A 2017 unsolved Franklinton murder is the subject of a new podcast being released this week.
Donna Arceneaux was found dead at her home very late on October 23, 2017.
She had been shot. Investigators from the Washington Parish Sheriff’s Office initially handled the case because Ms Arceneaux’s home was just outside the Franklinton city limits on Highway 16 (the Enon Highway). Later, the case was assigned to an investigator with the Louisiana State Police.
The initial investigation didn’t result in an arrest or arrests. As time went by, the case became cold. More recently it became a subject of interest to Tucker Simmons, a Franklinton native who is an investigative podcaster. He is also the former nephew of Donna Arcenaux --- for a time she was married to his uncle.
In addition to its lack of a suspect or suspects, the case also generated some confusion. At one point there were thoughts that Ms Arceneaux committed suicide, rather than being murdered. That angle was eventually discarded and the official cause of death on the autopsy report is homicide.
In addition to investigating the case himself, Simmons has also attempted to get information from the community. One method he has used was placing a provocative banner on the side of a building near the corner of Main and Washington streets in Franklinton.
The banner, in stark wordage, says, “There is a murderer among us.” Under that, it seeks information about the death of Ms Arceneaux.
Simmons said that the banner has actually provided useful information.
“The purpose of the banner was to let the public know that Donna's death was never ruled a suicide,” he said. “Even the initial coroner investigator notes, who was called to take custody of the body immediately, explain that the scene looked tampered with and that the suspected manner of death was homicide. Those notes were logged into their system within two hours of the call to the scene. There isn't a single document among the hundreds we have reviewed where a theory of suicide appears.”
“We felt the banner would get the community talking,” he added, “It did. We've received hundreds of tips from the banner and continue to.”
There are some people in the Franklinton area who believe the banner has served its purpose and should now come down, especially with the Fair coming up. “It presents a negative image of Franklinton,” one local lady told The Era-Leader.
However, Simmons said a new banner has been put up and will remain for now because it has been useful in getting tips submitted.
“When I hear criticism for putting up the banner or interfering in an ongoing investigation, I simply suggest waiting to hear the podcast before making such statements. Podcast listeners themselves will hear a state police representative explain that cold case homicides like this have to be put on the low-priority list due to a lack of resources and manpower. It appears resources and manpower were suddenly found as soon as the community saw the banner and became outraged.”
Information about connecting to the podcast is contained in an advertisement that Simmons’ organization has on Page A5 of this week’s edition of The Era-Leader.
(Editor’s note: The podcast notes, correctly, that on February 7, 2018, The Era-Leader published an article stating that Ms Arceneaux’ death appeared to be caused by suicide.
That information was provided to The Era-Leader by the official spokesman for the Washington Parish Sheriff’s Office at that time.
An investigator at the Sheriff’s Office has apparently stated that the suicide information was provided to the editor of The Era-Leader in a casual conversation and was never intended for publication. The Era-Leader totally denies that: We asked in writing about the cause of death and the suicide response was provided in writing by the official WPSO spokesman.
Further, we never questioned that statement because up until that point and long after that point, the WPSO official spokesman had always been extremely accurate and forthcoming in providing us with information.
The Era-Leader editor has almost always had an excellent relationship with every Washington Parish Sheriff’s administration during the past 32 years. We regret that there was an obvious miscommunication that resulted in the inaccurate suicide cause of death being published. But this was not a case of The Era-Leader jumping the gun and publishing a rumor. The information was provided to us in writing by the official WPSO spokesman.)
