In the winter of 2015, the life of 20-year-old Philip Aaron Soignier, a male from West Monroe, Louisiana, was tragically cut short. Known for his passion for music and talent for playing the drums, Philip was a graduate of the Vanguard Academy in Winterhaven, Florida, and was pursuing an accounting degree at Delta Community College. His family reported him missing on February 9, 2015, after not hearing from him for several weeks, sparking a period of anxious uncertainty.
The search for
Philip ended in heartbreak on March 3, 2015, when his body was discovered in a secluded, wooded area between Ouachita and Caldwell Parishes. The investigation that followed painted a grim picture of his final days. Authorities determined that Philip had been abducted from a local Walmart and taken to a residence on Red Cut Loop Road. There, he was held at gunpoint before being fatally shot. His captors then disposed of his body in the woods, where it remained for approximately a month before being found.
The motive behind this violent act was believed to be a dispute involving a car title and narcotics. The investigation led to the arrests of six individuals in connection with the crime. Justin W. Rhodes, Christina Nicole Brown, Robert B. Malanders, Sierra M. Collins, Jeffery D. Osborne, and Stacie Lynn Shaw were taken into custody. The charges brought against them were severe, including second-degree murder, aggravated kidnapping, and obstruction of justice, reflecting the brutal nature of the crime.
In April 2015, a grand jury indicted the six suspects, and the wheels of justice began to turn. As the legal process unfolded, one of the accused, Robert Malanders, accepted a plea deal in August 2017. He pleaded guilty to manslaughter and received a sentence of 20 years of hard labor. The remaining suspects, including Justin Rhodes, Sierra Collins, Stacie Shaw, Jeffery Osborne, and Christina Brown, faced a range of serious charges, from second-degree murder to aggravated kidnapping and accessory after the fact, as the community sought answers and closure for the senseless loss of a young man's life.
