On a tragic day in January 2019, the lives of the Ernest family of Livingston Parish, Louisiana, were irrevocably shattered. Tanner McKenzie Ernest, a 17-year-old male, along with his 20-year-old sister, Summer, and their 43-year-old father, Billy, were fatally shot in their home. The perpetrator of this horrific act was 21-year-old Dakota Theriot, who had been in a relationship with Summer and had been residing with the family.
The grim events unfolded on the morning of January 26,
2019. After being asked to leave his own parents' home, Theriot had been taken in by the Ernest family. On that fateful Saturday, for reasons that remain unsettling, Theriot turned a gun on the family that had offered him shelter. After killing Tanner, Summer, and Billy Ernest, Theriot fled the scene in Billy Ernest's pickup truck. His violent rampage did not end there. He then drove to his parents' home in nearby Ascension Parish and shot them as well. His father was able to identify his son as the shooter before succumbing to his injuries.
A multi-state manhunt for Theriot ensued, culminating in his arrest in Virginia the following day. He was found at his grandmother's residence and was taken into custody without incident. The investigation that followed painted a grim picture of a troubled young man with a history of domestic abuse and mental health struggles.
In January 2023, Dakota Theriot pleaded guilty to five counts of first-degree murder. As part of a plea agreement that spared him the death penalty, he was sentenced to five concurrent life sentences in prison, without the possibility of parole. The families of the victims expressed a sense of relief that the legal chapter of their nightmare had come to a close, though the pain of their loss remains.
