In May of 2018, the family of Bowen Dewey Soulier grew worried. They had not seen or heard from the 43-year-old male from Pearl River, Louisiana, since the previous Friday. Their concern prompted them to file a missing person's report on a Tuesday morning. By that afternoon, their worst fears were realized when a driver traveling along Oller Road in a rural part of Tangipahoa Parish noticed something unsettling in a nearby wooded area.
It was the body of Bowen Soulier.
The investigation into Soulier's death quickly uncovered a tragic story of a meeting gone horribly wrong. Detectives learned that Soulier had made plans to meet with 27-year-old Kayla Rodrigue in Tickfaw. However, when he arrived, he was ambushed by two men, 25-year-old Cody Powell and 19-year-old Darwin Dugger, who had planned to rob him. A struggle broke out, and during the confrontation, one of the men shot and killed Soulier.
Following the fatal shooting, the assailants placed Soulier's body in his own green Ford F-150 pickup truck. They drove a short distance before dumping his body on the side of the road near the corner of Oller and North Oller Road, where he would later be discovered. After disposing of the body, they drove the stolen truck to the parish line in Uneedus and set it ablaze in an attempt to destroy evidence.
The Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff's Office moved swiftly, and within a day of finding Soulier's body, they had three suspects in custody. Cody Powell and Kayla Rodrigue were apprehended in the early morning hours at a motel in Hammond. A short time later, Darwin Dugger was located at a residence in Independence. All three were arrested in connection with the crime. Cody Powell and Darwin Dugger were charged with first-degree murder, armed robbery, and obstruction of justice. Kayla Rodrigue was charged with principal to first-degree murder, principal to armed robbery, and obstruction of justice for her role in the fatal encounter.
