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Narrator: LAFAYETTE, LOUISIANA --
THE TOE-TAPPING CAPITAL OF CAJUN COUNTRY.
PEOPLE LIKE TO DANCE.
THEY LIKE TO PARTY,
AND AS THEY SAY, PASS A GOOD TIME.
Narrator: THAT IS, UNTIL A BRUTAL CRIME
AMONG LAFAYETTE'S BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE
SHREDDED THE CITY'S REPUTATION FOR EASY LIVING.
IT WAS JUST A NIGHTMARE.
IT COMPLETELY SHOCKED EVERYBODY.
Narrator: THE ENSUING INVESTIGATION
WOULD HAVE MORE TWISTS AND TURNS
THAN THE WINDING LOUISIANA BAYOU...
IT COULD BE ANY OF A NUMBER OF SUSPECTS.
Narrator: ...AND LEAVE EVERYONE IN LAFAYETTE WONDERING,
"WAS THIS A RANDOM ACT OF VIOLENCE
OR THE CULMINATION OF SOMETHING FAR MORE WICKED?"
Lee: I DON'T THINK ANYONE
WOULD EVER TAKE FOR GRANTED THEIR OWN SECURITY
AFTER WHAT HAPPENED WITH THIS CASE.
Narrator: BEHIND CLOSED DOORS...
[ SIREN WAILS ]
...BEYOND THE HEADLINES...
EVERY CITY HAS A DARK SIDE.
[ CAMERA SHUTTER CLICKS ]
-- Captions by VITAC -- www.vitac.com
CAPTIONS PAID FOR BY DISCOVERY COMMUNICATIONS
MARCH 18, 1998.
8:35 P.M.
EMERGENCY DISPATCHERS IN LAFAYETTE PARISH
RECEIVE AN ALARMING CALL.
[ SIREN WAILING ]
THE CALL IS COMING FROM THE NORMALLY TRANQUIL SUBURB
OF YOUNGSVILLE.
MINUTES LATER, POLICE AND EMTs ARRIVE ON THE SCENE
AND MAKE A HORRIFIC DISCOVERY.
I RECOGNIZED A GENTLEMAN LAYING FACEDOWN, POOL OF BLOOD.
Narrator: HOVERING OVER THE BODY IN A STATE OF SHOCK
IS THE MAN'S WIFE -- THE SAME WOMAN WHO MADE THE 911 CALL.
COME ON, MA'AM. STEP BACK FOR ME, OKAY?
NO, PLEASE.
PLEASE.
PLEASE STEP BACK FOR ME, OKAY?
Stelly: SHE WAS IN A PRAYING POSITION ON HER KNEES,
HANDS CLASPED TOGETHER,
BASICALLY BEGGING US TO HELP HER HUSBAND.
Narrator: UNFORTUNATELY, THERE'S LITTLE
THAT PARAMEDICS OR POLICE OFFICERS CAN DO.
NO USE.
HE'S -- HE'S DEAD.
LeBreton: EMS HAD DECLARED THAT HE WAS DECEASED ON THE SCENE.
HE HAD SUSTAINED GUNSHOT WOUNDS.
Narrator: IT'S A GRUESOME CRIME --
THE TYPE YOU'D EXPECT TO FIND
ON THE ROUGH-AND-TUMBLE STREETS OF NEW ORLEANS,
NOT IN A COZY BEDROOM COMMUNITY
OF LOUISIANA'S MOST LAID-BACK CITY.
Lee: IT'S NOT A HIGH-CRIME AREA.
KIDS RUN AROUND OUTSIDE. THEY RIDE THEIR BICYCLES.
IT'S A VERY FAMILIAL KIND OF COMMUNITY.
Narrator: BUT THE UNLIKELY LOCATION OF THE CRIME --
JUST ONE SMALL PIECE OF A FAR MORE TERRIFYING PUZZLE.
A PUZZLE THAT, WHEN PIECED TOGETHER,
WOULD LEAVE EVERYONE IN LAFAYETTE IN A STATE OF SHOCK.
PERCHED ON THE BOGGY BACKWATERS OF LOUISIANA'S BAYOU VERMILION,
AND ONLY A SHORT DRIVE FROM THE GULF OF MEXICO,
LAFAYETTE IS THE ZYDECO-BEATING HEART OF CAJUN COUNTRY.
IT'S OFTEN CALLED THE CAJUN CAPITAL OF LOUISIANA.
YOU KNOW, THE HOSPITALITY'S GREAT.
PEOPLE ARE WARM.
THEY'RE VERY FRIENDLY.
Narrator: PART AFRICAN, PART FRENCH,
AND PART BORN-AGAIN BAPTIST,
LAFAYETTE'S THE TYPE OF TOWN
WHERE PEOPLE HOLD FIRM TO THEIR BELIEFS
BUT NEVER LET THEIR DIFFERENCES STAND IN THE WAY OF A GOOD TIME.
Hawkins: THE PEOPLE DOWN HERE ARE LIKE NOWHERE ELSE.
[ CHUCKLES ] WE'RE ALL ABOUT JUST FOOD
AND, YOU KNOW, HAVING FUN, HAVING A GOOD TIME.
IT'S, YOU KNOW, THE BIG EASY.
Narrator: OF COURSE, ALL THAT PARTYING
COMES ON THE HEELS OF SOME PRETTY BACK-BREAKING LABOR.
FISHERMEN, FARMERS, RANCHERS --
IT'S A VERY IMPORTANT PART OF THE ECONOMY.
Narrator: BUT THERE'S ONE RESOURCE IN THE BAYOU
THAT REIGNS SUPREME OVER ALL OTHERS.
Perot: WHETHER IT'S OFFSHORE DRILLING OR ON-LAND DRILLING,
THE MAJORITY OF THE BUSINESSES IN LAFAYETTE ARE OIL-RELATED.
Narrator: IT'S TRUE.
THE ONLY THING DEEPER THAN LAFAYETTE'S OIL FIELDS
ARE THE POCKETS OF THE LOCAL MOVERS AND SHAKERS
THAT CONTROL THEM.
Voorhies: A LOT OF MONEY HERE.
YOU PROBABLY HAVE MORE PEOPLE
WITH A NET WORTH OF $1 MILLION OR MORE
THAN MOST MUNICIPALITIES.
Narrator: CASE IN POINT -- RONALD SHAW.
BORN IN 1945 AND RAISED IN SOUTH TEXAS,
RONALD ALWAYS HAD A KNACK FOR MAKING A BUCK.
Don: HE WAS A REAL SAVVY BUSINESSMAN.
WHEN HE CONFRONTED OPPORTUNITY, HE TOOK ADVANTAGE OF IT.
Narrator: AFTER MARRYING HIS GIRLFRIEND, KAREN,
RON TOOK AN ENTRY-LEVEL JOB IN THE LAFAYETTE OIL FIELDS.
BUT IT DIDN'T TAKE LONG FOR HIM
TO WORK HIS WAY UP TO THE EXECUTIVE LEVEL.
Don: HE KNEW WHAT SOLUTIONS THERE WERE TO PROBLEMS
AND HOW TO OVERCOME THEM,
WHICH MADE HIS OPPORTUNITIES EVEN BETTER
IN THE OIL-FIELD BUSINESS.
Narrator: BUT RONALD WASN'T SATISFIED
SIMPLY CLIMBING THE CORPORATE LADDER.
HE WANTED TO OWN THE LADDER.
WELL, WE HAVE BEEN CONSIDERING IT,
AND IT'S LOOKING PROMISING.
Narrator: SO, IN THE EARLY '90s, HE STRUCK OUT ON HIS OWN
AND FOUNDED AN OIL- AND GAS-DRILLING COMPANY.
YOU HAVE TO BE A BIT OF A RISK TAKER
IF YOU WANT TO GET TO THE TOP.
HE WAS VERY CONFIDENT IN WHAT HE WAS DOING.
VERY SUCCESSFUL ENTREPRENEUR.
ALL OF HIS BUSINESS VENTURES WERE SUCCESSFUL.
Narrator: BUT RONALD'S PROFESSIONAL SUCCESS
CAME WITH A PRICE.
HIS MARRIAGE TO HIS WIFE, KAREN, BECAME INCREASINGLY STRAINED.
SO, WHAT'S GOING ON...
AND ON A PROSPECTING TRIP TO CHIHUAHUA, MEXICO,
RON FELL FOR A LOVELY LOCAL LADY NAMED ROSANA STAUFERT.
[ SPEAKS SPANISH ]
OKAY.
IT'S GONNA BE READY IN A WEEK.
THEY'RE GONNA WORK HARD TO GET IT DONE.
THAT'S PERFECT.
Rosana: 'CAUSE I WAS BILINGUAL,
SO THEY SAID THEY NEEDED SOMEBODY TO TRANSLATE.
SO THAT'S HOW I, YOU KNOW, MET RONNIE.
I ADMIRED HIM BECAUSE HE WAS A HARD WORKER.
Narrator: RONALD WAS JUST AS IMPRESSED WITH ROSANA'S ASSETS,
BOTH PERSONAL AND PROFESSIONAL.
HE MADE HER HIS FULL-TIME ASSISTANT
PRACTICALLY ON THE SPOT.
WE WENT ON TRIPS TOGETHER, AND, YOU KNOW, OUT TO DINNER.
IT WAS FUN TO WORK WITH HIM
BECAUSE YOU FELT COMFORTABLE WITH HIM.
HE HAD THIS CHARISMA.
Narrator: SOON RONALD WAS SPENDING ALL HIS TIME,
BOTH BUSINESS AND PLEASURE, WITH ROSANA.
A FEW MONTHS LATER,
RONALD FILED FOR DIVORCE FROM HIS WIFE, KAREN,
AND IMMEDIATELY MARRIED ROSANA.
JUST MADE ME FEEL SO HAPPY.
THE WORLD WAS TOO SMALL FOR OUR LOVE.
HE PROTECTED ME.
HE HAD FUN WITH ME.
Narrator: AFTER THE WEDDING,
RONALD CONVINCED ROSANA TO MOVE TO LAFAYETTE
AND HELP HIM START A NEW COMPANY -- MWD --
THAT OFFERED PROSPECTORS A NEW WAY TO SURVEY THEIR FIELDS.
IN A FEW SHORT YEARS, MWD BECAME A MULTIMILLION-DOLLAR OUTFIT,
AND RONALD AND ROSANA FOUND THEMSELVES IN THE LAP OF LUXURY.
Piccione: RONALD SHAW HAD SEVERAL HOMES.
HE HAD A HOME IN MEXICO.
HE HAD A RANCH IN TEXAS.
HE HAD A YACHT THAT HE HAD RECENTLY BOUGHT
FOR OVER $300,000.
Narrator: BUT RONALD AND ROSANA'S HOME BASE
WAS THE 5,000-SQUARE-FOOT HOME RONALD BUILT FOR ROSANA
IN THE AFFLUENT LAFAYETTE SUBURB OF YOUNGSVILLE --
AN AREA THAT WAS HOME TO SEVERAL OIL-INDUSTRY BIGWIGS.
WE WOULD GO FROM ROOM TO ROOM.
IT IS SO BIG.
Narrator: ALL RONALD AND ROSANA NEEDED NOW
WAS A COUPLE OF RUG RATS
AND THEIR DREAM LIFE IN LAFAYETTE WOULD BE COMPLETE.
AND IN 1998, ROSANA GAVE RONALD SOME GOOD NEWS.
YES, I'M SURE. WE'RE GONNA HAVE A BABY.
I CAN'T WAIT.
WHEN WE FOUND OUT THAT I FINALLY WAS PREGNANT, HE WAS SO HAPPY.
AT NIGHT, WHEN WE WENT TO BED,
HE WOULD PUT HIS HAND ON MY TUMMY AND JUST HOLD HER.
Narrator: BUT RONALD SHAW
WOULD NEVER LIVE TO SEE THE BIRTH OF HIS CHILD.
JUST AFTER 8:30 P.M. ON MARCH 18, 1998,
911 OPERATORS IN LAFAYETTE RECEIVED A FRANTIC CALL.
THE WOMAN ON THE OTHER END WAS ROSANA SHAW.
SHE REPORTED THAT HER HUSBAND, RONALD SHAW,
HAD BEEN GUNNED DOWN AT THEIR RESIDENCE IN YOUNGSVILLE.
[ SIRENS WAILING ]
WHEN I ARRIVED, IT WAS PITCH-BLACK.
NO LIGHTS OF OTHER VEHICLES.
Narrator: OFFICERS MADE THEIR WAY TOWARD THE HOME.
IN THE MIDDLE OF THE YARD,
THEIR FLASHLIGHTS MADE A HORRIFYING DISCOVERY.
I RECOGNIZED THE WHITE MALE
LAYING DOWN IN A POOL OF BLOOD, FACEDOWN.
Narrator: THE MAN WAS RONALD SHAW.
KNEELING OVER HIS BODY WAS ROSANA.
HE HAD A GUNSHOT WOUND IN AND OUT OF ONE ARM,
AND HE HAD ONE GUNSHOT WOUND TO THE UPPER TORSO.
Narrator: SHAW HAD ALSO SUFFERED A KILL SHOT TO THE FACE.
LeBreton: HOMICIDE'S NOT EVEN ALL THAT COMMON
FOR LAFAYETTE PARISH,
ESPECIALLY SOMETHING AS BRUTAL
AND KIND OF COLD-BLOODED AS THAT HAPPENING.
Narrator: BUT INVESTIGATORS
WOULD SOON UNCOVER A STARTLING SET OF CLUES
THAT WOULD SUGGEST THIS WASN'T JUST A RANDOM ACT OF VIOLENCE
AND REVEALED THAT THIS LAFAYETTE ***
WAS PART OF A MUCH LARGER AND FAR MORE NEFARIOUS CONSPIRACY.
Narrator: IN A PLACE AS LAID-BACK AND LAISSEZ-FAIRE
AS LAFAYETTE, LOUISIANA,
THE ONLY THING FOLKS USUALLY SWEAT
IS THE SWAMPY SUMMER HEAT.
BUT ON MARCH 18, 1998,
A HORRIFIC CRIME WAS MAKING EVERYONE IN CAJUN COUNTRY
A LITTLE HOT UNDER THE COLLAR.
52-YEAR-OLD OIL EXECUTIVE RONALD SHAW
HAD BEEN GUNNED DOWN OUTSIDE HIS PALATIAL HOME
IN FRONT OF HIS PREGNANT WIFE, ROSANA.
AS POLICE DEPUTIES TRY TO CONSOLE ROSANA,
INVESTIGATORS BEGAN PROCESSING THE SCENE.
[ CAMERA SHUTTER CLICKS ]
ON THE GROUND BEHIND THE SHAWS' NEWLY-CONSTRUCTED HOME,
THEY UNCOVERED THEIR FIRST CLUE.
DETECTIVE.
Stutes: FOOTPRINTS WERE FOUND OUTSIDE OF THE HOUSE
IN AN AREA BEHIND THE GARAGE
WHERE THERE WAS AN AREA OF SOME CONSTRUCTION-GRADE SAND.
LOOKS LIKE WE'VE GOT THREE DIFFERENT SHOE PRINTS.
Narrator: DETECTIVES IDENTIFY THREE DISTINCT PAIRS
OF SHOE PRINTS,
AS WELL AS WHAT APPEARED TO BE A TRAIL
LEADING THROUGH THE YARD INTO THE SHAWS' HOME.
Stutes: THERE WERE DISTINCT SETS OF FOOTPRINTS
INSIDE OF THE HOUSE,
AND THOSE PRINTS MATCHED THE PRINTS OUTSIDE OF THE HOUSE.
Narrator: COULD THE SHOE PRINTS
HAVE BEEN LEFT BY THE HOMEOWNERS?
INVESTIGATORS COMPARE THE SIZE AND TREAD PATTERNS
TO THE SHOES RONALD AND ROSANA WERE WEARING,
AS WELL AS SHOES IN THEIR CLOSETS.
Stutes: THE POLICE DID NOT FIND SHOES
IN THE HOUSE OR ANYONE'S POSSESSION
THAT MATCHED THE PRINTS.
Narrator: WHICH LED DETECTIVES TO BELIEVE THE CRIME
HAD BEEN COMMITTED BY MULTIPLE ASSAILANTS.
POLICE CALLED IN A K-9 UNIT TO INSPECT THE PRINTS.
THEY IMMEDIATELY PICKED UP ANOTHER TRAIL --
ONE LEADING AWAY FROM THE SHAW RESIDENCE.
THE K-9 OFFICER TRACED THE SCENT THROUGH A NEARBY FIELD
AND EVENTUALLY TO A ROADWAY...
HEY, I THINK WE GOT SOMETHING.
...WHERE THE DOG ZEROED IN
ON AN ARTICLE OF CLOTHING NEAR THE SHOULDER.
ONE OF THE OFFICERS OBSERVED A RED SKI MASK
ON THE SHOULDER OF THE ROAD.
Narrator: OFFICERS COLLECTED THE SKI MASK,
BUT AFTER THAT, THE TRAIL WENT COLD.
SO, THEY CIRCLED BACK TO ROSANA,
WHO, DESPITE BEING CHOKED UP, SEEMED READY TO TALK.
CAN YOU TELL ME WHAT HAPPENED TONIGHT?
WELL, WE WERE JUST COMING BACK...
INVESTIGATORS WANT TO FIND OUT
AS MUCH INFORMATION AS POSSIBLE FROM ROSANA.
CAN SHE BE THE PERSON TO HELP ACTUALLY SOLVE THE CRIME?
Narrator: ACCORDING TO ROSANA,
IT STARTED WHEN SHE AND RONALD
RETURNED HOME FROM THE GROCERY STORE
AND HEARD A RUSTLING NOISE IN THE BUSHES BESIDE THE GARAGE.
ROSANA TOLD POLICE THAT AS SHE AND RONALD TURNED AROUND,
THREE MEN EMERGED FROM THE DARKNESS.
THERE WERE THESE THREE MEN WEARING A SKI MASK.
Narrator: THE MEN FIRED THREE SHOTS.
AND RONALD CRUMPLED TO THE GROUND.
Rosana: THEY DIDN'T SAY ANYTHING LIKE, "STOP," OR ANY WARNING.
THEY JUST SHOT HIM THREE TIMES.
HE FELL ON THE FLOOR.
AND I WAS JUST NUMB RIGHT THERE.
Man: WHERE THE KEYS AT?
Narrator: ROSANA SAID THAT'S WHEN ONE OF THE MEN --
THE ONE IN A RED SKI MASK -- TURNED HIS GUN ON HER.
LeBreton: SHE SAID THE SUSPECT WEARING THE RED SKI MASK
ORDERED HER TO TAKE THEM INTO THE HOUSE.
I FELT, "THEY'RE JUST GONNA SHOOT ME RIGHT HERE,"
AND THEN THOUGHTS WERE RACING THROUGH MY MIND.
Narrator: BUT INSTEAD OF PULLING THE TRIGGER,
THE GUNMEN MADE A DEMAND.
LOOK, LADY. I KNOW THERE'S A SAFE.
OKAY.
TAKE US TO THE SAFE!
LET'S GO. TAKE US TO IT.
LeBreton: THEY WERE AWARE THAT THERE WAS A SAFE
PRESENT IN THE HOME,
AND SHE NEEDED TO LEAD THE WAY.
TAKE US TO THE MONEY!
Narrator: ROSANA LED THE MEN
TO A CLOSET IN THE GUEST BATHROOM
WHERE THE SAFE WAS LOCATED.
COCKING THE HAMMER ON HIS PISTOL,
THE MAN TOLD ROSANA TO UNLOCK IT.
PLEASE DON'T HURT ME!
HURRY UP!
YOU GOT THREE SECONDS.
DESPITE ALL OF THE STRESS, SHE GOT THE SAFE OPENED.
Narrator: ONCE OPENED,
THE MEN THEN EMPTIED THE CONTENTS OF THE SAFE,
WHICH CONTAINED A FEW THOUSAND DOLLARS
AND SOME OF ROSANA'S MOST PRIZED PIECES OF JEWELRY.
ONCE THE SAFE WAS CLEANED OUT,
THE MEN DRAGGED ROSANA BACK INTO THE BATHROOM,
WHERE THE MAN IN THE RED SKI MASK
ORDERED HER DOWN TO THE FLOOR INSIDE THE WATER CLOSET.
OKAY, YOU HEAR ME?!
HE SAID IF SHE CAME OUT, THAT THEY WOULD SHOOT HER.
YOU COME OUT OF THERE, AND YOU'RE DEAD!
YOU HEAR ME? DEAD!
Narrator: THE MEN THEN SLAMMED THE DOOR
AND RAN OUT OF THE HOUSE.
ONLY WHEN SHE WAS SURE THEY WERE GONE DID ROSANA CALL 911.
Narrator: TO LAW ENFORCEMENT,
IT WAS CLEAR FROM ROSANA'S STORY THAT ROBBERY WAS THE MOTIVE.
Murray: THE ASSAILANTS KNEW THAT THERE WAS A SAFE IN THE HOUSE.
THEY KNEW WHAT THEY WERE LOOKING FOR.
AND THAT RAISED THE NEXT LOGICAL QUESTION --
HOW DID THESE GUYS KNOW THAT THERE WAS A SAFE IN THE HOUSE?
Narrator: WAS IT POSSIBLE THE KILLERS
HAD BEEN INSIDE THE SHAWS' HOME BEFORE?
ROSANA DIDN'T THINK SO.
FOR STARTERS, THIS WAS ONE OF THE WEALTHIEST NEIGHBORHOODS
IN ALL OF LAFAYETTE.
IT DOESN'T TAKE A MASTER THIEF
TO FIGURE OUT MOST OF THE HOUSES HERE PROBABLY HAVE SAFES.
AND WHILE HER HUSBAND CERTAINLY WASN'T HUNG UP ON AGE OR RACE,
ROSANA WAS PRETTY SURE THE PERPS DIDN'T FIT THE DEMOGRAPHIC
OF THE LILY-WHITE OIL TYCOONS
THE SHAWS USUALLY SOCIALIZED WITH.
Piccione: SHE WAS ABLE TO IDENTIFY
THAT ALL THREE OF THEM WERE BLACK MEN,
AND SHE INDICATED, IN PARTICULAR,
ONE OF THEM WAS VERY LIGHT-SKINNED.
SO, THEY WERE AFRICAN-AMERICAN?
YES. THEY WERE AFRICAN-AMERICAN.
Narrator: ROSANA ALSO TOLD POLICE
SHE THOUGHT ALL THREE MEN WERE IN THEIR EARLY 20s
AND THAT ONE OF THEM WAS WEARING A PRETTY UNUSUAL JACKET.
WAS KIND OF ZEBRA KIND.
SO, ZEBRA-STRIPED?
YES. YEAH.
Stutes: MRS. SHAW WAS VERY SPECIFIC
IN DESCRIBING ONE OF THE THREE SUSPECTS
AS WEARING A DISTINCTIVE BLACK-AND-WHITE JACKET,
AND IT HAD A ZEBRA-LIKE LOOK.
Narrator: WITH ROSANA'S DESCRIPTION IN TOW,
POLICE ISSUED AN APB ON THE SHOOTERS.
THREE AFRICAN-AMERICAN MALES, LATE TEENS, MID 20s.
ONE'S WEARING A BLACK-AND-WHITE-STRIPED JACKET.
THEY'RE WANTED FOR A 187 IN YOUNGSVILLE.
Narrator: NO SOONER HAD THE APB GONE OUT,
THEN WORD OF THE SHOOTING SPREAD THROUGH LAFAYETTE.
Lee: IT SEEMED LIKE SUCH A BIG-CITY CRIME
FOR A PLACE AS WONDERFUL AS LAFAYETTE.
PEOPLE COULD NOT STOP TALKING ABOUT IT.
Narrator: LUCKILY, ALL THAT TALK
HELPED GENERATE THE CASE'S FIRST CREDIBLE LEAD.
IN SPEAKING WITH NEIGHBORS,
POLICE LEARNED THAT A SUSPICIOUS CAR
HAD BEEN SEEN CRUISING THE STREET
BEHIND THE SHAWS' RESIDENCE
IN THE HOURS JUST PRIOR TO THE SHOOTING.
Lee: ONE NEIGHBOR'S STORY WAS THAT THEY SAW A VEHICLE
THAT WAS NOT KNOWN TO THE AREA.
IT WAS DESCRIBED AS A BURGUNDY VEHICLE.
Narrator: ANOTHER NEIGHBOR
REPORTED SEEING THREE YOUNG BLACK MEN
EXITING A SIMILAR VEHICLE ABOUT A MILE DOWN THE ROAD.
WERE THESE THE SAME MEN THAT SHOT AND KILLED RONALD SHAW?
IF SO, WHERE WERE THEY NOW?
THAT'S WHEN INVESTIGATORS GOT ANOTHER TIP.
THIS ONE CAME FROM A GAS STATION
A FEW MILES FROM THE SHAWS' HOME.
ACCORDING TO A CLERK THERE, A COUPLE OF YOUNG BLACK MEN
HAD VISITED THE STORE EARLIER IN THE EVENING,
BUT IT WAS THE BEHAVIOR AND THE ATTIRE OF ONE OF THEM
THAT REALLY STOOD OUT.
LeBreton: SOMEONE WHO, IN THE OPINION OF THE CLERK,
WAS ACTING SUSPICIOUSLY
BECAUSE THAT PERSON NEVER ENTERS THE STORE,
ALMOST AS IF THEY DIDN'T WANT TO BE ABLE TO BE IDENTIFIED.
THE JACKET THAT THAT PERSON WAS WEARING
THAT WAS DESCRIBED BY THE CLERK
WAS SIMILAR TO A JACKET DESCRIBED BY ROSANA
TO HAVE BEEN WORN BY ONE OF THE THREE SUSPECTS --
BLACK-AND-WHITE, KIND OF ZEBRA PATTERN.
Narrator: THE CLERK TOLD POLICE SHE HADN'T GOTTEN A GOOD LOOK
AT THE PERSON WEARING THE JACKET.
UH, NOT REALLY.
THE ONE GUY STAYED OUTSIDE,
AND THEN ONE GUY CAME INSIDE.
BUT ONE OF THE MEN HAD FLASHED HIS I.D.
AND USED A CREDIT CARD TO PURCHASE BEER.
GOT AN I.D.?
YEAH.
HIS NAME WAS WILLY TEBOW.
IT WAS A NAME THAT INSTANTLY RANG A BELL WITH INVESTIGATORS.
LeBreton: WILLY TEBOW HAD COME
TO THE ATTENTION OF LAW ENFORCEMENT
NUMEROUS TIMES IN THE PAST.
Narrator: WILLY TEBOW'S RAP SHEET
READ LIKE YOUR STANDARD-ISSUE STREET THUG'S --
PETTY THEFT, NARCOTICS POSSESSION.
WAS IT POSSIBLE
WILLY HAD GRADUATED TO HOME INVASION AND ***?
THE ONLY WAY TO FIND OUT WAS TO BRING WILLY IN FOR QUESTIONING.
WHEN THEY DID, WHAT WILLY HAD TO SAY
TURNED THE SEARCH FOR RONALD SHAW'S KILLERS
SQUARELY ON ITS HEAD.
Narrator: FROM SWAMP RATS TO ALLIGATORS TO VENOMOUS SNAKES,
THE SWAMPS AND BAYOUS UNFOLDING OUTSIDE LAFAYETTE
ARE HOME TO A MENAGERIE OF DEADLY CREATURES.
BUT IN THE SPRING OF 1998,
LAW ENFORCEMENT WAS ON THE HUNT
FOR ANOTHER GROUP OF PREDATORS --
THE ONES WHO SHOT AND KILLED LOCAL OIL EXECUTIVE RONALD SHAW.
THANKS TO SOME INTEL FROM A CLERK AT A LOCAL GAS STATION,
POLICE HAD A LEAD ON A SUSPECT --
PETTY CRIMINAL WILLY TEBOW --
AND A MYSTERY PAL
WHO WAS WEARING A WHITE-AND-BLACK-STRIPED JACKET.
LeBreton: HE WAS IN THE CONVENIENCE STORE
AROUND THE SAME TIME FRAME
AS POLICE RESPONDED TO MRS. SHAW'S HOME
REGARDING THE OFFENSE.
THIS, WITH HIS CRIMINAL BACKGROUND,
CAUSED HIS NAME TO BE BROUGHT TO MY ATTENTION.
Narrator: BECAUSE WILLY TEBOW WAS KNOWN TO LAW ENFORCEMENT,
TRACKING HIM DOWN PROVED RELATIVELY EASY.
LeBreton: TEBOW WAS TRANSPORTED TO THE SHERIFF'S OFFICE,
WHERE I COULD CONDUCT A MORE FORMAL INTERVIEW.
Narrator: AT THE STATION, WILLY DENIED HAVING ANYTHING
TO DO WITH THE *** OF RONALD SHAW.
MR. TEBOW, DO YOU KNOW ANYTHING
ABOUT THE SHOOTING IN YOUNGSVILLE?
MAN, NO.
Narrator: WILLY ADMITTED THAT HE HAD PURCHASED BEER
AT THAT CONVENIENCE STORE
NOT LONG AFTER THE CRIME WAS COMMITTED,
BUT HE CLAIMED IT WAS AFTER A LONG DAY OF RUNNING ERRANDS
AND VISITING FRIENDS,
NOT AFTER GUNNING DOWN ONE
OF LAFAYETTE'S MOST RESPECTED CITIZENS.
HE PROVIDED AN ORDER OF PLACES THAT HE VISITED,
PEOPLE THAT HE SPOKE TO AT EACH OF THOSE DIFFERENT PLACES.
3:00 TO 6:00, I WAS HELPING MY SISTER.
THEN I WENT AND PICKED UP SOME GROCERIES FOR MY MAMA.
Narrator: BUT BEFORE THEY COULD RULE OUT WILLY TEBOW
AS A SUSPECT,
INVESTIGATORS HAD ONE OTHER QUESTION.
DO YOU MIND IF WE LOOK AT YOUR SHOES?
PSSH, MAN. I DON'T CARE WHAT YOU DO.
LeBreton: I ASKED TO VIEW THE SOLES
OF THE SHOES THAT HE WAS WEARING,
AND IT WAS APPARENT TO ME AT THAT TIME
THAT THE SHOES HE WAS WEARING THEN
DIDN'T MATCH THE SHOE IMPRESSIONS
FROM THE BUILDER'S SAND OUTSIDE THE RESIDENCE.
Narrator: BUT WHAT ABOUT THE SUSPICIOUS-LOOKING MAN
IN THE ZEBRA JACKET
WHO'D ACCOMPANIED WILLY TO THE GAS STATION?
ACCORDING TO WILLY, THAT WAS NO MAN.
I MEAN, I WAS WITH SOMEBODY,
BUT IT WASN'T NO DUDE, MAN.
IT WAS A GIRL. HER NAME IS PATSY.
LeBreton: PATSY, BECAUSE OF HER HAIRSTYLE AND HER BUILD,
COULD BE MISTAKEN FOR MALE OR FEMALE.
ONE OF THE INVESTIGATORS
EVENTUALLY LOCATED PATSY AT HER RESIDENCE,
AND SHE BROUGHT WITH HER THE JACKET
THAT SHE CLAIMED SHE WAS WEARING
THE NIGHT THAT THE OFFENSE OCCURRED.
Narrator: WHILE SIMILAR IN COLOR,
THE JACKET WASN'T A TRUE MATCH
FOR THE ONE DESCRIBED BY ROSANA SHAW.
LeBreton: IT DIDN'T TAKE LONG TO REALIZE
THAT THIS IS NOT THE TRAIL I NEED TO BE FOLLOWING.
Narrator: WITH THE SEARCH FOR RONALD SHAW'S KILLERS
BACK TO SQUARE ONE,
INVESTIGATORS DOUBLED BACK
TO THE EVIDENCE THEY'D ALREADY COLLECTED
AND THE NOTION THAT THE CRIME WAS A BOTCHED ROBBERY.
BUT IN RE-EXAMINING THE CRIME-SCENE PHOTOS,
DETECTIVES REALIZED THAT WHILE THE SHAWS' SAFE HAD BEEN ROBBED,
THE THIEVES HADN'T TAKEN ANY OF THE VALUABLES
RON AND ROSANA WERE ACTUALLY WEARING.
LeBreton: HE WAS STILL WEARING WHAT APPEARED TO BE
A RELATIVELY EXPENSIVE WRISTWATCH.
HE STILL HAD CASH IN HIS PANTS.
Narrator: THIS FACT GOT COPS PONDERING
A NEW AND FAR MORE SINISTER THEORY.
YOU HAVE TO WONDER, AS AN INVESTIGATOR,
WAS THE MOTIVE REALLY ROBBERY,
OR WAS IT MORE OF A ***-FOR-HIRE
MADE TO LOOK LIKE A ROBBERY?
Narrator: IF RONALD SHAW WAS THE TARGET OF A CONTRACT KILLING,
THEN WHO WAS BEHIND IT?
ANYBODY WHO WOULD BE SO DISGRUNTLED
WITH PAST BUSINESS ASSOCIATIONS
THAT THEY WOULD DESIRE TO KILL HIM.
Narrator: BUT WHEN POLICE FLOATED THAT THEORY PAST ROSANA,
SHE INSISTED THEY WERE BARKING UP THE WRONG TREE.
SOME OF YOUR HUSBAND'S BUSINESS ASSOCIATES --
IS THERE ANYBODY THAT HE MIGHT HAVE BEEN ENEMIES WITH?
I DON'T THINK SO.
I THINK HE HAS PRETTY GOOD RELATIONSHIP WITH EVERYBODY.
Narrator: DESPITE ROSANA'S PROTESTS,
INVESTIGATORS STILL BELIEVED A DISGRUNTLED BUSINESS PARTNER
MIGHT BE BEHIND THE CRIME.
THEY DUG INTO RONALD SHAW'S PERSONAL FINANCES
AND SOON DISCOVERED THAT PRIOR TO HIS DEATH,
HE HAD TRANSFERRED ALL OF HIS STOCK
OUT OF HIS PERSONAL PORTFOLIO
INTO ONE MAINTAINED BY HIS COMPANY.
TO DETECTIVES, THE DIVERTED STOCKS WERE SUSPICIOUS,
ESPECIALLY WHEN THEY LEARNED
THAT RONALD'S MOTIVE BEHIND THE TRANSFER
WAS TO HIDE DIVIDENDS FROM HIS EX-WIFE, KAREN SHAW.
DURING THE COURSE OF THAT DIVORCE,
RONALD SHAW HAD TRANSFERRED ALL OF HIS COMPANY STOCK
WITH THE IDEA OF KEEPING IT SAFE
FROM THE COMMUNITY-PROPERTY SETTLEMENT IN THE DIVORCE.
Narrator: HAD KAREN SHAW ORDERED A HIT ON HER HUSBAND
AS A MEANS OF EXACTING THE ULTIMATE REVENGE?
Lee: THERE WAS BAD BLOOD BETWEEN THE TWO.
THERE WERE QUESTIONS
ABOUT WHETHER OR NOT THIS COULD HAVE BEEN PERSONAL.
Narrator: WHEN QUESTIONED, KAREN SHAW
DIDN'T DISPUTE THE FACT
THAT SHE ONCE HARBORED SERIOUS ANIMOSITY TOWARD HER EX...
WHEN WE FIRST STARTED GOING THROUGH THE DIVORCE,
IT WAS UGLY.
I MEAN, THAT WAS THE BIGGEST...
...BUT THAT DESPITE THEIR NASTY BREAKUP,
IN THE PAST FEW MONTHS, SHE AND RONALD HAD PATCHED THINGS UP.
WHEN YOU SPEAK TO HIM NOW,
ARE YOU PRETTY MUCH ON FRIENDLY TERMS?
YEAH. WE ARE NOW. I MEAN...
LeBreton: KAREN INDICATED THAT SHE HAD A CORDIAL RELATIONSHIP
WITH RONALD.
IF THERE WERE OCCASIONS
THAT SHE FELL UPON DIFFICULT FINANCIAL TIMES,
THAT HE WAS FINANCIALLY SUPPORTIVE.
IF YOU DON'T MIND, I'D LIKE TO ASK YOU A FEW QUESTIONS.
Narrator: TO CONFIRM KAREN SHAW'S STATEMENT,
COPS QUESTIONED RONALD'S MOTHER.
THE ELDER MRS. SHAW NOT ONLY CONFIRMED KAREN'S STATEMENT,
BUT SUGGESTED THAT HER SON AND HIS EX-WIFE
HADN'T JUST PATCHED THINGS UP, BUT WERE ONCE AGAIN HOOKING UP.
HE AND KAREN WERE JUST MEANT TO BE TOGETHER.
SHE SUGGESTED THAT POSSIBLY THEY WERE EVEN REKINDLING
THEIR FORMER RELATIONSHIP.
Narrator: IF IT WAS TRUE THAT KAREN AND RONALD SHAW
HAD REKINDLED THEIR ROMANCE
AND HE WAS NOW SUPPORTING HER FINANCIALLY,
THEN WHAT REASON WOULD KAREN HAVE TO KILL HIM?
AND IF RONALD'S MOTHER KNEW ABOUT THIS ALLEGED AFFAIR,
COULD RONALD'S CURRENT WIFE, ROSANA, BE AWARE OF IT, TOO?
AND IF SHE WAS, THAT KNOWLEDGE
WOULD CERTAINLY MAKE HER A SUSPECT IN HER HUSBAND'S ***.
Lee: WITH ANY HOMICIDE,
THE PERSON YOU'VE GOT TO TALK TO AND SUSPECT
IS THE INDIVIDUAL'S SPOUSE.
Narrator: ALLEGATIONS OF STAGED CRIME SCENES,
DIVERTED STOCK PORTFOLIOS,
AND RUMORS OF A REKINDLED ROMANCE WITH HIS FIRST WIFE.
IT SEEMED THE *** OF RONALD SHAW
WAS GROWING MORE MYSTERIOUS AND MORE SCANDALOUS BY THE MINUTE.
Narrator: BETWEEN THE BACKYARD SHRIMP BOILS,
THE DRIVE-THROUGH LIQUOR STORES,
AND THE RED-HOT ZYDECO MUSIC
THAT SPILLS OUT OF ALMOST EVERY CORNER BAR,
IT'S CLEAR THAT FOLKS IN LAFAYETTE
NEED NO EXCUSE TO STOP WHAT THEY'RE DOING
AND GO GET THEIR SWAMP BOOGIE ON.
BUT FOR INVESTIGATORS WORKING THE ***
OF OIL BARON RONALD SHAW,
THERE WAS NO TIME TO KICK BACK WITH SOME COLD SUDS OR CRAWFISH.
RUMORS THAT RONALD WAS GETTING BACK TOGETHER
WITH HIS EX-WIFE, KAREN,
HAD THEM LOOKING AT A POTENTIAL SUSPECT --
RONALD'S VERY BEAUTIFUL AND VERY PREGNANT NEW WIFE, ROSANA.
LeBreton: TRUTH TO THE MATTER IS THAT ROSANA
IS AS MUCH A SUSPECT AS ANYBODY UNTIL I PROVE OTHERWISE.
Narrator: ONCE AGAIN, POLICE MET WITH ROSANA
AND ASKED HER TO WALK THEM THROUGH THE NIGHT OF THE ***,
LOOKING FOR INCONSISTENCIES FROM HER PREVIOUS STATEMENTS.
GET THESE DETAILS RIGHT.
CAN YOU TELL US WHAT HAPPENED AGAIN?
LeBreton: IT'S JUST BEEN MY EXPERIENCE
THAT PEOPLE HAVE A VERY DIFFICULT TIME
KEEPING THE ORDER OF EVENTS, THE CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER OF EVENTS,
IN THE SAME ORDER
IF THEY'RE NOT RECALLING THAT FROM ACTUAL MEMORY.
JUST, WE WERE COMING...
Narrator: BUT IF CONSISTENCY IS THE BAROMETER OF TRUTH,
IT WAS CLEAR TO POLICE THAT ROSANA WAS TELLING THE TRUTH.
HER DETAILED STATEMENT WAS VERY CONSISTENT
WITH THE STATEMENT SHE PROVIDED
THE NIGHT THAT THE CRIME OCCURRED.
Narrator: IN FACT, ROSANA EVEN SUPPLIED A NEW DETAIL
SHE RECENTLY REMEMBERED --
ONE SHE THOUGHT MIGHT HELP IDENTIFY THE KILLERS.
DID THEY SOUND FAMILIAR TO YOU?
NO. THEY DIDN'T SOUND FAMILIAR TO ME,
AND THEY DIDN'T SOUND CAJUN.
WHAT HAPPENED THEN?
THEY TOOK ME.
THEY -- THEY KNEW WHERE THE SAFE WAS.
HOW DID THEY KNOW THAT?
BECAUSE THEY -- BASICALLY, THEY PUSHED ME
STRAIGHT TO THE BATHROOM.
Piccione: WHEN THE SUSPECT WITH THE RED SKI MASK
PUT THE GUN TO HER HEAD,
HE TOLD HER, "LET'S GO INTO THE HOUSE, INTO THE BATHROOM,
AND I WANT YOU TO OPEN THE SAFE."
THE ROBBERS CLEARLY, CLEARLY KNEW WHERE THE SAFE WAS LOCATED.
OPEN THAT SAFE! DID YOU HEAR WHAT HE SAID?!
Narrator: ACCORDING TO ROSANA, BESIDES HER AND RONALD,
THERE WERE ONLY A HANDFUL OF FOLKS
WHO'D EVER BEEN IN THEIR HOME,
AND MOST OF THEM
WERE RON'S WEALTHY COLLEAGUES FROM THE OIL BIZ
WHO HAD NO MOTIVE TO ROB THEM
AND NO KNOWLEDGE ABOUT THE LOCATION OF THEIR SAFE.
THAT'S WHEN ROSANA OFFERED ANOTHER CRITICAL OBSERVATION.
DID ANYBODY ELSE KNOW ABOUT THAT SAFE
OTHER THAN YOURSELF AND YOUR HUSBAND?
NO, EXCEPT THE BUILDERS.
Piccione: THE SAFE WAS INSTALLED
DURING THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE HOUSE,
SO ANYONE WHO WAS INVOLVED IN THE CONSTRUCTION
WOULD HAVE KNOWN THAT THE SAFE WAS INSTALLED IN THE HOUSE
AND WOULD HAVE KNOWN WHERE IT WAS LOCATED.
Narrator: FOLLOWING UP ON THAT BIT OF INTEL,
DETECTIVES PAID A VISIT TO THE SHAWS' CONTRACTOR --
A LAFAYETTE-BASED BUILDER NAMED ERNEST TOUCHET.
LeBreton: I SPOKE WITH ERNEST TOUCHET
TO GATHER INFORMATION THAT WOULD FOCUS UPON ANY AND ALL PEOPLE
WHO MAY HAVE BEEN INVOLVED IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE HOME.
HOW CAN I HELP YOU?
WELL, WE NEEDED TO ASK YOU A FEW QUESTIONS
ABOUT A SPECIFIC JOB
THAT YOU DID FOR THE SHAWS IN YOUNGSVILLE,
IF YOU REMEMBER THAT JOB.
I DO. I DO.
HE INDICATED THAT HE ACTUALLY HAD TWO GRANDSONS
WHO RESIDE IN THE LAKE CHARLES, LOUISIANA, AREA
THAT WERE EMPLOYED IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE HOME
AT VARIOUS PHASES.
Narrator: ERNEST TOUCHET'S GRANDCHILDREN
WERE NAMED SHANNON AND CHRISTOPHER.
WAS IT POSSIBLE THESE TWO YOUNG MEN
WERE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE *** OF RONALD SHAW?
GIVEN WHAT INVESTIGATORS KNEW ABOUT THEIR GRANDFATHER,
IT SEEMED UNLIKELY.
LeBreton: THE DESCRIPTIONS OF THE SUSPECT
PROVIDED BY ROSANA SHAW,
WHICH WAS THREE BLACK MALES, EACH WEARING SKI MASKS --
ERNEST TOUCHET IS AN OLDER WHITE MALE.
GIVE US A CALL WHEN YOU HAVE THAT INFORMATION.
I WILL. I'LL GIVE YOU A CALL.
THANK YOU.
Narrator: IT APPEARED THE INVESTIGATION
HAD HIT YET ANOTHER DEAD END.
BUT A FEW DAYS LATER, ERNEST TOUCHET
CALLED BACK WITH SOME INFORMATION ABOUT HIS GRANDSONS
HE'D NEGLECTED TO MENTION THE FIRST TIME HE SPOKE TO THEM.
YES. UM...
YOU AND I TALKED THE OTHER DAY.
LeBreton: HE RELATED TO ME THAT HIS GRANDSONS
WERE, IN FACT, LIGHT-COMPLECTED BLACK MALES,
WHICH WAS A DESCRIPTION THAT WOULD MATCH THE SUSPECTS.
MY DAUGHTER WAS INVOLVED IN AN INTERRACIAL MARRIAGE,
AND SHE HAS TWO SONS -- MY GRANDSONS.
Narrator: DETECTIVES ASKED ERNEST TOUCHET
WHERE THEY MIGHT FIND HIS TWO GRANDSONS.
ERNEST TOLD THEM CHRIS AND SHANNON
LIVED WITH THEIR MOTHER IN NEARBY LAKE CHARLES.
ON MARCH 22nd, DETECTIVES
MET SHANNON AND CHRISTOPHER'S MOTHER AT HER HOUSE.
DETECTIVE LeBRETON.
DO YOU MIND IF I TALK TO YOU ABOUT YOUR BOYS?
YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT THEY WERE DOING
ON THE EVENING OF MARCH 18th?
SHE CLAIMED HER YOUNGEST SON, 16-YEAR-OLD CHRISTOPHER,
HAD BEEN AROUND THE HOUSE MOST OF THE DAY.
BUT 17-YEAR-OLD SHANNON HAD BEEN OUT WITH SOME FRIENDS.
WAS KIND OF BURGUNDY...
LeBreton: TO THE BEST OF HER RECOLLECTION,
BETWEEN 5:00 AND 5:30 P.M., SHANNON TOUCHET LEFT THE HOME
AND ENTERED A BURGUNDY CHEVY CORSICA VEHICLE
OCCUPIED BY TWO OTHER BLACK MALES.
Narrator: THE DESCRIPTION OF THE VEHICLE
MATCHED THE ONE SPOTTED IN THE SHAWS' NEIGHBORHOOD
THE NIGHT OF THE ***.
DETECTIVES ASKED SHANNON'S MOTHER
IF SHE KNEW THE OTHER YOUNG MEN IN THE CORSICA.
THAT VEHICLE WAS ALSO OCCUPIED BY THE OTHER BLACK MALES,
WHOM SHE IDENTIFIED
TO BE RONALD BENSON AND REGINALD BASILE.
Narrator: WERE SHANNON TOUCHET, REGINALD BASILE,
AND RONALD BENSON THE TRIO OF SUSPECTED KILLERS
DETECTIVES WERE LOOKING FOR?
THEY DECIDED TO TRACK SHANNON DOWN FOR QUESTIONING.
THANKFULLY, THAT DIDN'T TAKE LONG.
LeBreton: WHILE WE WERE PRESENT
SPEAKING WITH JEANETTE AT THE HOUSE,
SHANNON TOUCHET DROVE UP.
WE INTRODUCED OURSELVES TO SHANNON TOUCHET,
INDICATED THAT WE WOULD LIKE TO SPEAK TO HIM.
WE NEED TO KNOW WHERE YOU WERE ON THE NIGHT OF THE 18th.
YOU NEED TO TELL US THE TRUTH.
Narrator: SHANNON TOLD THEM
HE'D BEEN CRUISING WITH HIS PAL, REGINALD, A FEW NIGHTS EARLIER,
BUT NOT ON MARCH 18th.
WHEN POLICE ASKED SHANNON WHERE HE WAS,
HE INDICATED THAT HE WAS WITH HIS GIRLFRIEND.
I WAS WITH MY GIRLFRIEND.
LeBreton: HIS MOTHER WAS APPARENTLY MISTAKEN
WITH REGARD TO THE DAY OF THE WEEK
THAT HE LEFT WITH HIS FRIENDS.
Piccione: WHEN POLICE SPOKE WITH SHANNON'S GIRLFRIEND,
SHE CORROBORATED THAT SHANNON WAS WITH HER THAT NIGHT.
Narrator: IT LOOKED AS IF DETECTIVES WERE ON THE VERGE
OF QUESTIONING AND RELEASING YET ANOTHER SUSPECT,
BUT JUST AS THEY WERE ABOUT TO GO,
SOMETHING CAUGHT THEIR ATTENTION.
SAY, CAN I SEE THE BOTTOM OF YOUR SHOE, THERE?
MIND IF WE GET A COUPLE OF PICTURES OF YOUR SHOES?
I HAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO VIEW THE SOLES OF HIS SHOES,
AND IT WAS APPARENT TO ME THE TREAD PATTERN
APPEARED TO BE SIMILAR TO THAT OF THE SHOE IMPRESSIONS
FROM OUTSIDE OF THE SHAW RESIDENCE.
I ASKED HIM FOR PERMISSION TO SEARCH HIS PERSON.
HE AGREED TO IT,
AND I PHOTOGRAPHED AND COLLECTED HIS SHOES.
Narrator: WAS THE MATCHING SHOE PRINT MERELY A COINCIDENCE
OR PROOF THAT SHANNON TOUCHET
HAD BEEN AT THE SHAW RESIDENCE THE NIGHT OF THE CRIME?
Narrator: UNTIL FORENSICS COULD EXAMINE THE SHOES,
THERE WAS NO WAY TO SAY FOR SURE.
AND AS THE EVENING SUN VANISHED
AND DARKNESS CREPT ACROSS THE BAYOU,
DETECTIVES WONDERED,
WERE THEY RUNNING DOWN ANOTHER DEAD-END LEAD,
OR WERE THEY FINALLY HOT ON THE HEELS OF RONALD SHAW'S KILLERS?
TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THE DARK SIDE OF THE CITY,
GO TO investigationdiscovery.com.
Narrator: SHROUDED IN FOG
AND CAMOUFLAGED IN A VEIL
OF GNARLED CYPRESS AND SPANISH MOSS,
THE SWAMPS SURROUNDING LAFAYETTE
ARE DARK, MYSTERIOUS...
EVIL, SOME MIGHT SAY.
BUT IN 1998, THE BIGGEST MYSTERY IN SOUTH LOUISIANA
IS THE UNSOLVED SHOOTING DEATH OF RONALD SHAW.
AFTER RECEIVING A TIP,
INVESTIGATORS WERE CIRCLING AROUND A NEW SUSPECT --
17-YEAR-OLD SHANNON TOUCHET.
LeBreton: THIS SUSPECT WOULD FIT THE PROFILE
BECAUSE HE WOULD HAVE KNOWLEDGE OF THE CONTENTS OF THE HOUSE,
INCLUDING THE SAFE.
Narrator: DETECTIVES NOTICED SHANNON'S SNEAKERS
HAD A SIMILAR TREAD PATTERN
TO SOME OF THE FOOTPRINTS FOUND AT THE CRIME SCENE.
THEY COLLECTED SHANNON'S SHOES
AND SENT THEM TO THE LAB FOR PROCESSING.
A COUPLE DAYS LATER, THEY GOT THEIR RESULTS.
LeBreton: THE CRIME LAB
REPORTS THAT THE SHOE IMPRESSIONS
FROM THE CRIME SCENE,
WHEN COMPARED TO SHANNON TOUCHET'S ACTUAL SHOES
MATCHED PERFECTLY BY SIZE AND PATTERN.
Narrator: IT SEEMED DETECTIVES
WERE CLOSING IN ON ONE OF THE PERPETRATORS,
BUT INVESTIGATORS WOULD NEED MORE EVIDENCE
BEFORE THEY COULD MAKE AN ARREST.
SO THE NEXT DAY, INVESTIGATORS ROUNDED UP THE TWO YOUNG MEN
SHANNON'S MOTHER CLAIMED HE'D BEEN HANGING OUT WITH
THE NIGHT OF THE CRIME --
RONALD BENSON AND REGINALD BASILE.
IF COPS WERE HOPING FOR A CONFESSION, THEY DIDN'T GET IT.
THEY ALL DENIED ANY INVOLVEMENT IN ANY ROBBERY OR ***.
Narrator: DETECTIVES WEREN'T TAKING ANY CHANCES.
THEY COLLECTED DNA SAMPLES FROM BOTH BASILE AND BENSON
AND THEN DROVE OUT TO SHANNON TOUCHET'S HOUSE
TO SWAB HIM, AS WELL.
POLICE SENT THE SAMPLES TO THE CRIME LAB,
HOPING THEY COULD BE COMPARED TO THE RED SKI MASK
K-9 OFFICERS HAD FOUND NEAR THE SHAW RESIDENCE.
A STAIN ON THE MASK NEAR THE MOUTH AREA
THAT THE CHEMIST BELIEVED TO BE EITHER SALIVA OR SWEAT
DID GENERATE A DNA PROFILE.
THE DNA PROFILE
DEVELOPED FROM THE SALIVA COLLECTED FROM RONALD BENSON
MATCHED DNA ON THE RED SKI MASK.
Narrator: BASED ON THE POSITIVE DNA TEST,
A DISTRICT COURT IN LAFAYETTE PARISH ISSUED ARREST WARRANTS
FOR SHANNON TOUCHET, RONALD BENSON,
AND REGINALD BASILE.
WE EXECUTED THEM SIMULTANEOUSLY, AS WELL,
WITH THE ASSISTANCE OF THE LAKE CHARLES POLICE DEPARTMENT.
Narrator: HAULED BACK TO THE STATION
AND CONFRONTED WITH THE EVIDENCE CONNECTING HIM TO THE CRIME,
REGINALD BASILE STARTED SINGING LIKE A CANARY.
BASILE ADMITTED HIS INVOLVEMENT IN THE ROBBERY
AND IMPLICATED SHANNON TOUCHET AND RONALD BENSON.
Narrator: WITH THEIR PAL REGINALD BASILE
POINTING THE FINGER AT THEM,
IT DIDN'T TAKE LONG
FOR SHANNON TOUCHET AND RONALD BENSON
TO OFFER THEIR OWN VERSIONS OF HOW THE *** WENT DOWN.
LeBreton: EACH ONE MINIMIZED HIS INVOLVEMENT.
YOU KNOW, HE WASN'T THE SHOOTER.
HE TRIED TO DEPICT HIMSELF AS THE ONE LEAST INVOLVED.
WE WAS JUST CHILLING.
Narrator: BY BLAMING EACH OTHER, THE TEENS
UNWITTINGLY HELPED POLICE PAINT A DETAILED PICTURE
OF PRECISELY HOW THE CRIME UNFOLDED.
ACCORDING TO ALL THREE TEENS,
THE ORIGINAL INTENT WAS TO BREAK INTO THE SHAWS' HOME
AND ROB THEIR BATHROOM SAFE.
IT WAS AN AMBUSH-STYLE HEIST
SHANNON TOUCHET HAD BEEN PLANNING
EVER SINCE HE'D HELPED INSTALL THE SAFE
WHILE WORKING ON HIS GRANDFATHER'S CONSTRUCTION CREW.
MR. TOUCHET CONCOCTED A PLAN TO TRAVEL TO LAFAYETTE
AND TO ROB THE SHAWS OF THE BELONGINGS IN THAT SECRET SAFE.
IS THAT THEM?
Murray: MR. SHAW AND HIS WIFE, ROSANA,
DROVE HOME FROM THE STORE.
THEY DROVE INTO THEIR DRIVEWAY.
AND JUST AS THEY EXITED THEIR CAR,
THE PERPETRATORS CAME OUT FROM BEHIND THE GARAGE.
Narrator: ACCORDING TO SHANNON TOUCHET,
THE PLAN NEVER INCLUDED ***.
BUT WHEN THE SHAWS ROUNDED THE CORNER,
A TRIGGER-HAPPY RONALD BENSON OPENED FIRE.
Piccione: SHANNON THOUGHT THIS WAS JUST GONNA BE A ROBBERY.
DID NOT THINK ANYBODY WAS GONNA GET HURT.
OF COURSE, THAT ALL BLEW UP IN HIS FACE
WHEN THE MAN HE WAS WITH STARTED SHOOTING.
[ GUNSHOTS ]
Narrator: *** MIGHT NOT HAVE BEEN PART OF THE PLAN,
BUT THE THREE TEENS
WERE DETERMINED TO FINISH WHAT THEY STARTED,
PARTICULARLY REGINALD BASILE.
POINTING HIS GUN AT ROSANA,
HE ORDERED HER TO TAKE THEM TO THE SAFE.
LeBreton: THE SAFE WAS OPENED,
SHANNON RUNS BACK TO THE CAR, PICKS THEM UP,
AND THEY DRIVE BACK TO LAKE CHARLES,
THROWING OUT AS MUCH EVIDENCE AS THEY COULD THINK OF.
Narrator: AS FOR THE CONTENTS OF THE SAFE,
THE TEENS CLAIMED THEY STOLE ABOUT $5,000 IN CASH
AND SOME JEWELRY.
Don: SO MUCH WAS LOST FOR SUCH LITTLE GAIN.
THEY DIDN'T GET ENOUGH MONEY FROM KILLING MY BROTHER
THAT EACH ONE OF THEM COULD HAVE EARNED IN A WEEK.
YET THE DEVASTATION TO THE FAMILIES --
IT'S JUST UNBELIEVABLE.
Narrator: THE NEXT DAY, NEWS OF THE THREE ARRESTS
WAS SPLASHED ACROSS THE LAFAYETTE PAPER.
THE REVELATION THAT ONE OF THE TOWN'S MOST PROMINENT CITIZENS
HAD BEEN MURDERED OVER A MEASLY FIVE GRAND
RIPPED THROUGH LAFAYETTE LIKE A FLASH FLOOD.
I THINK IT MADE PEOPLE
FEEL AS IF WHAT THEY THOUGHT WAS TRUE ABOUT THEIR TOWN
WAS SUDDENLY COMPLETELY DIFFERENT FROM REALITY.
Narrator: STARING AT LIFE SENTENCES OR WORSE,
BOTH SHANNON TOUCHET AND REGINALD BASILE
COPPED PLEA DEALS IN HOPES OF MORE LENIENT SENTENCES.
BUT RONALD BENSON DECIDED TO TAKE HIS CHANCES AT TRIAL.
THANKS TO THE TESTIMONY OF TOUCHET AND BASILE,
THE JURY FOUND BENSON GUILTY
AND SENTENCED HIM TO LIFE WITHOUT PAROLE.
SHANNON TOUCHET AND REGINALD BASILE
RECEIVED SIMILAR SENTENCES,
DESPITE TESTIFYING AGAINST RONALD BENSON.
THREE OF THEM GOT LIFE WITHOUT THE POSSIBILITY OF PAROLE.
THREE TEENAGERS THAT WE'LL HAVE TO SUPPORT THEM
IN THE PENAL INSTITUTION FOR THE REST OF THEIR NATURAL LIFE.
Narrator: WHILE THE VERDICT BROUGHT COMFORT TO SOME,
IT DIDN'T CHANGE THE FACT
THAT ROSANA SHAW HAD LOST THE LOVE OF HER LIFE,
NOT TO MENTION HER DAUGHTER
WILL GROW UP NEVER KNOWING HER FATHER.
Rosana: IT'S JUST NOT FAIR.
WHO ARE THEY TO DECIDE TO CHANGE ALL THESE PEOPLE'S LIFE?
NOT ONLY MINE -- MY BABY'S,
MY LATE HUSBAND'S FRIENDS AND PARTNERS AND EXTENDED FAMILY.
WHO ARE THEY, YOU KNOW?
IT'S JUST NOT FAIR.
Narrator: AS FOR THE CITY OF LAFAYETTE,
MOST FOLKS HERE CONSIDER THE CASE AN ABERRATION --
A RARE AND ISOLATED TRAGEDY
THAT SHOULDN'T TARNISH THE CITY'S WELL-EARNED REPUTATION
AS THE FUN-LOVING CAPITAL OF CAJUN COUNTRY.
BUT STOP ANYONE AND MENTION THE NAME RONALD SHAW,
AND YOU'LL DISCOVER THAT NO AMOUNT
OF SUCCULENT CRAWFISH, BOOT-SCOOTIN' ZYDECO,
OR BIG-OIL MONEY
WILL EVER FULLY ERASE
WHAT HAPPENED THAT FATEFUL MARCH NIGHT.
Lee: I DON'T THINK ANYONE
WOULD EVER TAKE FOR GRANTED THEIR OWN SECURITY
AFTER WHAT HAPPENED WITH THIS CASE.