[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 21 Gambit columnist Clancy DuBos writes about the Mother's Day shooting, and how the stages of shock and blame and healing mirror those traveled by the same city following Hurricane Katrina. The city will recover, just as it did following the storm, by reaching out to help the people injured most seriously by the event, DuBos writes. It's how we heal, he says.
MAY 21 Here's a post on the Advocate (but buried on a subpage, not on the front) that reports something Louisiana Voice reported some time ago: a top DOE official lives in Los Angeles and "commutes" to Baton Rouge. The positioning of the story caused a stir on Facebook Monday, with several posters asking if the Advocate was covering someone's hiney. Sentell's stories on DOE are notoriously soft, and this one is no different: don't expect any hard questions in here.
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MAY 21 Blogger CB Forgotston says there are too many elections in Louisiana, and they're costing us too much money. The proof is in the pudding: turnout for most of these nonsensical pollings gets worse and worse, CB opines, even as millions of dollars that could be spent on health care or higher ed go down the tubes. The legislature must take action to stem the tide of pointless elections, he says.
MAY 21 Here's an interesting investigative piece by WVUE on the retirement benefits of some Jefferson Parish public employees. According to the story, the taxpayers are paying 100 percent of the retirement contributions of employees who started work prior to a certain date in April 1986 -- and have done for more than 30 years. It costs the parish millions annually, and might not be legal, the story reports.
MAY 21 This post on Bayou Buzz provides insight from Louisiana's intrepid pollster, Bernie Pinsonat, on the winners and losers from this year's legislative session. But to hear Bernie tell it, there's almost nuttin but losers: Jindal, the Republican party, the Fiscal Hawks all get big goose eggs in his win column.
MAY 20 This post on The Lens takes a look at a huge (either $500K or $250K) bill that one NOLA charter now has for school lunches. The RSD says the charter group didn't fill out the proper paperwork for federal reimbursement, but the story details how the RSD didn't ensure the people running the charter had the proper training, despite requests from hapless charter employees trying to fill out forms. Either way, somebody's asleep at the wheel.
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