Ronald Dominique

Ronald Joseph Dominique (born January 9, 1964), known as The Bayou Strangler, is an American serial killer and rapist who murdered at least 23 men and boys in the state of Louisiana between July 1997 and 2006. On September 23, 2008, Dominique was found guilty and sentenced to several terms of life imprisonment without parole for his crimes. Following his conviction, the FBI stated that this case was the most significant serial homicide case in the country over the past two decades in terms of both numbers and duration.[1][2]

Ronald Dominique
Born
Ronald Joseph Dominique

(1964-01-09) January 9, 1964
Thibodaux, Louisiana, U.S.
Other names"The Bayou Strangler"
Criminal penaltyLife Imprisonment
Details
Victims23+
Span of crimes
1997–2006
CountryUnited States
State(s)Louisiana
Date apprehended
December 1, 2006

Despite the number of victims, Dominique's arrest received little publicity outside of the state media because it took place not long after Hurricane Katrina, the most destructive hurricane in the country's history.[3]

Biography

Ronald Joseph Dominique was born on January 9, 1964 in Thibodaux, Louisiana, the younger of two children born to poor laborer parents who lived in a trailer park located on the outskirts of the city. Because of his family's financial circumstances, Ronald lived out his childhood and adolescence in poverty, but still managed to attend the local Thibodaux High School, from which he graduated in 1983.

During his school years, Dominique was known for his melancholic temperament, lack of communication skills and weight problems, which, coupled with low self-esteem and poor health, made him the target of physical attacks by fellow students. Despite singing in the school choir, he was unpopular and considered a social outcast since he didn't play any sports, didn't do drugs or drink alcohol. Shortly before leaving school, Ronald discovered that he was gay, and visited a local gay bar several times. However, some of his classmates had seen him there, resulting in harassment and accusations of homosexuality, which he vehemently denied.[4]

After leaving school, Dominique entered the Nicholls State University, where he studied computer science. However, he quickly lost interest and dropped out in the mid-1980s. On June 12, 1985, Ronald was arrested on charges of sexual harassment committed via telephone, for which he had to pay a $75 fine. Because of his lack of education, he was forced to engage in low-skilled labor for the following years, and due to his disciplinary issues, he was frequently fired. Unwilling to keep a steady job for a long period of time, he survived by living off relatives and other people's income, most notably his mother and later older sister, living with each of them for a time. On May 15, 1994, he was arrested for drunk driving, but was again only fined for the offense. Two years later, on August 25, 1996, Ronald was arrested for rape, based on testimony by his neighbors: according to them, a partially dressed young man jumped out of the window of Ronald's sister's house, where he lived at the time, and claimed that Dominique then raped and attempted to kill said young man. Dominique was arrested and his bail set at $100,000, but when the case was transferred to the court, the prosecutor's office was unable to locate the alleged victim or establish his identity, eventually resulting in the case's dismissal in November of that year. On February 10, 2002, Dominique was arrested yet again, this time for assaulting a woman in Terrebonne Parish during a Mardi Gras festival. Ronald claimed that the woman had hit a baby stroller in one of the parking lots due to her dangerous driving, after which he began an argument with her, demanding an apology. After the woman apologized, he punched her in the face. He was charged, but the case was later dropped, after an agreement of reconciliation was reached between him and the woman, with whom he had made amends. As a gay man, Dominique was unmarried and had no children, preferring to spend most of his free time in gay bars, often dressed as singer Patti LaBelle, of whom he was a great fan. However, due to various circumstances, he was unable to establish a serious relationship and was often looked down by the local gay community.[5]

Murders

As victims, Dominique chose teenagers and men aged 16 to 46, most of them being drug addicts, homeless or vagrants, but not all of them were homosexual. He would often meet them during walks or trips with his pickup truck, as well as in gay bars, luring them with offers of alcohol, drugs and housing, but most prominently, a meeting with his supposed girlfriend, who would be willing to have sex with them for money. After successfully convincing a potential victim, Dominique would lure them to his trailer where he would overpower, tie them up and subsequently rape them. According to the investigators, after he was finished having his way, Ronald finally strangled the victim, loading their bodies into the back of his truck and dumping them in rural areas of the six local parishes.[6][7]

The murders began in July 1997, with Ronald's first confirmed victim being a 19-year-old black man named David Mitchell, who was picked up by Dominique while hitchhiking from his grandmother's house to his own after attending a relative's birthday party. His body was found on July 14th in a ditch along a highway, near a wooded area in St. Charles Parish, two days after he was last seen. Forensic research showed that there was ditch water in David's lungs, and with no traces of physical trauma, drugs or alcohol, his death was initially ruled as accidental drowning. However, Mitchell's father insisted that his son was an excellent swimmer and that he had been killed, since the water level was low and the fact that Mitchell's trousers had been lowered to his ankles when found. After Dominique's later confessions, the deceased's relatives denied that he was gay, drug-addicted or had financial troubles.[8]

Dominique's next two murders also took place in the St. Charles Parish: the first was in December 1997, when he strangled 20-year-old Gary Pierre, who recently been arrested for drug trafficking. His body would later be found fully clothed, with no signs of physical trauma or drugs found in his system. The second killing occurred on July 31, 1998, when Ronald killed 38-year-old Larry Ranson, a drug-addicted vagrant. Ranson was the first victim subjected to bondage by Dominique.[9]

In early October 1998, Ronald met 27-year-old Oliver LeBanks in Metairie. After his arrest, he claimed that the drug-addicted LeBanks offered him sexual services in exchange for drug money, after which Dominique had sex with him, beat and strangled him. The victim's body was later dropped off on the outskirts of Metairie, where it was found on October 4th. During the autopsy, traces of Dominique's semen was found on Oliver's body. Relatives and friends of the murdered man later confirmed that LeBanks, a former drug addict and father of five children had only recently resorted to leading a vagrant lifestyle, after he had been fired from his job for using drugs again.[10][11]

Between October 1998 and August 1999, Ronald committed five more murders in Jefferson Parish. In October 1998, he met 16-year-old Joseph Brown in Kenner and lured him into his truck, ostensibly to buy crack cocaine from him. After sharing it together, Dominique attacked the teenager, beating him several times on the head with a blunt object and then strangling him with a plastic bag. Brown, who had been brought up by his grandmother, had recently been put on probation after serving a sentence for drug possession and distribution. A month later, 18-year-old Bruce Williams fell victim to Dominique in similar circumstances. In May 1999, Ronald was cruising around Kenner when he came across 21-year-old Manuel Reed, who offered to sell him drugs. Agreeing to the offer, Dominique let him into his truck, where he raped and then strangled Reed, later dumping his corpse in a dumpster in the city's industrial zone, about a mile from where Brown's body was found. Similar to LeBanks, semen traces were found which belonged to an unknown male. A month later, Dominique killed 21-year-old Angel Mejia, a hobo with past convictions for drug possession. At first, the killer tried to dump his corpse in a garbage container, but after discovering that it was full, he discarded it on the street. After examining the corpse, the coroner concluded that the victim had recently used drugs, and that he had been tied up with a rope prior to his untimely demise. While investigating the recent deaths, law enforcement established that Mejia, Brown and Pierre all knew and lived in close proximity to each other. In late August, Dominique met 34-year-old drug addict Mitchell Johnson, offering him drugs in exchange for sexual favors. He then took Johnson to the forest outside Metairie, where he tied, raped and strangled him. Mitchell's fully nude body was discovered on September 1st, with indications that his killer having tied him up.[12]

In January 2000, Dominique claimed another victim, 23-year-old Michael Vincent, in Lafourche Parish. In early October, he became closely associated with 20-year-old Kenneth Randolph, Jr., a thrice-prosecuted child molester who lived near him in the trailer park. Upon learning of his increased sex drive, Dominique lured Randolph into his trailer, telling him that a girl wanted to have sex with him there, and then attacked him, tying, raping and finally strangling him. The criminal then took the body to a field outside the city, where the partially naked remains with signs of bondage were found on October 6th. On October 12, 2002, in the late evening, Dominique met 26-year-old Anoka Jones, a financially-strained petty criminal, on the streets in Houma. He attacked Jones, after which he tied up, raped and strangled him. Dominique later dumped his body under a highway overpass, where it was discovered several hours later. During this period, Ronald and his sister moved to rural Bayou Blue, an unincorporated community of around 32,000 people, most of whom were Cajuns. There, he found a job as a specialist who checked electricity levels at a local power supply, thanks to which he was allowed to periodically travel around the remote areas of the city.

Around this time, Ronald Dominique killed 19-year-old Datrell Woods, dumping both him and his bicycle in a reed field outside the city. Woods' decomposed and partially naked body remained undiscovered until May 24, 2003. The cause of death was deemed as asphyxiation; however, until Dominique's arrest, it was considered to be accidental in nature, since the victim known to suffer from asthma. In October 2004, Dominique met 46-year-old Larry Matthews, a drug addict who also dealt drugs on the side. He lured him to his house with the promise of some drugs, but during the process, Matthews lost consciousness due to an overdose, after which Ronald raped and strangled him. He later dumped his body 20 miles away from the crime scene. At the time of his disappearance, nobody reported Matthews as missing, since he was homeless, and his identity later had to be established via fingerprints. The serial killer's next victim would become 21-year-old Michael Barnett, whose body was found on October 24, 2004 in the parish. He was the only known Caucasian victim of Dominique.[13]

The next murder was committed in February 2005, with the victim being 22-year-old Leon Lirett, a rebellious, alcoholic vagrant who had to live with friends and acquaintances due to his bombastic behavior. It later turned out that he had lived with two victims - Barnett and Anoka Jones - with whom he was on friendly terms. For some time, Lirett was even considered the prime suspect in Jones' murder, as he was the last person to see him prior to the former's disappearance. Two months later, in April, Dominique met 31-year-old August Watkins, a homeless man who he lured to his truck with promises of an overnight stay. After Watkins ended up in his trailer, Dominique gave him alcohol and offered him to have sex with a supposed female acquaintance, before tying up, raping and strangling the victim. After August Watkins' corpse was found, police begant to consider for the first time that a serial offender was committing killings in both Kenner and Houma, since the killers in both areas demonstrated a strikingly similar modus operandi, thanks to which the case was handled over to the FBI.[14][15]

A few days after killing Watkins, Ronald killed 23-year-old Kurt Cunnigham in a similar fashion. That same summer, he repeated his actions twice, killing 28-year-old ALonzo Hogan in St. Charles Parish and 17-year-old Wayne Smith in Terrebonne Parish, luring them both under the pretense of them having sex with one of his female friends. Unlike the previous victims, Hogan and Smith were had no prior criminal convictions and weren't known to use drugs. Hogan had been raped by Dominique pre-mortem, while no traces of semen were found on Smith's corpse, since his body had been disposed of in a canal, where it severely decomposed only a few days later.[15][16]

In September 2005, Dominique murdered 40-year-old Chris Deville, who was trying to hitchhike out of Napoleonville after the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina. Ronald later dumped his corpse in a reed field, where it was eaten by rodents over the next few weeks. Deville's skeletal remains were later discovered in October and identified by relatives, only thanks to ID cards and other personal belongings left beside the body.[17]

In late November, Dominique killed 21-year-old Nicholas Pellegrin, a drug addict, in Lafource Parish. During the investigation into his death, Pellegrin's relatives told the police that shortly before his death, the deceased man borrowed $400 from local drug dealers and had missed the payment date, after which he began to receive death threats. Therefore, prior to Dominique's capture, Pellegrin's death was wrongfully thought to be drug-related.[18]

The last confirmed victim was 27-year-old Christopher Sutterfield. Like most of Dominique's victims, Sutterfield had an extensive criminal dossier, having been prosecuted for theft, drug possession, assisting in juvenile delinquency, violation of public order and aggravated assault, for which he served a two-year prison sentence and was later left without a fixed abode. A bisexual, he had met Ronald in the summer of 2006, after which the two began dating. On October 14th, while on a date together in Iberville Parish, Dominique hit Christopher on the head with a heavy object, causing him to lose consciousness. After finding Sutterfield's body, police interviewed relatives, friends and acquaintances, all of whom confirmed that they had last seen him with a man driving a black SUV, but were unable to describe the companion's appearance.[19][20]

Exposure

In November 2006, Ronald Dominique came under police suspicion after Ricky Wallace, a resident of Bayou Blue, contacted the police, claiming that the former had lured him to his trailer in mid-2006 with an offer to share drugs and have sex with a girl. After Wallace entered the trailer, according to his testimony, Ronald tried to convince him that his girlfriend enjoyed bondage, offering to tie Wallace up. Ricky refused, and soon after, he was allowed to leave. His testimony was questioned at first because he was a drug addict and had repeatedly lied in the past, but nevertheless, Dominique was detained and interrogated by the police. While he was held at the station, he was asked to donate a blood sample, to which he agreed.[21][3]

Over the next week, DNA testing matched Dominique's profile with that of the elusive killer who had left behind semen traces on the bodies of Oliver LeBanks and Manuel Reed, resulting in an arrest warrant. On December 1, 2006, Ronald was arrested at a homeless shelter. After said arrest, he told that he knew it was a matter of time before he was captured, and so, he moved out of his sister's house in order not to inconvenience her.[22][23]

Once at the police station where he faced murder charges, Dominique expressed his desire to cooperate with investigators, readily confessing to 23 murders, describing them in details only known to the officers.[24][25] As a result, new charges were brought against him, but despite his confession, he refused to admit guilt in the attacks. Ronald stated that most of his victims, due to their addictions and other factors, voluntarily agreed to be tied, handcuffed, and treated in similar manners, since they wanted to earn money. If the potential victim refused to do so, he let them go without harming them.[26][27]

Concerning motive, Dominique claimed that he wanted to get rid of any witnesses, as he was unwilling to serve a prison sentence again. According to him, after his 1996 arrest for the rape charges, he was strongly impacted, allegedly remaining in constantly negative emotional states and even began to show symptomps of a mental disorder.[28]

Trial

After accepting a plea bargain from the prosecutors, on September 24, 2008, the court found Ronald Dominique guilty on all charges and sentenced him to several life imprisonment terms without parole.[29][30]

Victims
Number Name Age Date found Location found
1 David Mitchell 19 July 1997 St. Charles Parish
2 Gary Pierre 20 December 1997 St. Charles Parish
3 Larry Ranson 38 July 31, 1998 St. Charles Parish
4 Oliver LeBanks 27 October 1998 Metairie, Jefferson Parish
5 Joseph Brown 16 October 1998 Kenner, Jefferson Parish
6 Bruce Williams 18 November 1998 Jefferson Parish
7 Manuel Reed 21 May 1999 Kenner, Jefferson Parish
8 Angel Mejia 34 June 1999 Kenner, Jefferson Parish
9 Mitchell Johnson 34 August 1999 Metairie, Jefferson Parish
10 Michael Vincent 23 January 2000 Lafourche Parish
11 Kenneth Randolph, Jr. 20 October 2002 Lafourche Parish
12 Anoka Jones 26 October 12, 2002 Houma, Terrebonne Parish
13 Datrell Woods 19 May 24, 2003 Bayou Blue, Terrebonne Parish
14 Larry Matthews 46 October 2004 Bayou Blue, Terrebonne Parish
15 Michael Barnett 21 October 24, 2004 Bayou Blue, Terrebonne Parish
16 Leon Lirette 22 February 2005 Bayou Blue, Terrebonne Parish
17 August Watkins 31 April 2005 Lafourche Parish
18 Kurt Cunningham 23 April 2005 Lafourche Parish
19 Alonzo Hogan 28 July 2005 St. Charles Parish
20 Wayne Smith 17 August 2005 Terrebonne Parish
21 Chris Deville 40 September 2005 Assumption Parish
22 Nicholas Pellegrin 21 November 2005 Lafourche Parish
23 Christopher Sutterfield 27 October 2006 Iberville Parish

Bibliography
  • Jack Rosewood; Rebecca Lo (February 3, 2007). Serial Killers Rage and Horror: 8 Shocking True Crime Stories of Serial Killers and Killing Sprees - "Chapter 8. Ronald Dominique The Bayou Strangler." CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform. ISBN 9781542957786.
  • Robert Keller (March 11, 2017). True Crime: American Monsters Volume 12: 12 Horrific American Serial Killers - "Chapter 8. Ronald Dominique." ISBN 9781544618487
  • Fred Rosen (October 3, 2017). The Bayou Strangler: Louisiana's Most Gruesome Serial Killer. Open Road Media. ISBN 978-1504039499.
  • Al Camino (September 10, 2018). Serial Killers: True Stories of the World's Worst Murderers. Arcturus Publishing. ISBN 978-1789502664.

In media
  • Documentary film, Bayou Blue 2011.

See also

References
  1. Matthew Pleasant and Robert Zullo (September 24, 2008). "Guilty: Serial killer sentenced to life". The Houma Courier.
  2. Mary Foster (December 6, 2006). "Alleged serial killer used charm to disarm victims". Star–Banner.
  3. "'Bayou Blue' recalls serial killer". Houma Times. April 8, 2014.
  4. "Victims' families voice outrage at Houma serial killer's plea arraignment". Houma Times. October 1, 2008.
  5. John DeSantis (December 4, 2006). "Accused lived on the fringe of two worlds". Star-Banner.
  6. Lloyd Vries (December 5, 2006). "Louisiana Man Confesses to 23 Slayings". CBS News.
  7. Mary Foster (December 6, 2006). "From a meek "nobody" to a serial killer?". The Seattle Times.
  8. Shonna Riggs (December 6, 2006). "Mother's tears for son killed by serial madman Dominique". The Herald Guide.
  9. Leonard Gray (February 6, 1999). "Two deaths reclassified as murders in St. Charles Parish". L'Obs.
  10. "Dominique May Be Linked To More Murders". WAFB. January 9, 2007.
  11. Fred Rosen (April 10, 2018). "Uncovering the Truth Behind One of the Bayou Strangler's Victims". The Lineup.
  12. "Suspected serial killer arrested". Houma Times. December 5, 2006.
  13. Seth Fox (April 23, 2005). "Police say men's deaths may be connected". Houma Today.
  14. Seth Fox (April 28, 2005). "Possible link to serial killer in Kenner". Houma Today.
  15. Seth Fox (December 3, 2006). "Murder victims' families wait for answers, confirmation and justice". Houma Today.
  16. "Man may be killer's 18th victim". United Press International. July 7, 2005.
  17. Liz Hackenberg (October 21, 2005). "Police ID body whose remains were dumped in cane field". Houma Today.
  18. "Mother protests dead son's link to serial killer". Houma Today. June 19, 2006.
  19. "Serial killers pleads guilty to Lafourche murder". Houma Times. December 11, 2008.
  20. Liz Hackenberg (October 19, 2006). "Serial killer task force looks into local man's murder". Houma Today.
  21. "Families, lawmen struggled to understand killer". Houma Times. December 8, 2010.
  22. "Man allegedly charmed victims before killing". NBC News. December 6, 2006.
  23. "A KILLER AMONG US". Houma Times. December 5, 2006.
  24. David Webb (October 20, 2006). "Alleged gay serial killer arrested". Dallas Observer. Archived from the original on 2008-07-14.
  25. Michelle Hunter (December 5, 2006). "Serial-killer suspect confesses; Trysts led to rapes, strangling, cops say". The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate.
  26. Katie Serena (September 30, 2019). "The Story of Ronald Dominique". Allthatsinteristing.com.
  27. "Police: serial killer suspect confessed to 23 murders". Houma Today. December 5, 2006.
  28. Mika Edwards (December 10, 2006). "Does he fit the profile?". Houma Today.
  29. "Louisiana: Plea in Serial Killings". The New York Times. September 24, 2008.
  30. "Serial killer Ronald Dominique jailed". News.com.au. September 24, 2008. Archived from the original on 2008-09-27.
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