In the late spring of 2003, the community of Houma, Louisiana, was unknowingly living in the shadow of a predator. It was on May 24, 2003, that the body of 19-year-old Datrell Woods, an African American male, was discovered in an east-Houma sugar cane field, his bicycle lying nearby. Initially, the cause of his death was a mystery, and it was even considered that he may have died from an asthma attack, a condition he was known to suffer from.
His partially naked and decomposed body, however, hinted at a more sinister end. For a time, his death was one of several unsolved cases in the area that worried local law enforcement.
The truth behind Datrell Woods' tragic end would not come to light until three years later, with the arrest of Ronald Joseph Dominique in December 2006. Dominique, who would come to be known as 'The Bayou Strangler', confessed to the murders of 23 men, Datrell Woods among them. His reign of terror stretched from 1997 to 2006, preying on young, vulnerable men, many of whom were African American. Dominique's method was chillingly consistent; he would lure his victims with offers of money or assistance before sexually assaulting and ultimately killing them by asphyxiation.
Following his arrest, Dominique provided details of his crimes, bringing a horrifying clarity to numerous cold cases that had plagued southern Louisiana. In his confession, he admitted to killing Woods and dumping his body in the reed field where it was later found. To avoid the death penalty, Ronald Dominique pleaded guilty to eight counts of first-degree murder and received eight consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole. His conviction brought a close to a dark chapter for the communities of the bayou, finally delivering a measure of justice for Datrell Woods and the many other young men whose lives were cut short.
