In the quiet town of Eunice, Louisiana, a family was shattered by violence on a Tuesday evening in September. Benjamin Hurks, a 35-year-old male, was found deceased in an apartment located in the 800 block of South Beulah Street. The discovery was made after police were called to the residence at approximately 8 p.m. on September 8, 2020.
Upon their arrival, officers were met with a tragic scene.
Benjamin Hurks was found slumped over a sofa bed, having sustained a fatal gunshot wound to the head. A representative from the St. Landry Parish Coroner's Office pronounced him dead at the scene. Investigators recovered a. 380 caliber semi-automatic handgun from the apartment.
Also present in the apartment was Benjamin's brother, 29-year-old Jonah Gobert. He was found crying loudly in the same room where his brother lay deceased. While the motive for the shooting was not immediately clear, the investigation quickly focused on Gobert as the primary suspect.
In a turn of events, before he could be formally booked on charges related to his brother's death, Jonah Gobert was transported to Acadian Medical Center and later transferred to a hospital in New Orleans for an unrelated medical issue. However, law enforcement had already secured a warrant for his arrest in connection with a separate incident that occurred on August 23rd at the same apartment complex. In that earlier event, Gobert was accused of criminal damage to property, simple assault, and aggravated battery, which is a felony offense. He allegedly punched an individual in the jaw, threatened them with a gun, and struck their vehicle with a pipe. Authorities had been actively seeking him since that incident.
Following his release from the hospital, Jonah Gobert was taken into custody. In November 2020, a St. Landry Parish Grand Jury indicted him on a charge of second-degree murder for the death of his brother, Benjamin Hurks.
