In the winter of 2015, the life of 37-year-old Chad Nichols, a White male from Donaldsonville, Louisiana, was tragically cut short. On the evening of January 26th, Nichols and another man, 29-year-old Benny Booker, were found shot to death on Latino Road. The discovery marked the beginning of a complex investigation into a brutal double murder that would eventually lead detectives to suspects in New Orleans.
Investigators with the Ascension Parish Sheriff's Office uncovered evidence
suggesting the motive for the killings was drug-related. Inside Nichols' home, they found heroin, pointing to a potential connection to the narcotics trade. Further examination of the crime scene revealed shell casings that linked the murder weapon to four other shootings that had occurred in New Orleans between 2011 and 2013. A vehicle stolen from one of the victims at the scene was later discovered burned in New Orleans, solidifying the geographic link of the perpetrators. Surveillance footage from near the scene of the murders captured a white BMW speeding away alongside the stolen vehicle, providing a crucial lead for law enforcement. It was determined that one individual was in the stolen car, while four others were in the BMW.
Over the following months, a multi-agency effort involving the Ascension Parish Sheriff's Office, the New Orleans Police Department, and U.S. Marshals led to the identification and apprehension of five suspects. The first arrest was made on August 6, 2015, when 26-year-old Quinton Jackson of New Orleans was taken into custody. In October of the same year, a series of arrests followed in rapid succession. On October 22, 35-year-old Marlon Williams was apprehended in Assumption Parish. Four days later, 28-year-old Eric Bernard was located and arrested in New Orleans. The fourth suspect, 23-year-old Thaddeus Nathan, was also found in New Orleans and arrested on October 30. All four were charged with two counts of first-degree murder.
The final suspect, Demond Foley, remained at large for a longer period. Authorities actively sought his whereabouts, and in March 2016, the Ascension Parish Sheriff's Office took to social media to solicit public assistance in locating him. Their efforts paid off, and on April 15, 2016, Foley was arrested at an apartment complex on the west bank of New Orleans. He was also charged with two counts of first-degree murder, marking the fifth and final arrest in the double homicide of Chad Nichols and Benny Booker.
