just Donald. it's
like they were almost trying to cover up
what they messed up, trying to write stuff
down as it was happening and as, I would find out
different things and hear different names and things like that. So,
yeah, I would be very willing to sit down with each
other. Absolutely. Okay.
>> Tucker Simmons (20:01):
Why don't we plan for four?
>> Speaker A (20:03):
Okay. That sounds great. 04:00. I'll text you my address
right now. Tucker.
>> Tucker Simmons (20:07):
A few days later, I made the seven hour drive from
Nashville to Franklinton to meet Sherry and her husband,
Pat.
>> Speaker A (20:27):
How is it that my dogs did not come
in?
>> Tucker Simmons (20:31):
Tucker, nice to meet you.
Sherry had just gotten home from picking up kids at school.
Pat was in his recliner, and a fresh litter of puppies
were down the hall. We caught up on life and shared
reality tv stories about Pat's time on the hit CMT
series party down south. And then we jumped right in.
There was no question that Sherry and Pat never believed Donna
(20:52):
committed suicide. Their first red flag was a
series of early morning text messages sent from Donna's phone
the day she was found.
>> Speaker A (21:00):
Donna text, how many people
that night? 4, 5 people. How many months after this
happened?
>> Tucker Simmons (21:06):
I wouldn't talk to them at sheriff's office.
>> Speaker A (21:08):
They didn't even know about this. I'm like,
we don't know about this. I think what happens. I don't think
Donna texting. No, we don't think it was. I think it was
somebody used her phone at that point, all it said was, I love
you. And that's not Donna. She never
wrote I love you, and it was always lowercase.
You know what I mean.
>> Tucker Simmons (21:25):
Mm
>> Speaker A (21:26):
And this was capital I, capital l capital
Y.
>> Tucker Simmons (21:29):
What did you think when you got that message?
>> Speaker A (21:31):
I didn't get it till that morning because my phone's on silent.
So at, like, 06:00 in the morning, I think was 630 or
something. I text her back and was like,
what's going on? And she never texts back, obviously, because she's
already gone.
>> Tucker Simmons (21:45):
Six years have passed, and life must go on.
But Sherry's confusion and anger were still crystal
clear.
>> Speaker A (21:52):
I kept, like, just getting the runaround, and somebody was telling
me, well, they're gonna say that she committed suicide. And I'm
like, why are they saying she committed suicide? Like, how?
First off, the. The paper was saying that
she's found in the bed with the. With the shotgun,
right? That's what the newspaper said, which is a
big, fat lie. She's on the floor
(22:12):
and the guns on the other side of the bed. And there was
droplets all the way from that back door all the
way into her bedroom. But they're saying that it's
a suicide. But my thing was,
how could a sheriff's office
release a report to the media
that she was committed suicide with a
(22:32):
shotgun? There's a big difference between
a shotgun, and a pistol weapon. We called the
newspaper and wanted them to print a
retraction, and they said they couldn't print a
retraction unless the sheriff's office
told them that they could.
>> Tucker Simmons (22:56):
Online sources did publish a shocking amount of false
information about the scene. The weapon used was a
shotgun. Donna was in bed. The
weapon used was never found. And I could go on,
but after reviewing the air leaders archives at its Franklinton
office, I found no mention of a shotgun or
the placement of Donna's body in the three articles it published
(23:16):
about the case. It did, however, run this
headline on February 7, 2018.
October 24, shooting death of Franklinton woman is
ruled a suicide. The article stated
the initial autopsy was inconclusive. Authorities
said with no cause of death released, the case
sparked considerable concern in the Franklinton area.
(23:36):
However, authorities in the Washington Parish Sheriff's Office
said this week that the most recent autopsy results
show it to be a suicide, and it has been officially ruled
as such, end quote.
This appeared in the paper three months after a preliminary
autopsy found Donna's manner of death to be
homicide. The editor of the era leader
(23:58):
is a man named Steve Cooperstock. Mister Steve is an
old friend of my dad's, and my brother played little league baseball
with his son. We exchanged a series of lengthy,
off the record emails about Donna's case, and I eventually
received this on the record statement.
>> Speaker A (24:17):
In working with that particular WPSO
administration for the previous six years prior to February
2018, we had consistently received
accurate information in response to all of our
queries until February 18. I
cannot point to a single query, not one ask,
of that particular WPSO administration,
that resulted in a miscommunication or even
(24:38):
confusion. So we had no hesitation in publishing
the WPSO response that the death was apparently
a suicide.
>> Tucker Simmons (24:46):
It's not uncommon for a medical examiner and investigators
to disagree on a case, but that's not the issue
here. The suicide announcement was given to
the paper before Donna's family was notified, before
the autopsy was even completed, and while homicide
investigators were actively working the case,
this has all contributed to the public speculation of a
coverup. The ERA leader has
(25:08):
limited resources, just like any other community paper, and
that has to be taken into account. But the fact
remains, there was only one autopsy and one
set of results which found Donnas manner of death to be
homicide. A death certificate confirming those
findings was issued on September 10,
2018. The ERA leader has never
corrected the record for the community or Donna's family.
(25:36):
Ive thought a lot about why he may not have printed that
retraction, and so far, Mister Steve hasnt directly
answered that question. But if I were to speculate,
a small paper contradicting the local sheriffs
office would likely damage its access to information,
information it relies on to fill the pages of its
publication. I respect the service Mister
Steve provides for the community, and I personally have fond
(25:59):
memories with him from childhood. But saying Im
disappointed in the way the paper has handled this case is an
understatement.
>> Speaker A (26:12):
The person you are trying to reach is not accepting calls at
this time. Please try your call.
>> Tucker Simmons (26:17):
I've been told chief Criminal deputy Mike Haley, who
retired from the Washington Parish Sheriff's Office in
2022, acted as the public information
officer and provided the improper statement to the eRA
leader. All attempts to reach Mister Haley have been
unsuccessful.
Okay, so I know I sound obsessive about this
(26:39):
article, but it was a pivotal moment in the
investigation. Whether intentional or not, it
shifted the public's attention away from the case.
Here's Franklinton police Chief Justin Brown, who
explained why that can be a death sentence.
Ultimately, it boils down to pressure.
>> Speaker A (26:56):
If it's in the news or it's.
>> Tucker Simmons (26:58):
Being publicized, or the questions are constantly being
asked, then it brings that case to
the forefront and it demands action. You know,
it's an injustice for our community, it's an
injustice for the family and an injustice for Donna.
By early 2019, Sherry and Pat had lost faith in
the investigation. They called a family meeting
(27:19):
with her brother TJ, Donna's ex husband, who was the father
of her daughter, and a few others. It was decided
Pat would meet with Sheriff Randy Seal to suggest it would be
in his own best interest, due to the upcoming election, to ask
the state police to take over the case.
Following that meeting, the Louisiana State Police
Criminal Investigations division agreed to take Donna's
(27:39):
case. And later that year, as expected,
Randy Seal was re elected to his third term.
>> Speaker A (27:46):
It was March 11, 2019. It was on a
Monday, and it said, I text Randy Seal and asked why
Tom Anderson still had Donna's case files on his desk
for over two weeks. Okay, and I'm gonna tell
you, I got the information
because the person, another person called me and said,
Sherry, case files still have not been turned
over. I said, well, I'm gonna call sheriff. He
(28:09):
said, oh, yeah, they've been turned over. They were turned over last week. And I said, no,
sir, they're not. I said, they're sitting on Tom Anderson's desk right
now as we speak. And he said, are you sure? And I said,
100% sure. And about 15 minutes
later, he calls me back and says, sherry, you were right. They're sitting on to this.
He said, but I'm calling the, the, state police
myself right now. And I said,
(28:29):
okay. So on March
14, Tom Anderson goes into the
office, makes a big to do, makes everybody go in and sit
down. He's having a meeting because there is a leak and he is mad
about it. There's a leak? How did they know that those papers were
sitting on my desk?
>> Tucker Simmons (28:46):
I can understand why the lead investigator would be upset about
a leak within his department, but what took so
long to hand over the case file to the state police?
And why did it take the victims sister raising a red
flag for the sheriff to know what was going on in
his own office?
Before arriving at Sherry's that day, I called the Washington
(29:07):
Parish coroner's office, where I had called many times
before. And I finally reached his secretary and chief
investigator to request a copy of Donna's
autopsy. It didnt sound promising,
but this was long before any news of my investigation
went public. So I had hope.
And sure enough, when I left Sherrys there, it was
in my inbox. Within hours, my
(29:30):
request for Donnas autopsy was approved.
I was hesitant to open it. I was excited, of
course, but what did this really mean?
I was suddenly questioning everything. Is there
really anything I can do to positively impact this case.
Why me? Why should I be the one to do this
if I'm not fully committed to solving it? Why would I
(29:51):
ever want to see this kind of detail about a loved one's death?
I could read the first several lines of the document's thumbnail before
I even opened it, and there it was. Manner
of death, homicide.
Donna's family, my family, the entire
community, they had been lied to for years about
(30:11):
Donna's death. And in that moment, every
reservation I had fell away. I felt a sense
of responsibility. That night, I called
several sources close to the investigation, and Demi
was the only one willing to go on the record.
I just got the autopsy from the coroner's
(30:33):
office. I know you've seen it, obviously, and I'll need
to read through it to really understand completely
the big takeaways. At first glance, at
09:30 a.m. on October 25, which is
less than, like, 36 hours after the 911 call,
doctor de Fada performed the autopsy. Cause
of death, gunshot wound to the left
(30:54):
chest. Manner of death,
homicide. And then he goes on to,
say, 2.5 inches left of the
midline and nine inches from the top of the shoulder.
So it's pretty clear,
I mean, that it says homicide.
>> Speaker A (31:10):
Correct.
>> Tucker Simmons (31:12):
So I guess my confusion is,
how is it that the sheriff's office announced
to the paper that it was officially a
suicide in February, 3 months later?
Like, were you guys not made aware of this
autopsy?
>> Speaker A (31:27):
No, we were made aware the day of
the autopsy, that it was a homicide.
The day after the autopsy was performed, I was
told by one of my fellow detectives,
well, actually, two of them came in my office to tell me
the captain, Tom Anderson, even before he
arrived on scene, called and said it was a
suicide. And when he got on
(31:49):
scene, they argued about
it.
>> Tucker Simmons (31:52):
Those other two detectives, what were their
names?
>> Speaker A (31:56):
Raymond Myers and Jimmy Seals. Raymond
Myers was very adamant that it was a
homicide.
>> Tucker Simmons (32:07):
Raymond Myers was promoted to captain of criminal
investigations in January 2023,
following Tom Anderson's retirement. Captain
Myers has not agreed to speak with me yet, but retired
detective Demi Rice and others with intimate knowledge of the
initial investigation, who youll hear from in future
episodes, are hellbent on correcting what they
see as a lack of transparency in Washington
(32:29):
Parish. I took a few weeks to pore over
all the details, and the bottom line is, having the
case be unsolved is bad enough. Theres a murderer
walking the streets of Washington Parish. But then when you
add what certainly looks like a deliberate attempt to
mislead the public, with no compassion for a grieving
family. Its infuriating.
(32:51):
I mean, come on. Like, there's the trajectory of the
bullet. That's not consistent with a
self inflicted gunshot wound. There's evidence
of blood cleanup in the bathroom, but no
trace of blood on Donna's hands that suggests she
didn't clean up the bathroom. Donna was completely nude.
Except for the small t shirt.
>> Speaker A (33:10):
She would not have been found in the condition she
was in. If it would have been suicide, she would have prepped
herself.
>> Tucker Simmons (33:17):
Now, on the other hand, we, also know she was
struggling financially. She had some posts on
Facebook that she was very depressed and felt
lonely. She threatened suicide in the past.
But if we remove all those predetermining
factors, what was there on scene
to make?
>> Speaker A (33:35):
Nothing. There was absolutely
nothing on scene that would
have told me it was a suicide
or any other detective.
>> Tucker Simmons (33:46):
What does the Washington Parish sheriff's office get out of
protecting the killer or kind of just
sweeping it off as a suicide?
>> Speaker A (33:53):
My guess, he knows something about someone.
Because let me tell you something. Arsenal was
known to have information on all the
cops, and he wasn't afraid to use
it.
>> Tucker Simmons (34:36):
There's something strange in the air
tonight. thank you so much for listening
to episode one. Now that you're up to speed with a big
picture view of the case, starting in episode two, we're going to
dive into the dirty little secrets that surround Donna's death.
I was shocked by what we uncovered. I have a feeling you will be,
too. So I'll see you then. Head over to
(34:56):
freezeframepodcast.com for behind the scenes details
on the investigation, and then follow us on socials
at Freeze frame pod for exclusive content.
Freeze frame is a. But why? Media production. It's written
and produced by me, Tucker Simmons. Editing and
post production by Evan Desonnier, narration
by Greg Geringer and Carrie Lauren. And our original
(35:17):
music is "Something Strange" by Tabitha Meeks.
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