Episode 537: Ronald Dominique: The Bayou Strangler (Part 1)
Morbid
The Overlooked Victims
This chapter discusses the misrepresentation of marginalized men and boys of color as victims of a serial killer. It also recounts the discovery of a new victim and raises the issue of how language used in public statements can affect public response and assistance.
In the spring of 2005, law enforcement officials in southern Louisiana had a growing number of murder victims they had begun to suspect were connected to an unidentified serial killer operating in the area. The victims were all men, mostly in their twenties and thirties, many had histories of drug and alcohol abuse or were known to police as sex-workers, and all had been strangled and dumped in secondary locations.
Over the course of a decade, Ronald Dominique developed into one of the worst and most prolific serial killers in American history; yet his story and those of his victims remains largely unknown and ignored by the mainstream media.
Thank you to the Incredible Dave White of Bring Me the Axe & 99 Cent Renal Podcasts for research!
References
Alford, Jeremy. 2005. New information coming soon in local murders. August 24. Accessed March 29, 2023. https://www.houmatoday.com/story/news/2005/08/24/new-information-coming-soon-in-local-murders/27020266007/.
Armstrong, Shell. 2007. Dominique pleads not guilty to 9 murders. January 17. Accessed March 29, 2023. https://www.houmatimes.com/news/dominique-pleads-not-guilty-to-9-murders/.
Associated Press. 2005. "Man found in Lafource Parish was from Houma area." Abberville Meridional, May 3: 2.
—. 2005. "Deaths od five south Lousiana men may be linked, police say." Shreveport Times, April 25: 12.
—. 1999. "La. deaths may be work of serial killer." Shreveport Times, June 23: 5B.
—. 2006. "Police look for links between serial suspect, priest's death." Shreveport Times, December 9: 22.
—. 2006. "Arrest made in serial-killer investigation." Town Talk, December 2: 17.
—. 2006. "Serial murder suspect was average Joe, says shelter residents." Town Talk, December 3: 8.
DeSantis, John. 2006. Accused lived on the fringe of two worlds. December 4. Accessed March 26, 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20210128012212/https://www.houmatoday.com/article/DA/20061204/News/608089983/HC.
Hunter, Michelle. 2006. "Serial-killer suspect confesses; Trysts led to rapes, strangling, cops told." Times-Picatune, December 6.
L'observateur. 1999. Beaten teen’s body discovered in Kenner. October 26. Accessed March 27, 2023. https://www.lobservateur.com/1998/10/26/beaten-teens-body-discovered-in-kenner/.
—. 1999. Two deaths reclassified as murders in St. Charles Parish. Fdebruary 6. Accessed March 27, 2023. https://www.lobservateur.com/1999/02/06/two-deaths-reclassified-as-murders-in-st-charles-parish/.
Morris, Robert. 2006. Mother protests dead son’s link to serial killer. June 19. Accessed March 26, 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20210131004921/https://www.houmatoday.com/article/DA/20060619/News/608089995/HC.
Ramage, James. 2005. "Serial killer theory floats around cases." Shreveport Times, May 15: 1.
Rosen, Fred. 2017. The Bayou Strangler. New York, NY: Open Road Media.
—. 2018. Uncovering the Truth Behind One of the Bayou Strangler’s Victims. April 10. Accessed March 27, 2023. https://the-line-up.com/uncovering-the-truth-behind-one-of-the-bayou-stranglers-victims.
St. Charles Heral-Guide. 2006. Mother’s tears for son killed by serial madman Dominique. 12 06. Accessed March 27, 2023. https://www.heraldguide.com/tragedy/mothers-tears-for-son-killed-by-serial-madman-dominique/.
The Daily Review. 2002. "Houma man's body found." Daily Review, October 17: 6.
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
The AI-powered Podcast Player
