2009 has ended but not without setting a record for murders in Baton Rouge. We had 75 homicides in 2009 in Baton Rouge . That is up 12% over 2008′s figure of 67 murders. This figure represents the number of murders in the city limits of Baton Rouge, not the entire metropolitan area of East Baton Rouge Parish. The 2009 murder rate represents the highest number of murders in 10 years. The previous high since 1999 was 72 in 2007 and the lowest was 41 in 2003. Here are the figures for the last decade:

UPDATED at 6:45pm: Gerald Bordelon has been executed by lethal injection.

Gerald Bordelon, 47, is scheduled to be put to death by injection at the Louisiana State Penitentiary between 6 p.m. and 9 p.m. for murdering his 12-year-old stepdaughter, Courtney LeBlanc, in 2002. According to officials from the Livingston Parish DA’s Office on up to the Governor’s Office, it doesn’t appear that there will be any attempt to stop the execution. Bordelon waived his appeals after his conviction and stated that he was ready to die for his crimes.

At the time he murdered Courtney Leblanc, Bordelon was out on parole from a previous sex crime. He kidnapped, raped and then murdered Leblanc. Bordelon was on the run for 11 days after the crime, but was apprehended by police at which time he led them to Leblanc’s body. It was located on the west bank of the Amite River under the 190 bridge. In his videotaped confession, he said that he abducted LeBlanc from his ex wife’s home with a knife and took her to Mississippi and raped her. Bordelon then took her back to Louisiana and killed her by strangulation.

When Governor Jindal was asked if he planned to intervene, he was quoted saying “In Louisiana, as across this country, the death penalty is reserved for only the most heinous, the most violent, the most atrocious crimes. I think justice will be done Thursday night.”

Bordelon will be the first person executed in Louisiana since 2002.

According to Baton Rouge Police Public Information Officials, the Baton Rouge Police have taken an alleged serial killer into custody as of this time. Jeffrey Lee Guillory is charged with the murders of three women (see below for details). Guillory has been incarcerated on unrelated charges since January of 2008.  Guillory has remained a suspect in the murder of Sylvia Cobb because his fingerprint was found at the scene.  According to this link from Baton Rouge Crime Stoppers, Guillory was taken into custody on January 25, 2008 after being wanted by Lafayette PD for Attempted First Degree Murder. A news conference is scheduled tomorrow morning at the Metro Council Chambers, regarding this incident. Below is a list of the 3 victims allegedly murdered by Guillory.

Victims:

1) Florida Edwards, B/F 36
Details: Edwards was found strangled in the long-abandoned Dynasty Lounge in the 1100 block of North Blvd. on 2/20/99 after an anonymous caller reported her body. She had been dead 24 hours or less. Edwards’ slaying may be related to the killings of other black women in their 30s and 40s around the same time. Some of those women were prostitutes.

2) Sylvia Cobb, B/F 36
Details: Cobb was found beaten to death in an abandoned house at 681 North Acadian Thruway West on 7/25/01.

3) Renee Newman, B/F 46
Details: Newman was found strangled and dumped behind the old Maison Blanche department store on Laurel Street on 4/11/02. She was last seen the day before when she got a call and left home. She was dressed and there was no evidence of sexual assault.

Renee Newman

Sylvia Cobb

Dangelique Duheart Russ, 41, 5443 Hermitage, was arrested this morning for Public Bribery. Russ is accused of offering money to a shooting victim who was shot by her son, Denako Duheart, 24, on November 21, 2009 in the 2100 block of Chippewa around 9:00pm. Denako Duheart was arrested on November 28, 2009 and charged with Attempted 2nd Murder. It was learned that Russ approached the victim between December 1 – 3, 2009 offering money in exchange for charges to be dropped against her son. Denako Duheart is still in East Baton Rouge Parish Prison awaiting trial.

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Cpl. L’Jean Mckneely Jr
Office of Media Relations; Baton Rouge Police Department

Here is the full story at 2theadvocate.com.

The case of Jan Waters who is accused of killing her ex-husband Alan Waters in 2004 seems to have stalled out. It has been over 5 years since the murder and Waters, who was arrested and charged with the crime, is out on bail.

Detectives conducted an unconstitutional interrogation of Waters, a judge ruled. State District Judge Mike Erwin ruled the questioning of Jan Waters was unconstitutional because there was no proof she received her Miranda warnings before being questioned. Erwin also ruled the questioning was unconstitutional because Waters asked a lawyer friend, Tim Burgmeier, to accompany her into the interrogation room, but East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff’s Office detectives did not allow it.

A hearing is scheduled for August 1st to see if jurors will be allowed to hear the statements obtained by detectives during her questioning. The prosecutor in the case, Brent Stockstill said he doesn’t even intend to use Waters’ statement at the trial because it didn’t even contain any significant information. According to Stockstill, Waters stands to inherit a $6 million estate and has lawyers who are doing everything they can to delay the case.

Waters’ story is that she was on her way to New Orleans and in a Kenner hotel and restaurant when deputies say her husband was killed. Her cell phone records and some receipts prove that she was at the Comfort Suites hotel on O’Neal Lane, about 4 miles from where her husband was killed.