The silence that surrounded the brutal murder of 16-year-old Roxanne Sharp for 44 years has finally been shattered, as Louisiana authorities announced the arrest of four men in connection with her 1982 death, a case that had long haunted the small town of Covington. The arrests of Perry Wayne Taylor, Darrell Dean Spale, Carlos Cooper, and Billy Williams Jr. mark the culmination of a decades-long investigation that relied on modern DNA technology and a community-driven podcast to crack a wall of fear that had protected the killers for generations.
On the morning of February 12, 1982, the annual Dixie Trail Ride set out from Covington, a procession of covered wagons bound for Baton Rouge, when one of the riders spotted a body in a patch of woods near the St. Tammany Parish Fairgrounds. The victim was identified as Roxanne Denise Sharp, a 16-year-old mother who had been missing for three days, and the discovery sent shockwaves through the quiet North Shore community of just 11,000 residents.
Roxanne was born on March 5, 1965, to Edward and Carolyn Sharp, and grew up in a rough area known as the Ozone, a gathering spot for gangs and criminals. Her peers described her as resourceful and resilient, traits born from adapting to a difficult home life, but she was already known to law enforcement for 𝒹𝓇𝓊𝑔 use and minor arrests. By the winter of 1982, Roxanne had dropped out of high school and was caring for her 18-month-old son, though she briefly enrolled in a local trade school in an effort to turn her life around.
Her behavior shifted dramatically in late January 1982, after a close friend died from a 𝒹𝓇𝓊𝑔 overdose, an event her mother later said left Roxanne visibly shaken and deeply distressed. On February 5, 1982, she was seen getting into a white van in a grocery store parking lot, and later spotted at the Lee Road Quick Stop, where she interacted with acquaintances. She was never seen alive again, and her family reported her missing on February 9, holding onto hope until her body was found three days later.
Investigators determined that Roxanne had been dead for two to three days by the time she was discovered, meaning she was likely killed within hours of her disappearance. Her cause of death was severe physical trauma from a brutal beating and strangulation, and she had also been sexually assaulted, with the case immediately ruled a homicide. The community was left in shock, and investigators interviewed over 150 individuals, compiling hundreds of pages of notes, but fear of violent retaliation kept witnesses from speaking out.
The case was further complicated by false leads from notorious figures, including Henry Lee Lucas, a drifter who falsely confessed to Roxanne’s murder along with hundreds of others, and Robert Lee Willie, a Covington native later immortalized in the book Dead Man Walking, who was in prison at the time of the killing. These distractions cost precious time and attention, and the case eventually went cold, but it was never forgotten by those closest to it.
Officer Herbie Joiner, one of the first Covington police officers at the crime scene, kept a brown leather briefcase filled with records, newspaper clippings, and every clue he had gathered about Roxanne’s death. He rarely spoke about the case, but his family said it haunted him until his death from a heart attack in October 2025 at age 68, just months before the arrests were made.
In 2023, the Louisiana State Police Covington Field Office took over the lead role in the case, pulling the original file and reviewing physical evidence with modern DNA analysis technology that did not exist in 1982. They began re-interviewing witnesses and potential suspects, and in 2025, they turned to the public directly, posting on Facebook that they believed the killers were local residents all along.
The case found an unlikely ally in Charles Dowdy, a radio host with Lake 94.7 and the North Shore Media Group, who created a podcast titled Who Killed Roxanne after state police pointed him toward the case. The podcast struck a nerve in Covington, prying loose new information, leads, and witness cooperation that investigators had never had before, and combined with advanced DNA testing, they were getting very close to solving the case.
Before his death, Officer Joiner sat down with lead state police investigator Stephen Montgomery and handed over the briefcase he had guarded for so long, providing crucial context for the new investigation. Using DNA test results and witness testimony that emerged after the podcast, investigators identified four suspects: Perry Wayne Taylor, Darrell Dean Spale, and Carlos Cooper, all 19 at the time of the murder, and Billy Williams Jr., who was 17.
DNA matches were easier for Cooper and Taylor because they were incarcerated in state prison for other crimes, with their profiles already in state databases. For Williams and Spale, investigators had to actively track them down and collect their DNA once witness tips provided a direct link, leading to a coordinated operation that spanned multiple states.
In April 2026, detectives, state police SWAT, and Covington officers executed a warrant at the home of 62-year-old Billy Williams Jr. , who was taken into custody and booked into the St. Tammany Parish Jail.
Simultaneously, more than 700 miles away, agents with the Ohio Attorney General’s Bureau of Criminal Investigation arrested 64-year-old Darrell Dean Spale at his home in Dayton, Ohio, in a carefully coordinated operation.
The following day, detectives made contact with Cooper and Taylor at the state prison in Louisiana, where they were already incarcerated. Taylor was a known name in the area, having been sentenced to 21 years in prison for his role in a 1978 killing committed by his cousin, Robert Lee Willie, the man once considered a suspect in Roxanne’s murder.
All four men were charged with second-degree murder and aggravated sexual assault, and authorities released limited information about the events leading to Roxanne’s death. Investigators stated that the four men attacked her in a sudden, spur-of-the-moment attack, grabbing her off the street and violently dragging her into the woods near the fairgrounds, where her body was ultimately found.
Despite the DNA evidence, the men remain innocent until proven guilty in a court of law, and no trial date has been set as of this report. The Louisiana State Police continue to ask the public for help, urging anyone with information to call 985-635-3167 or submit tips online through the whokilledroxanne.com website.
Roxanne Sharp was found murdered on February 12, 1982, and after 44 years, four men now stand indicted and awaiting trial for her sexual assault and murder. The case has brought a measure of closure to a community that carried her story for decades, but the search for justice is not yet complete.
In a separate but equally troubling case, the disappearance of Danielle Lea and her 10-year-old daughter Elena has sparked a massive multi-agency search in the Louisiana swamps. The pair went missing in the spring of 2026 after last being seen together in the Butte LaRose area of St. Martin Parish, but months passed before anyone reported them missing, leaving the trail dangerously cold.
Danielle Esquieu Lea was born on January 5, 1987, and was from the East Feliciana Parish, north of Baton Rouge, more than an hour’s drive from where she and her daughter disappeared. In the months leading up to their disappearance, she began dating a man who went by multiple names, including Trevor Crawl and Dusty Lee Crawlford, but whose real identity was James Michael Nana.
Nana had a long history of evading law enforcement across multiple states, constantly changing his looks and using 𝒻𝒶𝓀𝑒 names to dodge felony warrants and avoid registering as a 𝒔𝒆𝒙 offender. The specific crimes he was wanted for have not been released to the public, but his pattern of manipulation became clear as he gained Danielle’s trust.
By April 2026, Nana was isolating Danielle and her daughter from their family, exerting strict control over them, and moving them from their home in East Feliciana Parish to the Happy Town Campground about 80 miles away. They began trying to jointly purchase a piece of property connected to the campground, but by May, all communication with them had stopped.
Neighbors at the Happy Town Campground noticed something unsettling: Danielle and Elena had completely vanished, yet Nana was still living on the property alone. By June, Nana had abandoned the campground and was working to establish a new life, even finding a new unsuspecting woman he was actively trying to groom.
US Marshals tracked Nana using a 2014 silver Ford F-150 pickup truck with a Texas license plate and stolen credit cards, which led them to a Dollar General in Breaux Bridge, Louisiana. They also discovered he had used a stolen identity to secure a PO box in Krotz Springs, Louisiana, before crossing back into Texas in July.
On July 27, 2026, Nana was arrested by the US Marshals Fugitive Task Force in Galveston, Texas, but neither Danielle nor Elena was found. Their family members officially reported them missing on July 28, 2026, to the Baton Rouge Police Department, where Danielle’s mother is employed.
Multiple agencies, including the St. Martin Parish Sheriff’s Office, have been involved in the search, obtaining information that Danielle and Elena were last seen in the Butte La Rose area in spring. Searches have been performed with the help of the United Cajun Navy, along with the Baton Rouge Police Department, St.
Martin Parish Sheriff’s Office, and the Louisiana State Police, but no sign of them has been found.
Nana has been interrogated, but the exact details of what he has said have not been released to the public. Investigators are now asking anyone who might recognize Danielle or Elena Lea, or who might remember seeing them anywhere in the Butte La Rose area, to call the St. Martin Parish Sheriff’s Office at 337-394-3071.
Tips can also be made anonymously to St. Martin Crime Stoppers at 337-441-3030, or through the P3 Tips app, and any tip that leads to an arrest may be eligible for a cash reward. Danielle Esquieu Lea and her daughter Elena were reported missing on July 28, 2026, and as of August 2026, both remain missing, with the search for them ongoing.
The Roxanne Sharp case serves as a powerful reminder that even the coldest cases can be solved with persistence, modern technology, and community engagement. The arrests of the four men have brought a measure of justice to a family that waited 44 years, but the legal process is just beginning, and the community watches closely as the accused face trial.
The disappearance of Danielle and Elena Lea highlights the dangers of manipulation and the challenges of finding missing persons in remote areas. The search continues, and authorities urge anyone with information to come forward, no matter how small it may seem.
Both cases underscore the tireless work of law enforcement agencies and the importance of public cooperation in solving crimes that have long remained unsolved. The families of Roxanne Sharp, Danielle Lea, and Elena Lea deserve answers, and the pursuit of justice continues on multiple fronts.
