KK's Corner

Lake Charles, Louisiana is generally a quiet town. I've lived here since 2009. People come here to gamble at our casinos and sometimes to gawk at the damage. We have had our fair share of bad luck recently with two major hurricanes, a deadly freeze, and a citywide flood within a year. If you say you lost your home in the flood you'll likely be asked, "Which one?" But no bad luck compares to The Murders. You see, we have murders here every now and then just like any other town. In Lake Charles though, if you mention The Murders you don't need to go into any further detail, because everyone knows you're talking about the bone-chilling case of KK’s Corner.

It was July 6, 1997 when two gas station employees walked into a horrifying scene that shocked the entire town. A local gas station, KK’s Corner Store, had been completely closed down. Wires were cut outside and security footage had been taken. Money had been found strewn around the store. The employees immediately called the police. Calcasieu Parish Sheriffs Office walked into the freezer to a murder scene. Three bodies were discovered, shot multiple times execution style. The victims were identified as Stacie Reeves, 26, Marty LeBouef, 21, and Nicole Guidry, who was just 14.

Stacie Reeves was loved by many in the community. An online obituary states,

“Stacie was a happy go lucky person. She tried to help anyone that she could. Stacie was a friend to all. She leaves behind a beautiful set of girl twins. They are so much like her. We miss you so much. You are in our thoughts all the time.”

One of her twin daughters, Traci, passed away in 2021 by an apparent accidental overdose.

Marty LeBouef is quoted as having told his father he would, “be home soon.” His father had made him a plate of food in the fridge from a 4th of July barbecue.

Nicole Guidry died at only 14 years old. She had been shot kneeling down on her heels. Nicole’s mother told KPLC News that she wanted justice so her family and those of the other victims can find peace.

A reward totaling $10,000 was offered by Crimestoppers and $100,000 by Calcasieu Parish Sheriff Wayne McElveen.

A year after the brutal murders, a woman recognized a composite sketch of one of the possible murderers and reported him to police as a man she knew who carried a rabbit’s foot keychain as a symbol of luck. His name was Thomas Frank Cisco.

Cisco was questioned twice by the FBI. In 1998, after five hours of questioning and being told his alibi could not be verified for the time of the killings he admitted he was the perpetrator of the murders and robbery. Court proceedings began in 2000 and Cisco was soon after sentenced to death for three counts of first-degree murder.

The problem was, Cisco said he worked alone. A witness from the night of the murders said she saw two assailants at the gas station, and Cisco couldn’t keep his confession straight. He told nineteen versions of the events from July 6, and they all contradicted the others. Some provided other names, yet no other arrests were made by lead investigator Donald DeLouche.

Furthermore, local politics complicated the case exponentially. In 2003, the case against Cisco was brought before the Supreme Court. Attorney Evenlyn M. Oubre was found to have represented both defendant Thomas Frank Cisco and lead investigator of the cast Calcasieu Parish Deputy Sheriff Donald DeLouche throughout the trial under separate cases simultaneously. Oubre represented DeLouche and his wife in family law matters.

The witness from the night of the slayings, named as Virginia Johnson, had her integrity questioned by the Supreme Court because she could give no description of the second man she had seen, and she added new details to what she had seen of the first man (Cisco) such as tattoos when a line-up was conducted by DeLouche.

In March of 1999, Cisco stated he had been promised $20,000 to kill Stacie Reeves by Sheriff McElveen’s own son, Richard McElveen. He stated the hit had been placed because of Stacie’s knowledge of the events of another murder in which Richard was involved. Police did not believe Cisco and dismissed it as one of his stories.

In 2000, after being sentenced to death by lethal injection, Cisco appealed under belief that Oubre’s representation of both Cisco and DeLouche was a conflict of interest. The Supreme Court agreed and ordered a new trial.

At retrial in 2010, Cisco was allowed to plea guilty to three counts of manslaughter and was given 90 years with no right to retrial.

To this day, no other arrests have been made and Cisco has not given a verifiable account of who he was with that night. Also never recovered were stolen checks, the murder weapon, or nearly $10,000.

Families of all three victims continue to mourn their lost loved ones and all agree that Cisco could not have committed the crimes alone.

Cisco will be 104 when he is eligible to be released from prison. Hopefully sometime far sooner, he will admit to the truth of what happened that night so the victims’ families can finally feel what they have been seeking since 1997 – justice and peace.

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My thoughts and prayers go out to the families of Stacie Reeves, Marty LeBouef, and Nicole Guidry.

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Sources:

https://www.americanpress.com/investigation-discovery-to-take-a-look-at-kks-slayings/article_3167b8d6-2782-11eb-a890-b7b57a374e0c.htm

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/8990540/stacie-lynn-reeves#

https://www.kplctv.com/2021/01/20/sheriff-daughter-kks-murder-victim-dies-after-apparent-accidental-overdose/

https://www.kplctv.com/story/148081/gory-details-emerge-as-kks-murder-trial-begins/

https://www.kplctv.com/story/1349294/kks-corner-murders/

https://caselaw.findlaw.com/la-supreme-court/1194627.html