On a tragic day in January 2019, 43-year-old Billy Don Ernest was killed in a violent shooting spree that spanned two Louisiana parishes. A male victim, Ernest, found his life cut short in what would become a widely reported crime. The events unfolded as part of a deadly rampage that claimed the lives of four other individuals, leaving a community in shock and mourning.
The suspect in these brutal killings was identified as Dakota Theriot, who was 21 years old at the time of the
incident. Theriot had been in a relationship with Billy Ernest's 20-year-old daughter, Summer Ernest. Reports indicate that Theriot had been residing with the Ernest family for a few weeks prior to the shootings after his parents had asked him to leave their home. On the morning of January 26, 2019, Theriot fatally shot Billy Ernest, his daughter Summer, and his 17-year-old son, Tanner, at their home in Livingston Parish. Following these initial acts of violence, Theriot then traveled to Ascension Parish where he continued his rampage, killing his own parents, Keith and Elizabeth Theriot.
After the shootings, a manhunt for Dakota Theriot was launched. He was considered armed and dangerous and had fled in a stolen vehicle. The search came to an end the following day when law enforcement officers apprehended him in Virginia. Theriot was subsequently extradited back to Louisiana to face charges for the murders.
In January 2023, Dakota Theriot pleaded guilty to five counts of first-degree murder. As a result of his guilty plea, he was sentenced to five concurrent life sentences in prison without the possibility of parole. The decision to accept a plea agreement and avoid a death penalty trial was made in consideration of Theriot's documented history of psychological issues and with the consent of the victims' families, who expressed a desire for closure. The legal proceedings brought a conclusion to the case, ensuring that Theriot would spend the remainder of his life incarcerated for his devastating actions.
