[UPDATE: Independent sources close to the investigation, who asked not to be identified, say Lavergne told authorities where to find Shunick's body. This story has been altered to reflect new information.]
A body found in rural Evangeline Parish near a small church cemetery off La. 10 is believed to be that of missing UL Lafayette student Mickey Shunick.
Law enforcement officials say a female body has been found, and they are confident it is that of Shunick. However, the scene is still being processed, and some forensic analysis will likely be needed to confirm the identity of the victim, Lafayette Police Chief Jim Craft says. "Hopefully, we'll have additional information by tomorrow morning," Craft says, noting that confirmation could even come tonight.
Craft would not say what information led the task force investigating Shunick's death to the Evangeline Parish site but did reiterate that he believes Brandon Scott Lavergne acted alone when he allegedly kidnapped and killed her. "He operated by himself," the chief says.
It remains unclear to what extent the 33-year-old sex offender accused of murdering the 21-year-old college student is cooperating with authorities. Police said shortly after Lavergne's July 5 arrest that he was uncooperative; however, sources close to the investigation tell The Independent that officials were acting on information they received from Lavergne when they searched the grave site near the small cemetery between Reddell and Oakdale and found the body this morning. Those sources asked not to be identified.
"I can't comment on that," Craft said when asked whether Lavergne led investigators to the location.
Lafayette Police spokesman Cpl. Paul Mouton told The Advocate that investigators found the body after receiving "very credible" information about its location.
The lead prosecutor in the state's case against Lavergne is not talking. "I cannot answer any questions," Assistant District Attorney Keith Stutes told The Independent late Tuesday afternoon.
MAY 17 Here's a column from James Gill, this time in the Advocate. Gill, who has jumped ship from the Picayune, writes about the absurdity of dueling polls in this post. The numbers are so wildly different, it is obvious that both sides are "cooking the books," he writes. In particular, he looks at Sen. Mary Landrieu, and how her recent actions in DC have been received by those polled. Gill's acerbic, amusing prose is a welcome addition to a paper so conservative as to be occasionally lacking in personality.
MAY 17 Blogger Tom Aswell continues delivering bombshells about the state education department and Gov. Jindal's education "reform" efforts. In this post, he reports that students in the Shreveport area have been signed up for a charter school without their knowledge or consent. Most interesting to Aswell is how this Texas-based charter (with ties to GOP types) got the personal student information it has, if the students didn't give it.
MAY 17 This post by JR Ball in the Baton Rouge Business Report is an interesting tongue-in-cheek look at recent Baton Rouge economic development efforts. Among the items he examines is the idea that gaining a Costco makes BR a "world-class city." (Really? All you need is a different brand of Sam's? MK!) This effort, and other recent ones, are all built on the taxpayer's back, with tax zones, tax incentives and tax rebates, Ball writes.
MAY 17 Blogger CB Forgotston is critical of the legislature's reliance on a revenue-estimating committee's decision to include projected tax amnesty income in this year's forecast. That's a problem, CB posts, because the deadline for these people to pay their taxes is June 30, 2014. So when do you think these people who haven't paid taxes in years are going to pay their taxes? Surely not before June 30, and that means the money won't be there for this year's budget, he argues.
MAY 17 Here's an interesting blog out of California by a Hollywood writer, attorney and academic named Brian Alan Lane. He blogs about higher ed, and was a whistle-blower in a scandal over false credentials. In this post, he takes aim at LSU's new top dog, King Alexander. It's convoluted and a little confusing, but it sure makes Alexander a lot more interesting than he was yesterday.
MAY 17 Blogger Robert Mann writes about the LSU Board's refusal to allow Dr. Fred Cerise to testify before the legislature about Gov. Jindal's plan to close down all the state's charity hospitals and dump the poor on the private system. It's hard to imagine anyone more qualified than Cerise to testify about that, so why would anyone try to prevent him doing so? Mann thinks it is because the powers that be aren't interested in hearing any truth about the plan.
MAY 17 This post on the Louisiana Sinkhole Bugle, a blog that notes developments in the Bayou Corne and Jefferson Island salt domes, talks about a proposed expansion of the salt dome storage under Lake Peigneur in Iberia Parish. Residents are working against it for several reasons, including two biggies: the sinkhole disaster in Bayou Corne and the continuing, unexplained bubbling on the surface of the Lake.
MAY 17 NOLA police arrested more people Thursday accused of either being involved in the Mother's Day shooting or hiding the suspect afterward, this Gambit story reports. The NOLA police chief said he suspects the whole thing was gang-related and throws out a challenge to the gangs: he's got informants now, he says, and he knows a lot more than the gangs want him to know. The people who live in the neighborhoods terrorized by gangs are ready to talk, he says.
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