November 24, 2025 • 25 mins
In Part 4 of this multi-part docu-series, award winning host Kelly Jennings brings you the complex cases of Eugenie Boisfontaine and Randi Mebruer. Eugenie, a graduate student at Louisiana State University, disappeared in 1997 while jogging around the LSU Lakes.
Kelly then digs deep into this still unsolved case to attempt to piece together the theory that Derrick Todd Lee was responsible.
Michele Chapman, one of the brave teens from part 3 of this series, resurfaces years later as she positively identifies lee via photographic lineup. Lee was never charged however due to the statute of limitations running out on the charge but it is worth noting that he was identified prior to five more victims being linked to DTL and a missed opportunity to stop Lee before his murder count would increase.
KJ then dives into the tragic dissappearance of Randi Mebruer who, in April of 1998 disappeared from her home in Zachary, Louisiana leaving her young son behind.
The crime scene painted a picture of violence and detectives years later would link Derrick Todd Lee (DTL) to her murder by DNA. Randi Mebruer would become Lee’s second confirmed murder victim.
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
01:09 The Release of Evil
01:52 A Fresh Start Goes Horrifically Wrong
04:09 The Disappearance of Eugenie Boisfontaine
07:41 A Body Is Discovered
10:33 Missing Posters Mystery
14:20 A New Victim
23:14 Zachary Louisiana Detectives Are Coming in Hot
#DTL #podcast #DerrickToddLee #BatonRouge #SerialKiller #unspeakable #Serial #EugenieBoisfontaine #RandiMebruer
Kelly then digs deep into this still unsolved case to attempt to piece together the theory that Derrick Todd Lee was responsible.
Michele Chapman, one of the brave teens from part 3 of this series, resurfaces years later as she positively identifies lee via photographic lineup. Lee was never charged however due to the statute of limitations running out on the charge but it is worth noting that he was identified prior to five more victims being linked to DTL and a missed opportunity to stop Lee before his murder count would increase.
KJ then dives into the tragic dissappearance of Randi Mebruer who, in April of 1998 disappeared from her home in Zachary, Louisiana leaving her young son behind.
The crime scene painted a picture of violence and detectives years later would link Derrick Todd Lee (DTL) to her murder by DNA. Randi Mebruer would become Lee’s second confirmed murder victim.
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
01:09 The Release of Evil
01:52 A Fresh Start Goes Horrifically Wrong
04:09 The Disappearance of Eugenie Boisfontaine
07:41 A Body Is Discovered
10:33 Missing Posters Mystery
14:20 A New Victim
23:14 Zachary Louisiana Detectives Are Coming in Hot
#DTL #podcast #DerrickToddLee #BatonRouge #SerialKiller #unspeakable #Serial #EugenieBoisfontaine #RandiMebruer
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 (01:11):
Nineteen ninety four was a quiet year in Zachary, Louisiana
in terms of murder. Was it because Derrick Todd Lee
was behind bars? That year's serving time for burglary. Probably so,
but by July sixth of nineteen ninety five, he was
back out on the streets, having served only half of
his original sentence of four years. Upon release, Lee and
(01:34):
his family moved to Lake Charles, away from the area
he grew up, maybe for a fresh start, or possibly
because of the heat that would be applied by police
who knew him all too well by this point. The
move wouldn't last long, though. Lee just couldn't.
Speaker 2 (01:50):
Stay out of trouble.
Speaker 1 (01:52):
By early September he was arrested for a peeping tom incident,
and then shortly afterwards he robbed the Salvation Army. By
September thirtieth, he had moved back home, back to Saint Francisville.
Nineteen ninety six would prove a trying year, and that
this was the year, as father in law died in
that plan explosion. His wife was devastated by the loss
(02:14):
of her father. But one positive thing did come out
of this situation. The LEAs were awarded two hundred and
fifty thousand dollars as a result of his death. Of course,
Derek blew through the money and was broke by the
following year, with absolutely nothing to show for it, all
of it spent on overpriced clothing, alcohol, and women. He would, however,
(02:38):
be awarded a DWI in February of nineteen ninety seven,
but then just eight days later, he would earn his
CDL license. No matter the setback, nothing would stop Derek
from getting what he wanted in life. However, on that
very same day, Derek would be stopped by Zachary police
(02:59):
in regards to a woman who had called in and
complained of a man looking in her windows. She positively
id' Derek as the man, but for reasons unclear, he
wasn't charged. The following month, Derek's driver's license was scheduled
to be revoked. However, a blunder by the state would
prove beneficial to Lee. A motion for discovery had been
(03:20):
filed but overlooked.
Speaker 2 (03:22):
Thus the judge had no choice but to reinstate his license.
Speaker 1 (03:27):
In theory, this was just a license to drive, but
in actuality this was now more freedom.
Speaker 2 (03:33):
To do what he did best hurt others.
Speaker 1 (03:37):
To him, this was a license to kill. On May first,
his application was also approved for a job. He was
hired as a truck driver for Louisiana ReadyMix, a well
known and loved company in the BAYEU State if you
need anything from a backyard slab to a commercial foundation.
(04:00):
Still today they service parishes from Saint Bernard, New Orleans
to Saint Tammany, and now Derek was roaming these parishes
as well, but not far from his home. A woman
would go missing in Baton Rouge, her name alone, giving
the feel of French roots from days gone by. Eugene
Boisfontaine was twenty four years old. She was born and
(04:24):
raised in New Orleans, but in June of nineteen ninety seven,
she was living near LISU and working on a graduate degree.
Speaker 2 (04:31):
As do most students.
Speaker 1 (04:33):
She lived close to campus on Stanford Avenue, a street
that acts as a main thoroughfare to and from the university.
Her quaint little home, older yet well maintained, just walking
distance from the LSU Lakes. This was perfect for her
because she liked to jog and take in the hot
summer air, the sweat pouring from her skin a reminder
(04:56):
that she was alive and that she was tough. Described
her as a happy, thoughtful person, but she had her
struggles as.
Speaker 2 (05:04):
Anyone else does.
Speaker 1 (05:06):
Her marriage had recently crumbled, and she took it hard,
but again she was tough and she was powering through.
She wanted to complete her master's degree and move forward
with her life. Although still technically married, she was single
and living alone. In a way, the fact that she
had no children with her soon to be ex was
probably a blessing. Her marriage ending would have been a
(05:29):
mess to involve young ones with, but she was still young.
Having kids with someone new wasn't out of the realm
of possibility in the future. So as her feet pounded
the pavement, the view around the lakes was incredible. The
lakes were beautiful as ever, the wind blowing off the
water and the turtles floating about yet quickly dipping.
Speaker 2 (05:48):
Below the surface.
Speaker 1 (05:49):
As she passed by, the chime from the historical Memorial
tower rang out, signaling the hour as the cars passed
by and growing numbers the students headed to class or.
Speaker 2 (05:59):
Some school related activity.
Speaker 1 (06:01):
The smell of tar was thick in the air as
the result of work being completed on campus, and the
typical sounds of people talking in the distance on their
phones as she approached them was a reminder that life
is tough, but family and friends are always just a
call away.
Speaker 2 (06:17):
As she jogged, she.
Speaker 1 (06:19):
Thought about her life and the things she dreamed of accomplishing.
But when no one was able to contact her in
the days following that fateful job, police would become involved
and were actively looking for her. She wouldn't have left
her home with her belongings, yet everything stood right as
she had left it, quiet and undisturbed. She seemed to
(06:40):
have simply up and vanished, but this is real life,
and people don't vanish something happens to them. Her parents
and siblings took her disappearance hard as anyone would expect.
She had goals, She was a good person and not
wanted to just upen abandon all she had established. Three
(07:00):
days after she went missing, another jogger running the exact
same path would stumble upon something in the grass near
those very Lishue lakes.
Speaker 2 (07:10):
Stopping to take a look.
Speaker 1 (07:12):
It seems someone had dropped their wallet, except it was
only the contents of it, credit cards and a driver's license.
Speaker 2 (07:19):
The name on all of the documents.
Speaker 1 (07:22):
None other than the missing Eugenet Boifontaine. Police scoured that
grassy area and eventually located Eugene's car keys as well.
Building on this, police developed a theory she had been
abducted while driving, but her whereabouts and who may have
done this were as cold as cold leads can get.
(07:42):
Three months would pass when a woman named Elizabeth Gomez
was driving home in the early morning hour.
Speaker 2 (07:49):
Truth be told.
Speaker 1 (07:50):
She was heading home from her boyfriend's house, which wasn't
something she was necessarily proud to admit, but she was
in love. Her route home took her past a bar
on the banks of Bayou Manshak nestled into the swamps
of Uberville Parish. Her windows were down and.
Speaker 2 (08:05):
The breeze was nice as the sun rose.
Speaker 1 (08:07):
She smiled to herself, replaying the previous night's events until
she smelled a sweet smell that she recognized, but not
for a good reason. Anyone who has experience with farm
life knows the scent of animal decay an unfortunate reality
farmer's face is the loss of livestock. It's an unpleasant
(08:27):
but musky smell. Humans, however, the decay smell isn't pleasant,
but it has a sweetness to it. The scent was
just so strong yet odd, that she felt compelled to
pull over and see what it was. Near the alligator bar.
Down the muddy bank, a tree grew out of the
(08:47):
waterway that caught Elizabeth's attention. That tree looked to have
a woman lying against it. She wasn't resting or taking
in the view either. No, this woman had a large
tire on top of her, and she clearly wasn't alive.
Her body was badly decomposed and it had been out
(09:09):
in the elements for some time. Police recalled and their
immediate investigation found that the woman had been met with
a brutal and violent death. Her skull had been smashed
as a result of blunt forced trauma to.
Speaker 2 (09:23):
The back of the head.
Speaker 1 (09:24):
Unbelievable violence has caused this damage and was in no
way accidental. Once the coroner completed his exam, it was
also suspected she had been a victim of rape, her
body clearly dumped after her attacker was through with her. Investigators,
while working the case, decided to create a poster and
mounted to a pole in an area that got a
(09:45):
lot of traffic. Their hopes to basically drum up leads
from the public as they passed the sign, But in
an odd twist of events, the sign went missing the
very day it was posted. Hmm, that's weird. Probably a
parish worker or some kid being destructive. As they figured
no problem, they printed another, but it too was gone
(10:07):
by the end of the day, so they posted another
and it was also removed. They did this five separate times,
and each time the poster disappeared.
Speaker 2 (10:21):
Why would someone do this?
Speaker 1 (10:23):
The only person who wouldn't want to solve a crime
would have had to have been the killer. So was
he playing a game with the police. While that question,
unfortunately wouldn't be answered, the mystery of who killed Eugene
Boisfontaine is still unsolved today. She was placed in this
series because she sure does have a familiar look about her.
(10:45):
Her head was bashed in and she was dumped, just
like many victims of this series. As for you, the listener,
I'll let you decide what you think. After assessing all
of the cases. The following month after Eugene's murder, Derek
found himself in a bit of a rut.
Speaker 2 (11:02):
His driving skills were subpar.
Speaker 1 (11:04):
As evidenced when he was demoted for nearly crushing a
coworker's vehicle. What he didn't know was that Michelle Chapman,
the young teen attacked in the cemetery, had his face
burned into her mind. She knew what her attacker looked like,
and she was confident. When given a lineup by police
in March, without hesitation, she pointed to Derreck Todd Lee
(11:26):
as her attacker. Investigators, including David McDavid, knew they had
been on track all along when thinking it was him,
this young survivor, she just reinforced that belief based on
this positive id. When call started flooding nine point one
with women complaining about a man peeping into their homes,
specifically in the Oak Shadow subdivision, McDavid knew who the
(11:50):
culprit was in his heart, but proving it well, that
was a whole different animal and that would take time,
and time.
Speaker 2 (11:58):
Well he was willing to put it in.
Speaker 1 (12:00):
As the calls are being investigated, you have to remember something.
This was a time before everyone had cameras on their
homes and iPhones had yet to be on every person.
Most reports were based on a witness's statements only Outside
one woman's bedroom window, footprints were found in the mud,
confirming what she claimed a man had been watching her
(12:23):
through that very window. At another complaint, the peeper was
standing in a child's kiddie pool while looking inside the home.
The woman inside was startled when she saw the eyes
staring back at her. But she saw him clear as day,
and as you can imagine, she was instantly horrified and
ran to call police. His methods the same, but nothing
(12:46):
to tie him to the peeping, specifically, as he was
always gone upon police's arrival. Meanwhile, police had their eyes
on Lee when in April, he got a call into
the office at Louisiana Readyment. Supervisors wanted to talk to
Derek about his job performance. He had caused two accidents
(13:07):
in one week and was behaving insubordinate with the supervisors.
They had had enough of him, and they fired him
on the spot. As you can imagine, this was a
blow to his ego. But now unemployed and with idle hands,
two days would pass before the sun arose over the
home of twenty eight year old Randy Meebrewer. She lived
(13:30):
in Zachary and in a very familiar place, the Oak
Shadows neighborhood, and just one street over from where Connie
Warner had been abducted from her home and murdered. Randy
had felt the shock of total fear when thinking about
how it could have been her, since she lived so
close to Connie. But some time had passed now, and
(13:51):
that was in the rearview mirror. Randy was a beautiful
woman with bouncing, curly hair, a lot like that of
a feature woman in a movie. She was a tiny things,
standing only five foot two, but she had tons of personality.
Her big brown eyes were expressive, but in recent months
she was known.
Speaker 2 (14:08):
To wear blue contacts.
Speaker 1 (14:10):
She liked that look and so did the men, which
was a bonus considering she was now divorced and looking
for a new love.
Speaker 2 (14:18):
She worked as a.
Speaker 1 (14:18):
Home health nurse by day, but her favorite thing was
to swoop up her three year old baby boy, Michael,
into her arms at the end of her shift, to
take a deep inhale and smell his baby goodness before
smothering him with kisses.
Speaker 2 (14:33):
Sure, he was a toddler.
Speaker 1 (14:34):
By everyone else's standards, but to her, he was a
tiny tot and her whole world revolved around him. April eighteenth,
nineteen ninety eight, was going.
Speaker 2 (14:44):
To be a busy day for the duo.
Speaker 1 (14:46):
They were hanging out all day together and they would
be running some errands but mixed with.
Speaker 2 (14:51):
Some fun too. But mom duties those came first.
Speaker 1 (14:55):
Randy made her sweet Michael some breakfast and got his
toys ready to occupy him while she did the work
that required a little bit of elbow grease. She wiped
down the counters, and she cleaned the stove burners. She
completed the laundry, and then she tidied up the house. Afterwards,
they left and ran some generic errands before she surprised
him with a special treat. This was the nineties, y'all,
(15:19):
and renting a movie was a big deal. Walking up
and down the aisles full of movie covers and picking
out the best one took time.
Speaker 2 (15:26):
And did they have it in stock? That was the
big question.
Speaker 1 (15:30):
But when her son chose this movie, they were in
luck they had it. She checked it out around six
pm and was reminded to be kind and please rewind
because this was well before the days.
Speaker 2 (15:42):
Of streaming movies to your home.
Speaker 1 (15:43):
After renting the movie, they returned to their home on
Saul Avenue and began to settle in for the evening.
They got their baths and put on their comfy jammies
before snuggling into the couch to watch their Disney movie.
The movie was a hit, and afterwards she tucked her
little man in before slipping off to her room for
the evening. Randy watched the news before going to bed
and wasn't all that bomb when she realized she in
(16:05):
fact had not won the lottery, tossing or losing ticket
on the table. Oh well, she thought, I guess I'll
have to keep working. Michael's daddy was supposed to pick
him up the next day, and so she did speak
with him on the phone before slipping into bed and
turning off the lamp. The soft hum of the air
condition combined with the lull of the crickets outside of
her window were a perfect ending to a perfect day.
(16:29):
The following morning, everything was as usual. Michael was out
and about in the front yard when he ventured over
to the neighbor's house. Michael knew he wasn't supposed to
leave his yard, but luckily the neighbors were friendly and
they knew him. Where's your mom, Michael? Does she know
you're over here? He looked up and very casually said,
I don't know. Well, let's walk back over and makes
(16:51):
your mama knows where you are, buddy. So they grabbed
hands and they started the short walk next door. But
Michael would say something odd. He said in passing that
and his mama was lost. What an odd thing to say.
He had gotten up in the middle of the night
after he randomly awoke, as babies do, and he wanted
his mama. He got up and he walked into the hall,
(17:13):
but he stopped when he heard her talking. He thought
she was on the phone, so he decided to just
go get back in his bed and fell back asleep.
The next morning, he woke up and he looked around,
calling out for his mama, but she wasn't answering him,
so taking all of this in, as the neighbor was
walking into the home, she was immediately struck by the
(17:35):
sights inside of the home. Little Michael had unknowingly walked
right through a horrific crime scene to make it out
of the house. The neighbor started yelling for Randy, but
there was no answer, and knowing that the police needed
to get there quickly, the neighbor scooped up Little Michael
and brought him safely to her home, where the call
to nine.
Speaker 2 (17:54):
When one was made.
Speaker 1 (17:56):
When police got there, there was no question that a
brutal fight for life or death took place throughout the
entirety of the home. In the living room was a
brick fireplace where the floor plans split on either side.
To the right was Randy's room, and once inside, the
bed would immediately grab the attention of detectives. Her headboard
(18:16):
had blood dripping down the front. It looked as if
her head had been smashed into it, injuring her. Immediately
on the tan carpet extending from her bedroom passed the
fireplace into the direction of the kitchen, there were obvious
body drag marks, her body pulled against her will as
the struggle had ensued. How much of a fight she
(18:38):
was able to put up at this point was left
to speculation, because there was so much blood following the trail. Periodically,
the blood would pool in places, as if 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.
Speaker 2 (18:56):
The fight was so intense that in one of the
pools of blood, a blue.
Speaker 1 (19:00):
Contact from Randy's eye looked up at investigators. One can't
help but wonder the level of force it must have
taken to strike Randy so hard in the head that
her contact flew straight out of her eye to the ground,
The light switches and walls throughout the home had smudges
and swipes of Randy's blood, showing the frenzied movements of
(19:21):
a killer in action. The blood and scene were bad enough,
but even more unnerving was that the assailant appeared to
have looked in on young Michael at one point as
he slept, a bloody palm print on the outside casing
of his bedroom door where someone pressed.
Speaker 2 (19:37):
His hand as he leaned in, And.
Speaker 1 (19:39):
Although horrible, detectives still thank god that the boy remained unharmed.
Everyone needs hope and when a child is safe, that's
a positive worth clinging to. The blood inside the home
and the drag marks didn't end there, though they continued
outside under her carport.
Speaker 2 (19:57):
It was noted too that her vehicle.
Speaker 1 (19:59):
A Mitsubi she eclipsed, still remained parked under the carport,
but she always pulled up in the middle of the carport,
and her car was parked neatly to the left hand side.
Michael's riding toys were also there, but a few feet
outside the carport door was another large puddle of blood
with some smaller dripping spots around it as well. Completely
(20:23):
out of place, though was a small roll of pink
trash bags lying near the blood.
Speaker 2 (20:30):
These bags appeared to.
Speaker 1 (20:31):
Have been the same ones used inside the home, and
Randy wasn't one to leave them strown outside on the ground.
The assailant was believed to have brought them outside for
a reason unclear at this moment. DNA was able to
be recovered from the trash bag, but it was in
the form of seamen. What kind of animal must the
attacker have been to get that excited during this attack?
(20:53):
What wasn't there would also be of great importance in
the years to come. Randy's five pound bar bell she
used to work out frequently. That was gone, and so
were her car keys. The investigation started, as usual, with
closest people to the victim looked.
Speaker 2 (21:11):
At first.
Speaker 1 (21:13):
Randy's ex husband, Michael Senior, was obviously top of the list.
With that, sex, jealousy, and money usually topped the list.
Speaker 2 (21:21):
Of why people are killed, but.
Speaker 1 (21:24):
Sex was ruled out because Randy and her ex were
allegedly still physically connecting. To put it politely, they hadn't
one hundred percent cut the cord between them. Jealousy was
possible because Randy was casually seeing other men, including a
man she had recently met at a bar on Sherwood.
Speaker 2 (21:41):
Forest and Baton Rouge.
Speaker 1 (21:43):
They were becoming a more official couple, according to friends
money Well.
Speaker 2 (21:49):
That was also a possible motive too.
Speaker 1 (21:51):
Because Michael Senior was still the beneficiary of her life
insurance policy, police would need to look at him closely
as a start. From the jump, he was willing to
answer questions. He said that they still got along good.
He already knew about the new guy she was seeing too. Medically,
police found out that Michael Senior had had foot surgery
(22:14):
a week or so prior to Ranny's attack. This didn't
count him out, but it sure would have been a
problematic thing for him and a woman that he was seeing.
Speaker 2 (22:24):
Holly was her name.
Speaker 1 (22:25):
She also confirmed his alibi of being somewhere else that night.
Michael Senior was eventually cleared from the case, but that
didn't mean it wouldn't still affect him. He now had
to look into his little boy's eyes and try to
explain that he might never see his mommy again. How
do you break that news to a child? That would
(22:46):
be Michael Senior's unfortunate job to figure out. As he
and little Michael returned to Centerville, Mississippi, together two guys
that would have to build a new life together. What
they didn't know at that time was that Randy's body
would never be found. Still to this day, her final
resting place remains unknown. But for one man in particular,
(23:10):
he knew in his gut who was responsible for this.
Officer David McDavid has his sights set on one man
in particular, and he was about to close in. He
knew that someone had been watching Randy, stalking her from
a distance before making his move. But now Officer David
McDavid was going to do some stalking of his own,
(23:32):
watching from a distance to see what Derrick Todd Lee
was up to and hopefully stopping him before he could
hurt anyone else. Coming up on the next episode of DTL,
(23:54):
Collette was a white woman with brown hair and a
single mom of two kids. She was working two jobs
to make ends meet, and neither one was high paying.
In a flash, a man pushed past her, rushing straight
(24:17):
into her home, through her living room and standing now
into her kitchen. Her instincts told her, though in that moment,
do not panic. He introduced himself as Derek. He continued
(24:42):
from the outside, harassing her and begging her to come
back outside, but she said, no, go away, I'm not
coming back outside, and he would continue around the house,
looking in the windows, knocking, trying to get her attention.
(25:03):
The very next day, Collette would arrive home to a nightmare.
Police cars were outside of her home and her children
were missing. Justin had caught a man looking into their home,
and he decided he had to.
Speaker 2 (25:23):
Be the man of the house.
Speaker 1 (25:25):
That young boy took it upon himself to protect his
home and to save his mama. He chased that man
away from their home until he lost him in the woods.
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 (01:11):
Nineteen ninety four was a quiet year in Zachary, Louisiana
in terms of murder. Was it because Derrick Todd Lee
was behind bars? That year's serving time for burglary. Probably so,
but by July sixth of nineteen ninety five, he was
back out on the streets, having served only half of
his original sentence of four years. Upon release, Lee and
(01:34):
his family moved to Lake Charles, away from the area
he grew up, maybe for a fresh start, or possibly
because of the heat that would be applied by police
who knew him all too well by this point. The
move wouldn't last long, though. Lee just couldn't.
Speaker 2 (01:50):
Stay out of trouble.
Speaker 1 (01:52):
By early September he was arrested for a peeping tom incident,
and then shortly afterwards he robbed the Salvation Army. By
September thirtieth, he had moved back home, back to Saint Francisville.
Nineteen ninety six would prove a trying year, and that
this was the year, as father in law died in
that plan explosion. His wife was devastated by the loss
(02:14):
of her father. But one positive thing did come out
of this situation. The LEAs were awarded two hundred and
fifty thousand dollars as a result of his death. Of course,
Derek blew through the money and was broke by the
following year, with absolutely nothing to show for it, all
of it spent on overpriced clothing, alcohol, and women. He would, however,
(02:38):
be awarded a DWI in February of nineteen ninety seven,
but then just eight days later, he would earn his
CDL license. No matter the setback, nothing would stop Derek
from getting what he wanted in life. However, on that
very same day, Derek would be stopped by Zachary police
(02:59):
in regards to a woman who had called in and
complained of a man looking in her windows. She positively
id' Derek as the man, but for reasons unclear, he
wasn't charged. The following month, Derek's driver's license was scheduled
to be revoked. However, a blunder by the state would
prove beneficial to Lee. A motion for discovery had been
(03:20):
filed but overlooked.
Speaker 2 (03:22):
Thus the judge had no choice but to reinstate his license.
Speaker 1 (03:27):
In theory, this was just a license to drive, but
in actuality this was now more freedom.
Speaker 2 (03:33):
To do what he did best hurt others.
Speaker 1 (03:37):
To him, this was a license to kill. On May first,
his application was also approved for a job. He was
hired as a truck driver for Louisiana ReadyMix, a well
known and loved company in the BAYEU State if you
need anything from a backyard slab to a commercial foundation.
(04:00):
Still today they service parishes from Saint Bernard, New Orleans
to Saint Tammany, and now Derek was roaming these parishes
as well, but not far from his home. A woman
would go missing in Baton Rouge, her name alone, giving
the feel of French roots from days gone by. Eugene
Boisfontaine was twenty four years old. She was born and
(04:24):
raised in New Orleans, but in June of nineteen ninety seven,
she was living near LISU and working on a graduate degree.
Speaker 2 (04:31):
As do most students.
Speaker 1 (04:33):
She lived close to campus on Stanford Avenue, a street
that acts as a main thoroughfare to and from the university.
Her quaint little home, older yet well maintained, just walking
distance from the LSU Lakes. This was perfect for her
because she liked to jog and take in the hot
summer air, the sweat pouring from her skin a reminder
(04:56):
that she was alive and that she was tough. Described
her as a happy, thoughtful person, but she had her
struggles as.
Speaker 2 (05:04):
Anyone else does.
Speaker 1 (05:06):
Her marriage had recently crumbled, and she took it hard,
but again she was tough and she was powering through.
She wanted to complete her master's degree and move forward
with her life. Although still technically married, she was single
and living alone. In a way, the fact that she
had no children with her soon to be ex was
probably a blessing. Her marriage ending would have been a
(05:29):
mess to involve young ones with, but she was still young.
Having kids with someone new wasn't out of the realm
of possibility in the future. So as her feet pounded
the pavement, the view around the lakes was incredible. The
lakes were beautiful as ever, the wind blowing off the
water and the turtles floating about yet quickly dipping.
Speaker 2 (05:48):
Below the surface.
Speaker 1 (05:49):
As she passed by, the chime from the historical Memorial
tower rang out, signaling the hour as the cars passed
by and growing numbers the students headed to class or.
Speaker 2 (05:59):
Some school related activity.
Speaker 1 (06:01):
The smell of tar was thick in the air as
the result of work being completed on campus, and the
typical sounds of people talking in the distance on their
phones as she approached them was a reminder that life
is tough, but family and friends are always just a
call away.
Speaker 2 (06:17):
As she jogged, she.
Speaker 1 (06:19):
Thought about her life and the things she dreamed of accomplishing.
But when no one was able to contact her in
the days following that fateful job, police would become involved
and were actively looking for her. She wouldn't have left
her home with her belongings, yet everything stood right as
she had left it, quiet and undisturbed. She seemed to
(06:40):
have simply up and vanished, but this is real life,
and people don't vanish something happens to them. Her parents
and siblings took her disappearance hard as anyone would expect.
She had goals, She was a good person and not
wanted to just upen abandon all she had established. Three
(07:00):
days after she went missing, another jogger running the exact
same path would stumble upon something in the grass near
those very Lishue lakes.
Speaker 2 (07:10):
Stopping to take a look.
Speaker 1 (07:12):
It seems someone had dropped their wallet, except it was
only the contents of it, credit cards and a driver's license.
Speaker 2 (07:19):
The name on all of the documents.
Speaker 1 (07:22):
None other than the missing Eugenet Boifontaine. Police scoured that
grassy area and eventually located Eugene's car keys as well.
Building on this, police developed a theory she had been
abducted while driving, but her whereabouts and who may have
done this were as cold as cold leads can get.
(07:42):
Three months would pass when a woman named Elizabeth Gomez
was driving home in the early morning hour.
Speaker 2 (07:49):
Truth be told.
Speaker 1 (07:50):
She was heading home from her boyfriend's house, which wasn't
something she was necessarily proud to admit, but she was
in love. Her route home took her past a bar
on the banks of Bayou Manshak nestled into the swamps
of Uberville Parish. Her windows were down and.
Speaker 2 (08:05):
The breeze was nice as the sun rose.
Speaker 1 (08:07):
She smiled to herself, replaying the previous night's events until
she smelled a sweet smell that she recognized, but not
for a good reason. Anyone who has experience with farm
life knows the scent of animal decay an unfortunate reality
farmer's face is the loss of livestock. It's an unpleasant
(08:27):
but musky smell. Humans, however, the decay smell isn't pleasant,
but it has a sweetness to it. The scent was
just so strong yet odd, that she felt compelled to
pull over and see what it was. Near the alligator bar.
Down the muddy bank, a tree grew out of the
(08:47):
waterway that caught Elizabeth's attention. That tree looked to have
a woman lying against it. She wasn't resting or taking
in the view either. No, this woman had a large
tire on top of her, and she clearly wasn't alive.
Her body was badly decomposed and it had been out
(09:09):
in the elements for some time. Police recalled and their
immediate investigation found that the woman had been met with
a brutal and violent death. Her skull had been smashed
as a result of blunt forced trauma to.
Speaker 2 (09:23):
The back of the head.
Speaker 1 (09:24):
Unbelievable violence has caused this damage and was in no
way accidental. Once the coroner completed his exam, it was
also suspected she had been a victim of rape, her
body clearly dumped after her attacker was through with her. Investigators,
while working the case, decided to create a poster and
mounted to a pole in an area that got a
(09:45):
lot of traffic. Their hopes to basically drum up leads
from the public as they passed the sign, But in
an odd twist of events, the sign went missing the
very day it was posted. Hmm, that's weird. Probably a
parish worker or some kid being destructive. As they figured
no problem, they printed another, but it too was gone
(10:07):
by the end of the day, so they posted another
and it was also removed. They did this five separate times,
and each time the poster disappeared.
Speaker 2 (10:21):
Why would someone do this?
Speaker 1 (10:23):
The only person who wouldn't want to solve a crime
would have had to have been the killer. So was
he playing a game with the police. While that question,
unfortunately wouldn't be answered, the mystery of who killed Eugene
Boisfontaine is still unsolved today. She was placed in this
series because she sure does have a familiar look about her.
(10:45):
Her head was bashed in and she was dumped, just
like many victims of this series. As for you, the listener,
I'll let you decide what you think. After assessing all
of the cases. The following month after Eugene's murder, Derek
found himself in a bit of a rut.
Speaker 2 (11:02):
His driving skills were subpar.
Speaker 1 (11:04):
As evidenced when he was demoted for nearly crushing a
coworker's vehicle. What he didn't know was that Michelle Chapman,
the young teen attacked in the cemetery, had his face
burned into her mind. She knew what her attacker looked like,
and she was confident. When given a lineup by police
in March, without hesitation, she pointed to Derreck Todd Lee
(11:26):
as her attacker. Investigators, including David McDavid, knew they had
been on track all along when thinking it was him,
this young survivor, she just reinforced that belief based on
this positive id. When call started flooding nine point one
with women complaining about a man peeping into their homes,
specifically in the Oak Shadow subdivision, McDavid knew who the
(11:50):
culprit was in his heart, but proving it well, that
was a whole different animal and that would take time,
and time.
Speaker 2 (11:58):
Well he was willing to put it in.
Speaker 1 (12:00):
As the calls are being investigated, you have to remember something.
This was a time before everyone had cameras on their
homes and iPhones had yet to be on every person.
Most reports were based on a witness's statements only Outside
one woman's bedroom window, footprints were found in the mud,
confirming what she claimed a man had been watching her
(12:23):
through that very window. At another complaint, the peeper was
standing in a child's kiddie pool while looking inside the home.
The woman inside was startled when she saw the eyes
staring back at her. But she saw him clear as day,
and as you can imagine, she was instantly horrified and
ran to call police. His methods the same, but nothing
(12:46):
to tie him to the peeping, specifically, as he was
always gone upon police's arrival. Meanwhile, police had their eyes
on Lee when in April, he got a call into
the office at Louisiana Readyment. Supervisors wanted to talk to
Derek about his job performance. He had caused two accidents
(13:07):
in one week and was behaving insubordinate with the supervisors.
They had had enough of him, and they fired him
on the spot. As you can imagine, this was a
blow to his ego. But now unemployed and with idle hands,
two days would pass before the sun arose over the
home of twenty eight year old Randy Meebrewer. She lived
(13:30):
in Zachary and in a very familiar place, the Oak
Shadows neighborhood, and just one street over from where Connie
Warner had been abducted from her home and murdered. Randy
had felt the shock of total fear when thinking about
how it could have been her, since she lived so
close to Connie. But some time had passed now, and
(13:51):
that was in the rearview mirror. Randy was a beautiful
woman with bouncing, curly hair, a lot like that of
a feature woman in a movie. She was a tiny things,
standing only five foot two, but she had tons of personality.
Her big brown eyes were expressive, but in recent months
she was known.
Speaker 2 (14:08):
To wear blue contacts.
Speaker 1 (14:10):
She liked that look and so did the men, which
was a bonus considering she was now divorced and looking
for a new love.
Speaker 2 (14:18):
She worked as a.
Speaker 1 (14:18):
Home health nurse by day, but her favorite thing was
to swoop up her three year old baby boy, Michael,
into her arms at the end of her shift, to
take a deep inhale and smell his baby goodness before
smothering him with kisses.
Speaker 2 (14:33):
Sure, he was a toddler.
Speaker 1 (14:34):
By everyone else's standards, but to her, he was a
tiny tot and her whole world revolved around him. April eighteenth,
nineteen ninety eight, was going.
Speaker 2 (14:44):
To be a busy day for the duo.
Speaker 1 (14:46):
They were hanging out all day together and they would
be running some errands but mixed with.
Speaker 2 (14:51):
Some fun too. But mom duties those came first.
Speaker 1 (14:55):
Randy made her sweet Michael some breakfast and got his
toys ready to occupy him while she did the work
that required a little bit of elbow grease. She wiped
down the counters, and she cleaned the stove burners. She
completed the laundry, and then she tidied up the house. Afterwards,
they left and ran some generic errands before she surprised
him with a special treat. This was the nineties, y'all,
(15:19):
and renting a movie was a big deal. Walking up
and down the aisles full of movie covers and picking
out the best one took time.
Speaker 2 (15:26):
And did they have it in stock? That was the
big question.
Speaker 1 (15:30):
But when her son chose this movie, they were in
luck they had it. She checked it out around six
pm and was reminded to be kind and please rewind
because this was well before the days.
Speaker 2 (15:42):
Of streaming movies to your home.
Speaker 1 (15:43):
After renting the movie, they returned to their home on
Saul Avenue and began to settle in for the evening.
They got their baths and put on their comfy jammies
before snuggling into the couch to watch their Disney movie.
The movie was a hit, and afterwards she tucked her
little man in before slipping off to her room for
the evening. Randy watched the news before going to bed
and wasn't all that bomb when she realized she in
(16:05):
fact had not won the lottery, tossing or losing ticket
on the table. Oh well, she thought, I guess I'll
have to keep working. Michael's daddy was supposed to pick
him up the next day, and so she did speak
with him on the phone before slipping into bed and
turning off the lamp. The soft hum of the air
condition combined with the lull of the crickets outside of
her window were a perfect ending to a perfect day.
(16:29):
The following morning, everything was as usual. Michael was out
and about in the front yard when he ventured over
to the neighbor's house. Michael knew he wasn't supposed to
leave his yard, but luckily the neighbors were friendly and
they knew him. Where's your mom, Michael? Does she know
you're over here? He looked up and very casually said,
I don't know. Well, let's walk back over and makes
(16:51):
your mama knows where you are, buddy. So they grabbed
hands and they started the short walk next door. But
Michael would say something odd. He said in passing that
and his mama was lost. What an odd thing to say.
He had gotten up in the middle of the night
after he randomly awoke, as babies do, and he wanted
his mama. He got up and he walked into the hall,
(17:13):
but he stopped when he heard her talking. He thought
she was on the phone, so he decided to just
go get back in his bed and fell back asleep.
The next morning, he woke up and he looked around,
calling out for his mama, but she wasn't answering him,
so taking all of this in, as the neighbor was
walking into the home, she was immediately struck by the
(17:35):
sights inside of the home. Little Michael had unknowingly walked
right through a horrific crime scene to make it out
of the house. The neighbor started yelling for Randy, but
there was no answer, and knowing that the police needed
to get there quickly, the neighbor scooped up Little Michael
and brought him safely to her home, where the call
to nine.
Speaker 2 (17:54):
When one was made.
Speaker 1 (17:56):
When police got there, there was no question that a
brutal fight for life or death took place throughout the
entirety of the home. In the living room was a
brick fireplace where the floor plans split on either side.
To the right was Randy's room, and once inside, the
bed would immediately grab the attention of detectives. Her headboard
(18:16):
had blood dripping down the front. It looked as if
her head had been smashed into it, injuring her. Immediately
on the tan carpet extending from her bedroom passed the
fireplace into the direction of the kitchen, there were obvious
body drag marks, her body pulled against her will as
the struggle had ensued. How much of a fight she
(18:38):
was able to put up at this point was left
to speculation, because there was so much blood following the trail. Periodically,
the blood would pool in places, as if 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.
Speaker 2 (18:56):
The fight was so intense that in one of the
pools of blood, a blue.
Speaker 1 (19:00):
Contact from Randy's eye looked up at investigators. One can't
help but wonder the level of force it must have
taken to strike Randy so hard in the head that
her contact flew straight out of her eye to the ground,
The light switches and walls throughout the home had smudges
and swipes of Randy's blood, showing the frenzied movements of
(19:21):
a killer in action. The blood and scene were bad enough,
but even more unnerving was that the assailant appeared to
have looked in on young Michael at one point as
he slept, a bloody palm print on the outside casing
of his bedroom door where someone pressed.
Speaker 2 (19:37):
His hand as he leaned in, And.
Speaker 1 (19:39):
Although horrible, detectives still thank god that the boy remained unharmed.
Everyone needs hope and when a child is safe, that's
a positive worth clinging to. The blood inside the home
and the drag marks didn't end there, though they continued
outside under her carport.
Speaker 2 (19:57):
It was noted too that her vehicle.
Speaker 1 (19:59):
A Mitsubi she eclipsed, still remained parked under the carport,
but she always pulled up in the middle of the carport,
and her car was parked neatly to the left hand side.
Michael's riding toys were also there, but a few feet
outside the carport door was another large puddle of blood
with some smaller dripping spots around it as well. Completely
(20:23):
out of place, though was a small roll of pink
trash bags lying near the blood.
Speaker 2 (20:30):
These bags appeared to.
Speaker 1 (20:31):
Have been the same ones used inside the home, and
Randy wasn't one to leave them strown outside on the ground.
The assailant was believed to have brought them outside for
a reason unclear at this moment. DNA was able to
be recovered from the trash bag, but it was in
the form of seamen. What kind of animal must the
attacker have been to get that excited during this attack?
(20:53):
What wasn't there would also be of great importance in
the years to come. Randy's five pound bar bell she
used to work out frequently. That was gone, and so
were her car keys. The investigation started, as usual, with
closest people to the victim looked.
Speaker 2 (21:11):
At first.
Speaker 1 (21:13):
Randy's ex husband, Michael Senior, was obviously top of the list.
With that, sex, jealousy, and money usually topped the list.
Speaker 2 (21:21):
Of why people are killed, but.
Speaker 1 (21:24):
Sex was ruled out because Randy and her ex were
allegedly still physically connecting. To put it politely, they hadn't
one hundred percent cut the cord between them. Jealousy was
possible because Randy was casually seeing other men, including a
man she had recently met at a bar on Sherwood.
Speaker 2 (21:41):
Forest and Baton Rouge.
Speaker 1 (21:43):
They were becoming a more official couple, according to friends
money Well.
Speaker 2 (21:49):
That was also a possible motive too.
Speaker 1 (21:51):
Because Michael Senior was still the beneficiary of her life
insurance policy, police would need to look at him closely
as a start. From the jump, he was willing to
answer questions. He said that they still got along good.
He already knew about the new guy she was seeing too. Medically,
police found out that Michael Senior had had foot surgery
(22:14):
a week or so prior to Ranny's attack. This didn't
count him out, but it sure would have been a
problematic thing for him and a woman that he was seeing.
Speaker 2 (22:24):
Holly was her name.
Speaker 1 (22:25):
She also confirmed his alibi of being somewhere else that night.
Michael Senior was eventually cleared from the case, but that
didn't mean it wouldn't still affect him. He now had
to look into his little boy's eyes and try to
explain that he might never see his mommy again. How
do you break that news to a child? That would
(22:46):
be Michael Senior's unfortunate job to figure out. As he
and little Michael returned to Centerville, Mississippi, together two guys
that would have to build a new life together. What
they didn't know at that time was that Randy's body
would never be found. Still to this day, her final
resting place remains unknown. But for one man in particular,
(23:10):
he knew in his gut who was responsible for this.
Officer David McDavid has his sights set on one man
in particular, and he was about to close in. He
knew that someone had been watching Randy, stalking her from
a distance before making his move. But now Officer David
McDavid was going to do some stalking of his own,
(23:32):
watching from a distance to see what Derrick Todd Lee
was up to and hopefully stopping him before he could
hurt anyone else. Coming up on the next episode of DTL,
(23:54):
Collette was a white woman with brown hair and a
single mom of two kids. She was working two jobs
to make ends meet, and neither one was high paying.
In a flash, a man pushed past her, rushing straight
(24:17):
into her home, through her living room and standing now
into her kitchen. Her instincts told her, though in that moment,
do not panic. He introduced himself as Derek. He continued
(24:42):
from the outside, harassing her and begging her to come
back outside, but she said, no, go away, I'm not
coming back outside, and he would continue around the house,
looking in the windows, knocking, trying to get her attention.
(25:03):
The very next day, Collette would arrive home to a nightmare.
Police cars were outside of her home and her children
were missing. Justin had caught a man looking into their home,
and he decided he had to.
Speaker 2 (25:23):
Be the man of the house.
Speaker 1 (25:25):
That young boy took it upon himself to protect his
home and to save his mama. He chased that man
away from their home until he lost him in the woods.
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