November 17, 2025 • 21 mins
In Part 3 of this multi-part docu-series, award winning host Kelly Jennings brings you inside of the horrific late night graveyard attack of two teens in 1993 in Zachary Louisiana where an astute police officer halted a murder in progress of the teens while on patrol in the area, later identified as Derrick Todd Lee.
Derrick Todd Lee (DTL) terrorized the Baton Rouge and Lafayette Louisiana. A Serial Killer who took the lives of at least (7) women in the late 1990’s and early 2000’s, Lee’s reign of terror finally ended in late May of 2003 when he was captured in Atlanta, GA after being linked by DNA to several of the murders.
This is DTL Hosted by Kelly Jennings and produced by the experts at Envision Podcast Productions.
For Media or Advertising Inquiries
Envisionpodcaststudios@gmail.com
Timestamps
02:02 The Encounter on Eagle Drive
06:46 A New Wave of Violence
07:26 Officer Eubanks
11:02 The Graveyard Attack
17:14 Derrick Todd Lee Returns
19:10 Looking Ahead
#DTL #podcast #DerrickToddLee #BatonRouge #SerialKiller #unspeakable #Serial #MicheleChapman #zachary #louisiana
Derrick Todd Lee (DTL) terrorized the Baton Rouge and Lafayette Louisiana. A Serial Killer who took the lives of at least (7) women in the late 1990’s and early 2000’s, Lee’s reign of terror finally ended in late May of 2003 when he was captured in Atlanta, GA after being linked by DNA to several of the murders.
This is DTL Hosted by Kelly Jennings and produced by the experts at Envision Podcast Productions.
For Media or Advertising Inquiries
Envisionpodcaststudios@gmail.com
Timestamps
02:02 The Encounter on Eagle Drive
06:46 A New Wave of Violence
07:26 Officer Eubanks
11:02 The Graveyard Attack
17:14 Derrick Todd Lee Returns
19:10 Looking Ahead
#DTL #podcast #DerrickToddLee #BatonRouge #SerialKiller #unspeakable #Serial #MicheleChapman #zachary #louisiana
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:09):
In the sultry heat of Louisiana, where the bayous whisper
secrets and the air hangs heavy with the scent of magnolias,
a darkness lurked beneath the surface. Dereck Todd Lee was
a man whose charm masked a sinister reality.
Speaker 2 (00:23):
He was a monster.
Speaker 1 (00:25):
Lee, a seemingly ordinary man with a disarming smile, led
a double life that would unravel in a series of
murders in the capital city of Baton Rouge and the
surrounding areas. As the first reports of disappearances and murders
began to surface, South Louisiana was thrust into a nightmare,
igniting a frantic search for answers. The true horror was
(00:46):
just beginning, and the hunt for a serial killer eventually
known by just three letters, would reveal not only the
depths of Dereck Todd Lee's depravity, but also the resilience
of those most affected by his evil acts, the families
and the survivors.
Speaker 2 (01:00):
This is DTL.
Speaker 1 (01:10):
After the tragic and brutal murder of Connie Warner, the
town of Zachary, Louisiana was still reeling over who had
killed this single mother with little to no information as
to who did it or why. The citizens were hoping
that this was a tragedy that wouldn't affect everyone. Maybe
it was a person who targeted Connie specifically for some reason.
If someone was out there attacking and murdering women at random,
(01:33):
that was just too scary to consider. It was too
in your face, and it was something that no one
wanted to entertain. That happens to other people, not me,
was the thought process.
Speaker 2 (01:44):
So as the weeks passed.
Speaker 1 (01:45):
People did become more comfortable and the news media died down.
But just three months after Connie was murdered, another man
nearby would have a startling encounter. Your home is your sanctuary,
the place where at the end of the day you
return with hopes of changing into something comfortable, let go
of all the stressors of the day, and just allow
(02:05):
yourself to let down your guard. But this particular day,
mister Ron Binge and his family would return to their
home on Eagle Drive. As they turned in the driveway,
they thought it odd that a child's bike was laying
in their yard. It was a twenty six inch ten
speed bike and it wasn't theirs, so it stood out.
Upon further inspection, it was actually a girl's bike, but
it was blue in color. Mister Ron was also someone
(02:28):
who always locked the door to the house as well
as the doors.
Speaker 2 (02:30):
To his utility room.
Speaker 1 (02:32):
He definitely had locked it when he left, but now
the utility room door was open. What is going on here?
As the family made their way inside the home, setting
down their items and Ron dropping his keys on the counter,
he turned the corner to his living room and there
in an instant, he was jolted back with fear, horrified
(02:53):
to realize they weren't alone. An absolute stranger was in
his house with him and his precious family.
Speaker 2 (03:01):
Ron could immediately tell that.
Speaker 1 (03:02):
This was an adult black male, and when they noticed
each other, the man was standing right in the doorway
of Ron's son's bedroom. The stranger, though, was cool and collected,
almost as if he had every right to be there.
Ron immediately felt to his adrenaline surge with such intensity
that his only drive was to protect his family and
to protect his castle.
Speaker 2 (03:22):
Who are you? Why are you in my house?
Speaker 1 (03:24):
The stranger was obviously spooked now that a man was
confronting him, and so he snapped back at Ron, I'm
looking for Monroe. The stranger's plan, whether it was to
sneak around and burglarize the home or maybe even attack
an unsuspecting female inside, was now destroyed and he wanted out,
and he wanted out now. So as Ron was processing
the Monroe statement, the stranger took off, ran past Ron
(03:47):
and out of the house. Ron turned and he grabbed
the phone to dial nine to one one. When the
operator answered, he screamed for the police get her now, please.
There's a stranger in my house. I don't know if
he left. I don't even know how he got in
here in the first place. Ron then checked about the
home and said that nothing was missing, but a few
dresser drawers were pulled open. The police responded in record time,
(04:09):
but the suspect was long gone. Upon arrival, there was
something else missing too, that kid's bike that had been
in the front yard. Quickly realizing the suspect must have
been on that bike, the officer spread out to canvass
the area. Officer Troy Eubanks was the supervisor on shift,
and he reported to the home while the other officers
were directed to spread out and look for the suspect
(04:30):
in the area. They tore through the neighborhood with their
eyes straining to see any place that a man may hide.
Speaker 2 (04:36):
They were looking in the.
Speaker 1 (04:37):
Homes, yards, carports, and even bushes, not to mention those
nearby woods. Eventually police were able to put their eyes
on the suspect. The stranger was quick, though, and he
knew his way about the area, including those nearby woods.
Unfortunately for him, so did the police, and they were
now hot on his trail. The man ditched the bike
(04:58):
and he took off into the woods towards the nearby cemetery,
the very one where Connie Warner was recently.
Speaker 2 (05:05):
Laid to rest.
Speaker 1 (05:06):
Some reserve officers who were aiding in the search happened
to be right at the cemetery where they saw a
blackmail now standing in the cemetery.
Speaker 2 (05:15):
Next to a red buick.
Speaker 1 (05:16):
They noticed he was dressed in a heavy jacket and
it was one that resembled a police officer's jacket. With
their eyes now on him, and realizing the police had
likely identified him as the suspect they were looking for,
the man jumped into the buick and the chase was on.
Lights and sirens were flipped on and they chased the
man up and down the highways.
Speaker 2 (05:35):
But he absolutely refused to stop.
Speaker 1 (05:37):
The chase went up to speeds in excess of ninety
five miles an hour at times winding through the roads.
Speaker 2 (05:43):
While busy steering.
Speaker 1 (05:44):
And talking to their dispatchers on their handhelds. The officers
noticed the man throw his jacket out of the window,
but he didn't stop.
Speaker 2 (05:51):
He continued to run.
Speaker 1 (05:53):
Eventually, though he would run out of road and he
would come to the stop at an intersection. At this
point police gave their verbal commands stop, step out of
the vehicle. The man was then taken into custody without
incident and promptly driven back to the home, and this
is where Ron identified him as the burglar that was
in his home earlier, supposedly looking for Monroe. After the
(06:14):
positive identification, officers also returned to the cemetery where they
found the child's bike near where the buick had been spotted. Originally,
the man in custody was identified as Derrick Todd Lee,
and he already had both a juvenile and an adult record.
Burglary really seemed to be his thing, as well as
causing problems in general in the community. Clearly, this Dereck
(06:35):
Todd Lee was a nuisance to the locals. As such,
police knew they had their guy, so he was arrested
and taken to jail. Days later, he'd be bailed out,
and he was back out on the streets. A little
over a month later, in January of nineteen ninety three,
police responded to a nine to one one call at
the home of seventy three year old Melvin Foster. The
(06:57):
poor old man was injured due to a beating with
a large stick, and he had been robbed. Police were
able to catch two suspects in this incident. Suspect number
one was named Thomas Whittaker, Junior, and his accomplice was
none other than Derek Todd Lee. Both men were arrested,
but Derek was already awaiting trial for the first burglary
and high speed chase when he committed this new crime. Obviously,
(07:20):
Derek Lee was a man who didn't fear trouble. No
consequences would affect his behavior whatsoever. Three months later, Zachary
police would find themselves dealing with yet another horrific incident
in the typically calm and quiet town. It was roughly
midnight on Saturday, April third, nineteen ninety three, when Officer
Troy Ubanks was again patrolling Louisiana Highway nine sixty four
(07:44):
near the Bueller Plains Cemetery. It was dark out and
seeing through the night was difficult due to the downpouring rain,
but Officer Eubanks remained vigilant in his observations of the area,
and although it was late, there were still cars on
the road. So when he noticed what appeared to be
an in interior dome light lit up in a car
that was in the cemetery, it struck him as odd.
(08:05):
Why would someone be in a cemetery at night, and
especially when the weather was so nasty. He decided to
follow his gut and patrol through the cemetery. If someone
was broken down, they may need his help, but also
if someone was up to no good, someone's final resting
place wasn't going to cut it, not on his watch.
He passed the cemetery by this point, so he made
(08:26):
a U turn and he turned back towards the entrance.
During the day, the entrance is easily seen. A large
brick column stands on either side of the entrance drive.
Above the driveway is a large curved metal signage that
extends from one side of the driveway to the other
much like a rainbow, and each end of the sign
(08:46):
rest on those brick columns. The road in is gravel,
a U shaped drive that only one car can fit
down at a time comfortably. The area is very quiet
and the only sound you usually can hear is the
gravel crunching under car tires as you observe the slow
speed required in a place of final resting. Matter of fact,
someone very important to this story was resting in this
(09:07):
very area. See Azalea Rest Cemetery where Connie Warner was
very just weeks prior, and Bueller Plane Cemetery are literally
right next to one another. There's no gap between them.
Both cemeteries also back up to Connie's old neighborhood from
where she was abducted. Now Officer Eubanks was a man's
man when it came to policing. He didn't shy away
(09:30):
from the difficult cases, and he took his job seriously.
He was a tall, light skinned blackmaile whose smile would
instantly put people at ease. He was a person full
of compassion and it was no chance that he was
a supervisor. He had become one because he was good
at his job, and he led by example. He was
also a girl dad too, and after all, he loved
(09:52):
his baby girls. So call it God or just good luck,
but something about that fact made him perfect for what
he was about to stumble upon. He turned his police
unit into the curved drive of the cemetery and he
rolled up behind the parked car.
Speaker 2 (10:06):
Now, in reality, he figured it was.
Speaker 1 (10:09):
Likely some kids making out or something of that nature,
and he would just need to run them off. But
when he approached, no one got out of the vehicle,
nor was there really much movement inside. Officer U Banks
could see the dome lights still on, so he made
his way out of his unit to get a better look,
and as he approached the car, he pulled out his
(10:29):
flashlight to look inside. But as he got closer, he
was able to make out a face with two wide
eyes full of fear looking back at him, and that
face it was dripping with blood. It was a young
white male, and next to him was a young white female,
also dripping with blood. When Officer U Banks realized what
he was seeing, he immediately jumped into responder mode. Oh
(10:51):
my god, these kids are hurt. These are someone's children.
I've got to help them. Both teens were covered in
blood and both were in the back seat. Reached out
to open the rear left side door, but when he
pulled the handle, it was locked. He jerked on the
door with purpose, but it simply wouldn't open, so he
shined his flashlight into the car to tell the teens
(11:11):
to unlock the door. But as soon as the bloodied
female saw his face in the flashlight, she became absolutely hysterical.
She began screaming at the top of her lungs, it's him,
it's him, as she pushed back from the door as
if to make distance from him, but there was nowhere
to go. All she could do was scream out for help.
But Officer Eubanks was the help. Why couldn't she see
(11:33):
that what had happened? That she was so scared that
she couldn't see the obvious She was scared of the
police officer. In a quick sinking moment, Officer u Banks
turned the flashlight to his badge and uniform to try
and calmer and by showing her, look, I'm the good guy.
Speaker 2 (11:48):
I'm here to help you. Please unlock the door.
Speaker 1 (11:51):
The weak and wounded male inside the car looked at
the female and said, unlock the door. It's okay, And
as her fear began to lessen and her confidence in
u Banks being a good man realized, she finally unlocked
the door. When she did, Officer Eubanks popped the latch
and the true nature of what he had stumbled upon
was very clear. Both teens not only had blood covering
(12:12):
their heads, but also the rest of their bodies. The
sheer amount of blood proof enough that they had been
through something very violent and very serious.
Speaker 2 (12:22):
The blood was so thick that the car.
Speaker 1 (12:24):
Smelled like pennies the iron from the large amounts of
blood permeating the small car. Once the door was fully opened,
Officer Eubanks could see the extent of the wounds to
the teen boy's head. He had a very large laceration
on the top and it was cut wide open. The
female had cuts on her as well, but her ankles
were the worst of it. It was as if the
attacker had sliced through the back of both of her ankles,
(12:45):
making it where she wouldn't be able to walk.
Speaker 2 (12:47):
Nor run for that matter.
Speaker 1 (12:49):
Realizing the gravity of this, Officer Eubanks immediately radioed for
medical to be en route. The ambulances fired up and
they sped in the direction of the wounded kids. In
the meantime, he tried to understand and what the hell
had happened by asking the teens.
Speaker 2 (13:02):
It made no sense what he was seeing.
Speaker 1 (13:04):
They hadn't hurt one another, so why were they so
gravely injured? And in the back seat turned out Officer
U Banks patrol that night had just saved two lives. See,
the teens had done what teams do. They had turned
to the curved drive of the cemetery that late night
to steal a few kisses. They were young, and if
you don't want anyone to see you a cemetery at
(13:25):
night in the rain.
Speaker 2 (13:27):
Well it's probably a perfect spot.
Speaker 1 (13:28):
So as the two thought that they were alone, they
shared a kiss. But the reality is that they weren't alone.
A pair of eyes had been on them the entire time.
Those eyes lurked in the dark, hidden from view, but
careful to watch the teens every move. Once the teens
were paying more attention to each other than their surroundings,
those eyes, hiding from within the nearby woodline, started to
(13:50):
make their way towards the teens, and as the rain
fell and the darkness was still.
Speaker 2 (13:55):
The teens had no clue. Those eyes were.
Speaker 1 (13:57):
On a man hell bent on hurting them and hopefully
killing them before the night was over. He was on
the hunt, and the teens, unknowingly, had turned right into
his hunting grounds. Sure, the neighborhood he usually terrorized was
right through the tree line, but this this was different.
They drove straight into his path without warning. He approached
(14:17):
the vehicle and he ripped open the back door. The
team scrambling in fear, but there was nowhere to go,
and within seconds he was blowing down swipes of a
nearly three foot blade like that of a machete, straight
down on them, over and over as they screamed out
in fear. The blows landed on the male teen's head,
slicing it open. As the female kicked at the assailant,
(14:40):
He came inside of the car, continuing to swing and
slice the teens with every movement of the blade. The
more they screamed, the more he swung. Eventually, one of
his machete swipes sliced right through.
Speaker 2 (14:52):
The teen female's ankles.
Speaker 1 (14:53):
The assailant at that point was on top of her,
nearly face to face. His smelly, hot breath could be
felt right her cheek. He attacked and attacked with such
force and such brutality that they were certainly going to die,
and very soon. But what is done in the dark
will always come to light, and this attack was no different.
Speaker 2 (15:13):
The dome light above them in the.
Speaker 1 (15:15):
Car was flashing as the teen fought the man turns
out while he swung at them and she was kicking
at him. The door continued to swing back and forth
in all of the commotion. Every time the door swung,
the dome light would go on and off, and just
like a horror movie when the lights flash as someone
is attacked, this was a real life horror in action.
Speaker 2 (15:39):
But the flashing light was what caught.
Speaker 1 (15:40):
The attention of Officer Eubanks when he turned into that cemetery.
Speaker 2 (15:45):
That's when the suspect took off.
Speaker 1 (15:47):
Just a few more seconds, a few more swipes of
that massive blade and both teens would have been dead,
But the officer's headlights turned in and the man took off,
but not before stealing the car key. That's when the teens,
crying and scared, locked the doors and lay their bleeding
out just a few yards from where Connie Warner lay
(16:09):
but unlike Connie, these teens weren't dead. They, by the
grace of God, had been spared. Michelle Chapman, the young
female teen, was transported immediately to Lane Memorial Hospital. Ricky Davis,
the young male teen, was transported to the Batany's General Hospital. There,
the teens were reunited with their families, who were scared
out of their minds but so very thankful that their
(16:30):
kids would survive. It would take a lot of stitches,
a ton of therapy, but the kids would make it.
The suspect, however, he was last seen by Michelle running
in a southward direction through the cemetery, but despite a
good effort to locate him, the standing water and the
continued downpour of the rain made the search unsuccessful. This time,
(16:52):
the attacker had gotten away. What neither teen nor their
families knew was that they had just come face to
face with a serial and somehow lived to tell the tale.
For now, though it remained an unsolved double attempted murder,
and Derrick Todd Lee Well, he was still out there.
One month later, he would be temporarily stopped from hurting
(17:13):
the community when he went to court on May eleventh,
nineteen ninety three for the previous burglary and high speed chase.
The judge sentenced him to four years in prison, but
that wouldn't happen. Of course, not luck would be on
Derrick Todd Lee's side. He would only serve two of
those years before being released. Upon release, he and his
(17:34):
family packed up and moved to Lake Charles, Louisiana. Of course,
he couldn't stay out of trouble there either, and he
was arrested twice in the month he was there. On
September sixth, nineteen ninety five, he was arrested for peeping.
Speaker 2 (17:47):
In a woman's windows.
Speaker 1 (17:48):
On September twenty fourth, just a few weeks later, he
was arrested for robbing the Salvation Army. He thought maybe
he could bury his past and start somewhere new, But
you can't run forever from who you are. At least
for the past two years, the streets almost felt safe again.
The locks on doors served as enough, and the nightmares
had begun to fade. People let themselves believe that the
(18:11):
horror had moved on. But killers don't quit. They pause,
They wait, They sharpen their blades in silence until that
hunger swells up again, and now Dereck Toddley had come
back home. In October of nineteen ninety five, he and
his family moved back to Saint Francisville, Louisiana. The sidewalks
(18:33):
were the same and the houses mostly unchanged, but people
had no clue that an old flame was now walking
amongst them again. He was planning to bring even more
terror straight to their doorsteps, because no matter who you are,
good or evil, there's no place like home. Coming up
(18:55):
on the next episode of DTL, Eugene Woeffontaine was twenty
four years old. Three days after she went missing, another
(19:18):
jogger running the exact same path would stumble upon something
in the grass near those very Lshue Lakes, stopping to
take a look. It seems someone had dropped their wallet,
except it was only the contents of it, credit cards
and a driver's license. The name on all of the
documents none other than the missing Eugene Woiffontaine. Two days
(19:47):
would pass before the sun arose over the home of
twenty eight year old Randy Meebrewer. She lived in Zachary
and in a very familiar place, the Oak Shadows neighborhood,
just one street over from where Connie Warner had been
abducted from her home and murdered. Michael was out and
(20:13):
about in the front yard when he ventured over to
the neighbor's house. As the neighbor was walking into the home,
she was immediately struck by the sights inside of the home.
Little Michael had unknowingly walked right through a horrific crime
scene to make it out of the house. Her headboard
(20:33):
had blood dripping down the front. It looked as if
her head had been smashed into it, injuring her Immediately,
the attacker took a break from dragging her for a moment,
maybe to continue fighting, or maybe out of pure exhaustion,
or maybe to continue something even more sinister y.
In the sultry heat of Louisiana, where the bayous whisper
secrets and the air hangs heavy with the scent of magnolias,
a darkness lurked beneath the surface. Dereck Todd Lee was
a man whose charm masked a sinister reality.
Speaker 2 (00:23):
He was a monster.
Speaker 1 (00:25):
Lee, a seemingly ordinary man with a disarming smile, led
a double life that would unravel in a series of
murders in the capital city of Baton Rouge and the
surrounding areas. As the first reports of disappearances and murders
began to surface, South Louisiana was thrust into a nightmare,
igniting a frantic search for answers. The true horror was
(00:46):
just beginning, and the hunt for a serial killer eventually
known by just three letters, would reveal not only the
depths of Dereck Todd Lee's depravity, but also the resilience
of those most affected by his evil acts, the families
and the survivors.
Speaker 2 (01:00):
This is DTL.
Speaker 1 (01:10):
After the tragic and brutal murder of Connie Warner, the
town of Zachary, Louisiana was still reeling over who had
killed this single mother with little to no information as
to who did it or why. The citizens were hoping
that this was a tragedy that wouldn't affect everyone. Maybe
it was a person who targeted Connie specifically for some reason.
If someone was out there attacking and murdering women at random,
(01:33):
that was just too scary to consider. It was too
in your face, and it was something that no one
wanted to entertain. That happens to other people, not me,
was the thought process.
Speaker 2 (01:44):
So as the weeks passed.
Speaker 1 (01:45):
People did become more comfortable and the news media died down.
But just three months after Connie was murdered, another man
nearby would have a startling encounter. Your home is your sanctuary,
the place where at the end of the day you
return with hopes of changing into something comfortable, let go
of all the stressors of the day, and just allow
(02:05):
yourself to let down your guard. But this particular day,
mister Ron Binge and his family would return to their
home on Eagle Drive. As they turned in the driveway,
they thought it odd that a child's bike was laying
in their yard. It was a twenty six inch ten
speed bike and it wasn't theirs, so it stood out.
Upon further inspection, it was actually a girl's bike, but
it was blue in color. Mister Ron was also someone
(02:28):
who always locked the door to the house as well
as the doors.
Speaker 2 (02:30):
To his utility room.
Speaker 1 (02:32):
He definitely had locked it when he left, but now
the utility room door was open. What is going on here?
As the family made their way inside the home, setting
down their items and Ron dropping his keys on the counter,
he turned the corner to his living room and there
in an instant, he was jolted back with fear, horrified
(02:53):
to realize they weren't alone. An absolute stranger was in
his house with him and his precious family.
Speaker 2 (03:01):
Ron could immediately tell that.
Speaker 1 (03:02):
This was an adult black male, and when they noticed
each other, the man was standing right in the doorway
of Ron's son's bedroom. The stranger, though, was cool and collected,
almost as if he had every right to be there.
Ron immediately felt to his adrenaline surge with such intensity
that his only drive was to protect his family and
to protect his castle.
Speaker 2 (03:22):
Who are you? Why are you in my house?
Speaker 1 (03:24):
The stranger was obviously spooked now that a man was
confronting him, and so he snapped back at Ron, I'm
looking for Monroe. The stranger's plan, whether it was to
sneak around and burglarize the home or maybe even attack
an unsuspecting female inside, was now destroyed and he wanted out,
and he wanted out now. So as Ron was processing
the Monroe statement, the stranger took off, ran past Ron
(03:47):
and out of the house. Ron turned and he grabbed
the phone to dial nine to one one. When the
operator answered, he screamed for the police get her now, please.
There's a stranger in my house. I don't know if
he left. I don't even know how he got in
here in the first place. Ron then checked about the
home and said that nothing was missing, but a few
dresser drawers were pulled open. The police responded in record time,
(04:09):
but the suspect was long gone. Upon arrival, there was
something else missing too, that kid's bike that had been
in the front yard. Quickly realizing the suspect must have
been on that bike, the officer spread out to canvass
the area. Officer Troy Eubanks was the supervisor on shift,
and he reported to the home while the other officers
were directed to spread out and look for the suspect
(04:30):
in the area. They tore through the neighborhood with their
eyes straining to see any place that a man may hide.
Speaker 2 (04:36):
They were looking in the.
Speaker 1 (04:37):
Homes, yards, carports, and even bushes, not to mention those
nearby woods. Eventually police were able to put their eyes
on the suspect. The stranger was quick, though, and he
knew his way about the area, including those nearby woods.
Unfortunately for him, so did the police, and they were
now hot on his trail. The man ditched the bike
(04:58):
and he took off into the woods towards the nearby cemetery,
the very one where Connie Warner was recently.
Speaker 2 (05:05):
Laid to rest.
Speaker 1 (05:06):
Some reserve officers who were aiding in the search happened
to be right at the cemetery where they saw a
blackmail now standing in the cemetery.
Speaker 2 (05:15):
Next to a red buick.
Speaker 1 (05:16):
They noticed he was dressed in a heavy jacket and
it was one that resembled a police officer's jacket. With
their eyes now on him, and realizing the police had
likely identified him as the suspect they were looking for,
the man jumped into the buick and the chase was on.
Lights and sirens were flipped on and they chased the
man up and down the highways.
Speaker 2 (05:35):
But he absolutely refused to stop.
Speaker 1 (05:37):
The chase went up to speeds in excess of ninety
five miles an hour at times winding through the roads.
Speaker 2 (05:43):
While busy steering.
Speaker 1 (05:44):
And talking to their dispatchers on their handhelds. The officers
noticed the man throw his jacket out of the window,
but he didn't stop.
Speaker 2 (05:51):
He continued to run.
Speaker 1 (05:53):
Eventually, though he would run out of road and he
would come to the stop at an intersection. At this
point police gave their verbal commands stop, step out of
the vehicle. The man was then taken into custody without
incident and promptly driven back to the home, and this
is where Ron identified him as the burglar that was
in his home earlier, supposedly looking for Monroe. After the
(06:14):
positive identification, officers also returned to the cemetery where they
found the child's bike near where the buick had been spotted. Originally,
the man in custody was identified as Derrick Todd Lee,
and he already had both a juvenile and an adult record.
Burglary really seemed to be his thing, as well as
causing problems in general in the community. Clearly, this Dereck
(06:35):
Todd Lee was a nuisance to the locals. As such,
police knew they had their guy, so he was arrested
and taken to jail. Days later, he'd be bailed out,
and he was back out on the streets. A little
over a month later, in January of nineteen ninety three,
police responded to a nine to one one call at
the home of seventy three year old Melvin Foster. The
(06:57):
poor old man was injured due to a beating with
a large stick, and he had been robbed. Police were
able to catch two suspects in this incident. Suspect number
one was named Thomas Whittaker, Junior, and his accomplice was
none other than Derek Todd Lee. Both men were arrested,
but Derek was already awaiting trial for the first burglary
and high speed chase when he committed this new crime. Obviously,
(07:20):
Derek Lee was a man who didn't fear trouble. No
consequences would affect his behavior whatsoever. Three months later, Zachary
police would find themselves dealing with yet another horrific incident
in the typically calm and quiet town. It was roughly
midnight on Saturday, April third, nineteen ninety three, when Officer
Troy Ubanks was again patrolling Louisiana Highway nine sixty four
(07:44):
near the Bueller Plains Cemetery. It was dark out and
seeing through the night was difficult due to the downpouring rain,
but Officer Eubanks remained vigilant in his observations of the area,
and although it was late, there were still cars on
the road. So when he noticed what appeared to be
an in interior dome light lit up in a car
that was in the cemetery, it struck him as odd.
(08:05):
Why would someone be in a cemetery at night, and
especially when the weather was so nasty. He decided to
follow his gut and patrol through the cemetery. If someone
was broken down, they may need his help, but also
if someone was up to no good, someone's final resting
place wasn't going to cut it, not on his watch.
He passed the cemetery by this point, so he made
(08:26):
a U turn and he turned back towards the entrance.
During the day, the entrance is easily seen. A large
brick column stands on either side of the entrance drive.
Above the driveway is a large curved metal signage that
extends from one side of the driveway to the other
much like a rainbow, and each end of the sign
(08:46):
rest on those brick columns. The road in is gravel,
a U shaped drive that only one car can fit
down at a time comfortably. The area is very quiet
and the only sound you usually can hear is the
gravel crunching under car tires as you observe the slow
speed required in a place of final resting. Matter of fact,
someone very important to this story was resting in this
(09:07):
very area. See Azalea Rest Cemetery where Connie Warner was
very just weeks prior, and Bueller Plane Cemetery are literally
right next to one another. There's no gap between them.
Both cemeteries also back up to Connie's old neighborhood from
where she was abducted. Now Officer Eubanks was a man's
man when it came to policing. He didn't shy away
(09:30):
from the difficult cases, and he took his job seriously.
He was a tall, light skinned blackmaile whose smile would
instantly put people at ease. He was a person full
of compassion and it was no chance that he was
a supervisor. He had become one because he was good
at his job, and he led by example. He was
also a girl dad too, and after all, he loved
(09:52):
his baby girls. So call it God or just good luck,
but something about that fact made him perfect for what
he was about to stumble upon. He turned his police
unit into the curved drive of the cemetery and he
rolled up behind the parked car.
Speaker 2 (10:06):
Now, in reality, he figured it was.
Speaker 1 (10:09):
Likely some kids making out or something of that nature,
and he would just need to run them off. But
when he approached, no one got out of the vehicle,
nor was there really much movement inside. Officer U Banks
could see the dome lights still on, so he made
his way out of his unit to get a better look,
and as he approached the car, he pulled out his
(10:29):
flashlight to look inside. But as he got closer, he
was able to make out a face with two wide
eyes full of fear looking back at him, and that
face it was dripping with blood. It was a young
white male, and next to him was a young white female,
also dripping with blood. When Officer U Banks realized what
he was seeing, he immediately jumped into responder mode. Oh
(10:51):
my god, these kids are hurt. These are someone's children.
I've got to help them. Both teens were covered in
blood and both were in the back seat. Reached out
to open the rear left side door, but when he
pulled the handle, it was locked. He jerked on the
door with purpose, but it simply wouldn't open, so he
shined his flashlight into the car to tell the teens
(11:11):
to unlock the door. But as soon as the bloodied
female saw his face in the flashlight, she became absolutely hysterical.
She began screaming at the top of her lungs, it's him,
it's him, as she pushed back from the door as
if to make distance from him, but there was nowhere
to go. All she could do was scream out for help.
But Officer Eubanks was the help. Why couldn't she see
(11:33):
that what had happened? That she was so scared that
she couldn't see the obvious She was scared of the
police officer. In a quick sinking moment, Officer u Banks
turned the flashlight to his badge and uniform to try
and calmer and by showing her, look, I'm the good guy.
Speaker 2 (11:48):
I'm here to help you. Please unlock the door.
Speaker 1 (11:51):
The weak and wounded male inside the car looked at
the female and said, unlock the door. It's okay, And
as her fear began to lessen and her confidence in
u Banks being a good man realized, she finally unlocked
the door. When she did, Officer Eubanks popped the latch
and the true nature of what he had stumbled upon
was very clear. Both teens not only had blood covering
(12:12):
their heads, but also the rest of their bodies. The
sheer amount of blood proof enough that they had been
through something very violent and very serious.
Speaker 2 (12:22):
The blood was so thick that the car.
Speaker 1 (12:24):
Smelled like pennies the iron from the large amounts of
blood permeating the small car. Once the door was fully opened,
Officer Eubanks could see the extent of the wounds to
the teen boy's head. He had a very large laceration
on the top and it was cut wide open. The
female had cuts on her as well, but her ankles
were the worst of it. It was as if the
attacker had sliced through the back of both of her ankles,
(12:45):
making it where she wouldn't be able to walk.
Speaker 2 (12:47):
Nor run for that matter.
Speaker 1 (12:49):
Realizing the gravity of this, Officer Eubanks immediately radioed for
medical to be en route. The ambulances fired up and
they sped in the direction of the wounded kids. In
the meantime, he tried to understand and what the hell
had happened by asking the teens.
Speaker 2 (13:02):
It made no sense what he was seeing.
Speaker 1 (13:04):
They hadn't hurt one another, so why were they so
gravely injured? And in the back seat turned out Officer
U Banks patrol that night had just saved two lives. See,
the teens had done what teams do. They had turned
to the curved drive of the cemetery that late night
to steal a few kisses. They were young, and if
you don't want anyone to see you a cemetery at
(13:25):
night in the rain.
Speaker 2 (13:27):
Well it's probably a perfect spot.
Speaker 1 (13:28):
So as the two thought that they were alone, they
shared a kiss. But the reality is that they weren't alone.
A pair of eyes had been on them the entire time.
Those eyes lurked in the dark, hidden from view, but
careful to watch the teens every move. Once the teens
were paying more attention to each other than their surroundings,
those eyes, hiding from within the nearby woodline, started to
(13:50):
make their way towards the teens, and as the rain
fell and the darkness was still.
Speaker 2 (13:55):
The teens had no clue. Those eyes were.
Speaker 1 (13:57):
On a man hell bent on hurting them and hopefully
killing them before the night was over. He was on
the hunt, and the teens, unknowingly, had turned right into
his hunting grounds. Sure, the neighborhood he usually terrorized was
right through the tree line, but this this was different.
They drove straight into his path without warning. He approached
(14:17):
the vehicle and he ripped open the back door. The
team scrambling in fear, but there was nowhere to go,
and within seconds he was blowing down swipes of a
nearly three foot blade like that of a machete, straight
down on them, over and over as they screamed out
in fear. The blows landed on the male teen's head,
slicing it open. As the female kicked at the assailant,
(14:40):
He came inside of the car, continuing to swing and
slice the teens with every movement of the blade. The
more they screamed, the more he swung. Eventually, one of
his machete swipes sliced right through.
Speaker 2 (14:52):
The teen female's ankles.
Speaker 1 (14:53):
The assailant at that point was on top of her,
nearly face to face. His smelly, hot breath could be
felt right her cheek. He attacked and attacked with such
force and such brutality that they were certainly going to die,
and very soon. But what is done in the dark
will always come to light, and this attack was no different.
Speaker 2 (15:13):
The dome light above them in the.
Speaker 1 (15:15):
Car was flashing as the teen fought the man turns
out while he swung at them and she was kicking
at him. The door continued to swing back and forth
in all of the commotion. Every time the door swung,
the dome light would go on and off, and just
like a horror movie when the lights flash as someone
is attacked, this was a real life horror in action.
Speaker 2 (15:39):
But the flashing light was what caught.
Speaker 1 (15:40):
The attention of Officer Eubanks when he turned into that cemetery.
Speaker 2 (15:45):
That's when the suspect took off.
Speaker 1 (15:47):
Just a few more seconds, a few more swipes of
that massive blade and both teens would have been dead,
But the officer's headlights turned in and the man took off,
but not before stealing the car key. That's when the teens,
crying and scared, locked the doors and lay their bleeding
out just a few yards from where Connie Warner lay
(16:09):
but unlike Connie, these teens weren't dead. They, by the
grace of God, had been spared. Michelle Chapman, the young
female teen, was transported immediately to Lane Memorial Hospital. Ricky Davis,
the young male teen, was transported to the Batany's General Hospital. There,
the teens were reunited with their families, who were scared
out of their minds but so very thankful that their
(16:30):
kids would survive. It would take a lot of stitches,
a ton of therapy, but the kids would make it.
The suspect, however, he was last seen by Michelle running
in a southward direction through the cemetery, but despite a
good effort to locate him, the standing water and the
continued downpour of the rain made the search unsuccessful. This time,
(16:52):
the attacker had gotten away. What neither teen nor their
families knew was that they had just come face to
face with a serial and somehow lived to tell the tale.
For now, though it remained an unsolved double attempted murder,
and Derrick Todd Lee Well, he was still out there.
One month later, he would be temporarily stopped from hurting
(17:13):
the community when he went to court on May eleventh,
nineteen ninety three for the previous burglary and high speed chase.
The judge sentenced him to four years in prison, but
that wouldn't happen. Of course, not luck would be on
Derrick Todd Lee's side. He would only serve two of
those years before being released. Upon release, he and his
(17:34):
family packed up and moved to Lake Charles, Louisiana. Of course,
he couldn't stay out of trouble there either, and he
was arrested twice in the month he was there. On
September sixth, nineteen ninety five, he was arrested for peeping.
Speaker 2 (17:47):
In a woman's windows.
Speaker 1 (17:48):
On September twenty fourth, just a few weeks later, he
was arrested for robbing the Salvation Army. He thought maybe
he could bury his past and start somewhere new, But
you can't run forever from who you are. At least
for the past two years, the streets almost felt safe again.
The locks on doors served as enough, and the nightmares
had begun to fade. People let themselves believe that the
(18:11):
horror had moved on. But killers don't quit. They pause,
They wait, They sharpen their blades in silence until that
hunger swells up again, and now Dereck Toddley had come
back home. In October of nineteen ninety five, he and
his family moved back to Saint Francisville, Louisiana. The sidewalks
(18:33):
were the same and the houses mostly unchanged, but people
had no clue that an old flame was now walking
amongst them again. He was planning to bring even more
terror straight to their doorsteps, because no matter who you are,
good or evil, there's no place like home. Coming up
(18:55):
on the next episode of DTL, Eugene Woeffontaine was twenty
four years old. Three days after she went missing, another
(19:18):
jogger running the exact same path would stumble upon something
in the grass near those very Lshue Lakes, stopping to
take a look. It seems someone had dropped their wallet,
except it was only the contents of it, credit cards
and a driver's license. The name on all of the
documents none other than the missing Eugene Woiffontaine. Two days
(19:47):
would pass before the sun arose over the home of
twenty eight year old Randy Meebrewer. She lived in Zachary
and in a very familiar place, the Oak Shadows neighborhood,
just one street over from where Connie Warner had been
abducted from her home and murdered. Michael was out and
(20:13):
about in the front yard when he ventured over to
the neighbor's house. As the neighbor was walking into the home,
she was immediately struck by the sights inside of the home.
Little Michael had unknowingly walked right through a horrific crime
scene to make it out of the house. Her headboard
(20:33):
had blood dripping down the front. It looked as if
her head had been smashed into it, injuring her Immediately,
the attacker took a break from dragging her for a moment,
maybe to continue fighting, or maybe out of pure exhaustion,
or maybe to continue something even more sinister y.
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