In the quiet community of Lacassine, a tragic story unfolded in the late days of 2018, forever altering the lives of a beloved local couple. Darlene Cecelia Gotreaux, a 70-year-old female, and her husband, Walter, were tragically found deceased in their home on Sunday, December 16, 2018. The couple, who were active members of St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church, had been fatally shot multiple times in their bedroom.
The discovery was made by sheriff's deputies who were conducting a
welfare check at their residence on U.S. 90. A concerned farmhand who worked for the couple had been unable to reach them and alerted the authorities. The farmhand had last seen the couple alive in the early hours of that Sunday morning, having driven them home from church. He reported that everything seemed normal when he left them. The motive for the double homicide appeared to be robbery, and authorities at the time assured the community that it seemed to be a targeted act against the Gotreaux family.
The investigation into the deaths of Darlene and Walter Gotreaux led to the arrests of two men, Jordan Alexander Legros of Welsh and Javari Wayne Guidry of Houston. Initially facing second-degree murder charges, both men would later plead guilty to the lesser charge of manslaughter in September 2024. As part of a plea agreement, Legros was sentenced to serve 20 years for manslaughter and 35 years for obstruction of justice, with the sentences to run concurrently.
A third individual, Kyra Todriana Shillow of Lake Charles, was also implicated in the case. In September 2021, she was arrested on a warrant for accessory after the fact to second-degree murder and obstruction of justice, adding another layer to the nearly six-year-long pursuit of justice for Darlene and Walter Gotreaux.
