Nearly four years ago I set out for Houma, La. with a new reporter at The Times named James Ramage. Our goal was to look into the possibility of a serial killer preying on male prostitutes and drug addicts across South Louisiana.
Today that man was convicted for the first set of deaths and sentenced to eight life sentences in prison.
It's strange, I had nearly forgotten about the project until I read the headline today in a Houma Courier email (an email I had signed up to receive when we were working on the story and just never cancelled).
I still haven't finished reading all the back stories, but it seems that most of the men we suspected of being victims have been confirmed to be among Ronald Dominque's 23 victims.
In fact Octavia Jones (pictured above) is now said to be related to four of the victims. We originally only knew that her nephew August Terrill Watkins was among the dead.
It was a sad, creepy week. We talked to people who had lost friends years ago and those who had lost them recently. We even attended the funeral service for the most recent victim.
I am sad that my paper at the time didn't see the importance in continuing to follow the story, but at the same time I am thrilled that Houma and Terrebonne parish are safer places to be.
For more information on the killings visit www.houmatoday.com
