In the early morning hours of June 21, 2016, a grim discovery was made in Lafayette Parish, Louisiana. Firefighters responded to a vehicle fire on Disette Road in Carencro, and after extinguishing the blaze, they found the body of 22-year-old Brouklynn Walter Hill inside the scorched car. Just a couple of hours later, a second burned vehicle was found a short distance away on Old Spanish Trail in Scott, containing the remains of 23-year-old Ashley Nicole Metz.
The shocking and brutal nature of their deaths sent ripples of fear and concern through the community.
Investigators with the Lafayette Parish Sheriff's Department quickly determined that both Hill and Metz had been shot before the vehicles were set on fire. The case was immediately treated as a double homicide, and detectives began the arduous task of piecing together the events that led to the two young people's violent demise. The connection between Hill and Metz was established, with reports identifying Hill as Metz's boyfriend.
The investigation swiftly led to the identification of two suspects. Joshua Willis, 32, and Joseph Sylvester, 19, both from Lafayette, were arrested in connection with the murders. They were each charged with two counts of first-degree murder for the deaths of Brouklynn Walter Hill and Ashley Nicole Metz. Following their arrests, both men were booked into the Lafayette Parish Correctional Center and held without bond. A grand jury later indicted both Willis and Sylvester on the two counts of first-degree murder, setting the stage for a trial where prosecutors could potentially seek the death penalty.
