Victor Paul Martin

In the summer of 2018, the community of Lacassine, Louisiana, was unsettled by the violent death of one of its own. Victor Paul Martin, a 33-year-old Caucasian man, was fatally shot on June 28, 2018. The events leading to his death began to unfold when the Jefferson Davis Parish Sheriff's Office received a report of a possible shooting at Martin's home on Melanson Road. Upon their arrival, deputies were met with a crime scene, but Martin was nowhere to be found.

The investigation quickly led authorities to a residence in the nearby city of Lake Charles, where they discovered additional evidence connected to the case. The search for Victor Paul Martin came to a grim conclusion early the next morning when deputies returned to Melanson Road and located his body. An acquaintance, Matthew Clement Markwood of Lake Charles, was later identified as the suspect in Martin's death. Markwood was accused of shooting Martin multiple times with a shotgun while Martin was on his own porch. Following the shooting, Markwood allegedly used his truck to move Martin's body to a wooded area near his own property at the end of Melanson Road.

The legal proceedings that followed brought a resolution that left Victor Martin's family feeling a profound sense of injustice. Nearly five years after the killing, Matthew Clement Markwood, who was 38 at the time of the plea, entered a no-contest plea to a reduced charge of manslaughter. As part of the plea agreement, a charge of obstruction of justice was dismissed. Markwood was sentenced to 20 years in prison, though it is likely he will serve only 15 years with credit for time already served.

Martin's family expressed their frustration and disappointment with the downgraded charges, stating that they felt let down by the justice system. A cousin of Martin, speaking on behalf of the family, described the crime as 'nasty' and 'gruesome,' not a simple fight that had gotten out of hand. The family was informed that Markwood had confessed to the crime, but his account of the events reportedly changed over time as he attempted to shift blame. The family believes they may never know the full truth of what transpired on that fateful day, as only two people were present, and only one survived.