In the summer of 1977, the life of 19-year-old Sandra Sue Brake was tragically cut short in a violent outburst that shook the community of Houma, Louisiana. On the evening of August 14th, Sandra found herself in the wrong place at the wrong time, inside the mobile home of 33-year-old Bobby Todd. It was a night that would end in a hail of gunfire, leaving four people dead.
The architect of this horrific event was David Dene Martin, a former youth counselor whose life was spiraling out of
control. Fueled by a toxic cocktail of jealousy, alcohol, and drugs, Martin's rage had been ignited by the revelation that his wife was having an affair with Todd, the owner of the Black Gold Restaurant and Lounge. Armed with a stolen. 357 Magnum, Martin descended on Todd's trailer with deadly intent.
Inside the trailer, Sandra Brake, along with 27-year-old Terry Hebert and 19-year-old Anne Tierney, were unfortunate witnesses to Martin's vengeful fury. After fatally shooting Todd, Martin turned his weapon on the others, firing a total of fifteen shots and pausing twice to reload. Sandra was shot twice in the heart and sustained defensive wounds, a testament to a final, desperate struggle.
The aftermath of the massacre was swift for Martin. He was arrested shortly after the killings and confessed to multiple people, though he later claimed to have no memory of the event due to his intoxicated state. In April 1978, a jury found him guilty of four counts of first-degree murder and sentenced him to death. Despite numerous appeals, justice was ultimately carried out, and David Dene Martin was executed by electric chair on January 4, 1985.
