Eunice murder suspect freed
OPELOUSAS — One of two suspects accused in the January 2006 killing of an elderly Eunice couple has been released from jail, and the second suspect is seeking to have his arrest dismissed.
Last week, 27th Judicial District Judge Donald Hebert dismissed the arrest of Quinten Ceasar, 34, citing a lack of probable cause in the case.
On Friday, an attorney for the second suspect, Warren “Boo Boo” Gautreaux, requested the same type of evidentiary hearing, which is scheduled Tuesday, according to court filings.
Ceasar and Gautreaux were arrested in early December on two counts each of first-degree murder in the stabbing deaths of Youric Courville, 83, and his wife, Mary Ann, 70.
The Courvilles were killed during a Jan. 10, 2006, break-in at their home at 231 Boudreaux St., Eunice.
Eunice Police Chief Ronald Dies made solving the slayings one of his campaign promises in 2010.
In October, the department assembled a multi-agency task force and recruited the help of about 40 law enforcement officers, the chief said last year.
The arrests were announced in a Dec. 1 news conference at Eunice City Hall.
During Thursday’s hearing, the judge cited what he described as a “startling lack of specificity” in the lead investigator’s testimony .
The (Opelousas) Daily World reported Friday that Detective Ron Whaley testified Ceasar remained outside of the Courvilles’ home during the killings.
On Tuesday, Dies said Whaley may have been “ill-prepared” for the evidentiary hearing because he believed it to be a bond hearing.
Dies said his office was not informed the bond hearing had been changed to an evidentiary hearing, which, he said, occurred at the last minute.
“Was he confused? Possibly,” Dies said.
First Assistant District Attorney Frank Trosclair called the chief’s statements “untrue.”
Trosclair said the officer was informed about the preliminary hearing, and “that’s why he brought his entire investigative file with him.”
Court minutes indicate both a bond hearing and an evidentiary hearing were scheduled on the same date.
The evidentiary hearing was taken up first, and the ruling rendered the bond hearing moot, according to court minutes.
Dies said he can only go by what his officer told him, adding he expects a much different outcome during Gautreaux’s hearing now that his office knows what to expect and what to present during the hearing.
Members of the task force, which included representatives from the Lafayette and Opelousas police departments, State Police and the St. Landry Parish Sheriff’s Office, all signed off on the arrests, Dies said.
The Daily World reported much of Whaley’s testimony about Ceasar’s role in the killing was based on a statement investigators received from a friend of Ceasar’s sister.
The statement was given about a month after the arrests and is not included in the probable cause warrant for Ceasar’s arrest, it reported.
That affidavit cites statements from 11 unnamed witnesses who claimed to have either been asked to participate in the burglary, overheard the two men planning the burglary or were told directly about the killings afterward.
Two witnesses told detectives that Gautreaux attempted to gain their help in breaking into the couple’s home, it said.
Two other witnesses told police, according to the affidavit, they were present and overheard Gautreaux and Ceasar planning the burglary.
All four witnesses gave taped statements to police, the affidavit said.
“During the conversation Mr. Ceasar asked Mr. Gautreaux what would happen if they got caught by the victims,” the affidavit said. “Mr. Gautreaux advised Mr. Ceasar that they would do what they had to do.”
Another witness reported seeing Gautreaux and Ceasar walking at a fast pace and in a panic on Acadia Street toward Boudreaux Street at the time of the murder, it said.
Four more witnesses told police Gautreaux confessed to killing the couple, and he was assisted by Ceasar, the affidavit said.
One witness, who allegedly has been a friend of Gautreaux’s for 19 years, told police that Gautreaux confessed to him on several different occasions, each time providing details, motive and the method, the affidavit said.
Another of Gautreaux’s alleged, longtime friends told police that Gautreaux said drugs made him kill the couple, it said.
Another witness told police that Gautreaux confessed he had to kill the couple because they woke up and recognized him, the affidavit said.
None of the witnesses testified during Thursday’s hearing, and it is unclear how much of their statements were presented during the hearing.
Trosclair said officers are permitted to testify in full about heresy evidence that serves as the basis for an arrest.
The prosecutor declined to speculate publicly about what the office plans to do with the case in the future. He also declined to discuss Gautreaux’s upcoming hearing.
“We regard this case as very serious and it was a horrendous crime,” Trosclair said.
The allegations against Ceasar could still be brought before a grand jury.