Do you know who murdered Carol Ann Cole in 1980? In the quiet wooded landscape of Bossier Parish, Louisiana, a grim discovery on January 28, 1981, began a mystery that would span more than three decades. The body of a young white female, believed to be between 15 and 21 years old, was found concealed by trees. An autopsy later revealed she had been brutally stabbed at least eight times in the chest and neck and had been deceased for approximately four to seven weeks.
With no identification found at the scene, she became known only as 'Bossier Doe,' her true name and story lost to the silence of the woods.
For 34 years, her identity remained a haunting question for investigators. The breakthrough finally came in March 2015, when advancements in DNA technology confirmed that Bossier Doe was, in fact, 17-year-old Carol Ann Cole of Kalamazoo, Michigan. Carol had run away from a girls' home in Texas in 1980 and her family had tirelessly searched for her, never giving up hope. The last time her family heard from her was in December 1980, when she made a collect call from Shreveport, not far from where her body would later be discovered.
The investigation into her murder has been fraught with twists and turns. Not long after the discovery of her body, convicted serial killer Henry Lee Lucas confessed to the crime, but his confession was later proven to be false, a common occurrence in his history of unreliable admissions. More recently, a compelling person of interest has emerged: John Chesson Sr., the very man who reported finding Carol's body while hunting with his children. Chesson's own daughter, Frances Aucoin, has since come forward, stating her belief that her father was responsible for Carol's death. She claims he picked up a hitchhiking Carol and that he led his children to the body to feign an innocent discovery.
Chesson, who was later convicted and sentenced to life in prison for a separate 1997 murder, was named a person of interest in Carol's case. Despite his daughter's statements and his violent criminal history, a grand jury declined to indict him for Carol's murder in 2015 due to a lack of sufficient evidence. John Chesson Sr. died in prison in late 2016, taking any secrets he may have had about the death of Carol Ann Cole to his grave. To this day, Carol Cole's murder remains officially unsolved, and no arrests have been made.
