In the fall of 1998, the life of 27-year-old Oliver LeBanks came to a brutal and tragic end in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana. His body was discovered in Metairie in October of that year, the cause of death determined to be asphyxiation. LeBanks became one of the many victims of a dark and twisted series of events that would haunt southeastern Louisiana for nearly a decade.
For years, the case remained unsolved, one of a string of similar murders of men in the region.
The break in the case finally came in December 2006, when a multi-agency task force, acting on forensic evidence, arrested 42-year-old Ronald Dominique at a homeless shelter. Dominique, who became known as the Bayou Strangler, was initially charged with the murders of Oliver LeBanks and another man, Manuel Reed. The charge in LeBanks's death was second-degree murder.
Following his arrest, Dominique confessed to a horrific killing spree that spanned from 1997 to 2006, admitting to the murders of at least 23 men. His confession revealed a chilling pattern of luring men, often from the fringes of society, with promises of sex or money before raping and strangling them. In his account of LeBanks's murder, Dominique claimed he met him in Metairie where LeBanks offered him sex for money. Dominique stated that after the sexual encounter, he beat and strangled LeBanks. An autopsy would later find traces of Dominique's semen on LeBanks's body. It was revealed that LeBanks had recently lost his job due to drug use and had resorted to this high-risk lifestyle.
To avoid the death penalty, Ronald Dominique ultimately pleaded guilty to a number of the murders and in September 2008, he was sentenced to eight consecutive life sentences in prison. While he did not have to plead to all of the murders he confessed to, including that of Oliver LeBanks, the DNA evidence from LeBanks's case was instrumental in bringing an end to his reign of terror.
