Murder in the Bayou

Who Killed the Women Known as the Jeff Davis 8?

By: Ethan Brown

Narrated by: Traber Burns

An explosive, true-life southern gothic story, Murder in the Bayou chronicles the twists and turns of a high-stakes investigation into the murders of eight women in a troubled Louisiana parish.

Between 2005 and 2009, the bodies of eight women were discovered around the murky canals and crawfish ponds of Jennings, Louisiana, a bayou town of 10,000 in the heart of the Jefferson Davis parish. Local law enforcement officials were quick to pursue a serial killer theory, opening a floodgate of media coverage, from CNN to the New York Times. Collectively the victims became known as the "Jeff Davis 8," and their lives, their deaths, and the ongoing investigation reveals a small southern community's most closely guarded secrets.

As Ethan Brown suggests, these homicides were not the work of a single serial killer, but the violent fallout of Jennings' brutal sex and drug trade, a backwoods underworld hidden in plain sight. Mixing muckraking research and immersive journalism over the course of a five-year investigation, Ethan Brown reviewed thousands of pages of previously unseen homicide files to determine what happened during each victim's final hours.

Epic in scope and intensely suspenseful, Murder in the Bayou is the story of an American town buckling under the dark forces of poverty, race, and class division - and a lightning rod for justice for the daughters it lost.

©2016 Ethan Brown (P)2016 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Interesting

I think I know who did it, first time listening to a case like this. The reader was amazing!

Detailed read

I’m impressed with how deep the author goes in this tragic story. That’s it I’m going to watch the mini series on showtime but yeah, this is an interesting story to say the least l.

A Quiet Southern Town

Having made many trips to Jennings during this time period, I must admit to being shocked at what was going on one exit down the interstate. At one point the FBI had its task force above my clients office and we were still unaware of the depravity of the crimes and how difficult they were to investigate.

The writing was concise but not dramatized and there was no gratuitous violence - just solid reporting. Much respect to Ethan Brown and Narrator Traber Burns.

lawless lawmen, politicians and dead woman

Sadly, four years after publication of this book, and fifteen years after the first victim was found, no resolution has occurred.

A must listen!

This is a very well researched, entertaining, and chilling book. It is well worth the download.

Amazing!

Thank you for writing this book and giving us insight to the corruption of the system. I am from SWLA. I lived in Lake Arthur for a period of time and the drugs are terrible in the town.

I enjoyed listening to this book.

Great book. It has given me insight into a lot that I myself a live resident of SW Louisiana have thought for many years. But it's bout just Jeff Davis. There is many untolds in South Louisiana.

Lesson Learned...

Murder in the Bayou tells the story of the haunting murders known as the ‘Jeff Davis Eight’. Each of the 8 victims were either sex workers, drug-users, or both. So, typically, these types of victims would be looked over by the general public because of their backgrounds. While it’s true that each of them made wrong choices or hung out with the wrong people- none of them deserved to be brutally murdered as they were.

What’s scarier is that in the small parish in SW Louisiana, is that violence and drug use seems to be rampant and swept under the rug.

The real problem is the corruption of the police force in the area. Even with a new sheriff in town (by the end of this book), nothing seems to be getting done. The only moves they’ve made are any and all attempts to discredit author Ethan Brown’s investigation. But, he has receipts!

The lesson I learned is that if I ever find myself driving through Jefferson Davis Parish in LA- just keep driving.

Traber Burns did an excellent narration and gave voices distinct to each player. Nothing over-the-top.

Very Interesting

I listened to this after I watched the showtime series. Very interesting! The narrator did a good job, despite other’s comments-Not everyone is from Louisiana and will recognize “mispronounced words.” The main point is to shed light and catch a killer, not be perfect according to Cajun critics. The author’s work is a prize piece of journalism. I hope that one day justice will be served.

Interesting tale.

As an investigator I found some of the authors investigating superficial and lacking in depth leading to assumptions that simply cannot be made. Having said that, I was amazed at what a mishmash of a community the area was. And hearing about the local law enforcement being as screwed up as the author showed it was, amazed me as well. My biggest amazement however was that no one was able to solve these killings. The right outside investigator should have been able to close the case with relative ease. The players were poor, drugged up and as simple as a child playing in a sandbox. Hopefully, someone can still solve these killings as it is a sin that they’re still unsolved. Kudos to the author for bringing this case out in the open. An enjoyable and pondering listen.