In the quiet town of Carencro, Louisiana, the life of 38-year-old Faith Manley was tragically cut short on the evening of Monday, November 16, 2020. What unfolded inside her home on Meadowvale Drive was a devastating act of violence that left a community in mourning and a family forever changed. Authorities would later describe the incident as a murder-suicide.
That evening, around 7 p.m., the tranquility of the neighborhood was shattered.
Inside the residence, Faith Manley was found with a fatal gunshot wound in what investigators deemed a homicide. Also found deceased was James Manley, aged 40, who died from what appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
The horror of the event was compounded by the presence of three children, ages 14, 12, and 11, who were in the home at the time. In a harrowing act of survival, the children hid in a bedroom closet during the incident and were physically unharmed. When police officers arrived at the scene, they were met at the door by the children, who recounted the events that had transpired. A third adult male was also discovered at the location with a gunshot wound to the back; he was treated by medical personnel.
Faith Manley, a native of Palmetto, had been a resident of Carencro for the past year. She was a dedicated respiratory therapist at Lafayette General Medical Center for 14 years and an active member of the First United Pentecostal Church in Opelousas, where she was involved with the music team and various youth activities. Remembered as a woman of deep faith with a great sense of humor, she was a nurturing and fierce protector of her children. In the wake of the tragedy, a GoFundMe campaign was established by her niece to help with moving costs and other financial needs for her four children. The investigation into the murder-suicide was handled by the Carencro Police Department, with the preliminary findings from the Lafayette Parish Coroner's Office confirming the cause of deaths.
