Two gunmen in Louisiana – allegedly hired by a rape suspect in a homicide plot to kill his victim, preventing her from testifying – spoiled the job, killing the suspect’s sister and a different woman, officials said on Monday.
The two women were shot dead trying to protect the alleged rape victim from those paid to kill her, Terrebonne parish sheriff Timothy Soginet explained at a news conference. The rape victim, who has not been identified, is still alive, Soginet confirmed.
Beaux Cormier – already a convicted sex offender – was arrested in March 2020 in Vermillion Parish, Louisiana, and was charged with third degree rape by his niece. Cormier, 35, reportedly hired Andrew Eskine, 25, and Dalvin Wilson, 22, “to murder the rape victim so she wouldn’t testify,” said Soginet.
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The three men are now being held on $ 2 million bail each and each has been charged with two counts of first-degree murder in connection with the deaths of 34-year-old Brittany Cormier and her 37-year-old neighbor Hope Nettleton.
“As far as the death penalty is concerned, it is absolutely at stake,” said Terrebonne district attorney Joe Waitz Jr ..
(Terrebonne Parish Sheriff’s Office)”/> Hope Nettleton (left) tried to fight two gunmen who arrived at the home of her neighbor, Brittany Cormier, looking for a rape victim they were paid to kill. Cormier was also shot dead after lying to the killers that she was the victim they were looking for, officials said.
(Terrebonne Parish Sheriff’s Office)
Soginet declined to go into details about how Beaux and Brittany related at the press conference, but a statement released by the sheriff’s office confirmed that the two were brother and sister.
Investigators said Beaux Cormier, Eskine and Wilson traveled to Montegut, a small town about 70 miles southwest of New Orleans, to conduct surveillance on a home months before the murder. Eskine and Wilson then returned in November 2020 alone to commit the murder, but “it was a failed attempt,” said Soginet.
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The pair returned to the house again on January 13 and confronted Brittany Cormier once inside.
“The sniper asked the rape victim’s name and Brittany Cormier tells the sniper that she is the rape victim, accepting her fate to save the life of a real victim,” said Soginet. Nettleton “really fought the sniper and was shot fighting him,” he added.
The deputies responded to 103 Montegut Street, where they found two women killed with fatal gunshot wounds. Local surveillance video helped track the direction of the escaped vehicle, and authorities finally located three men and arrested them.
Both Eskine and Wilson “confessed their involvement in this incident,” said Soginet.
(Terrebonne Parish Sheriff’s Office)
“Once again, I would like to commend all the officers involved in this investigation. This situation has shaken our community and will not be tolerated,” Waitz told a news conference. “These guys worked tirelessly all the time solving this case. They started with just a little bit of evidence and went on from there and ended up with three confessions with confessions ”.
It was not clear whether the rape victim was present at the house when the killers were there. The sheriff confirmed that five people were inside the house by the time they arrived.
Acadiana Advocate reported that Brittany Cormier’s children were hiding in a closet when she was killed. According to the newspaper, Brittany Cormier’s daughter was the victim of rape. An online obituary said she left a daughter and two sons.
Soginet explained that Montegut is a small city and “people are very close there”.
“There were good people who ended up dying as a result,” he continued. “It hit the community a lot, so we worked hard to bring peace to families and the Montegut community.”
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“We have homicides, but having a double homicide of this nature is very unusual,” said the sheriff. “This is probably one of the first cases where we had a rental murder to investigate up to that level.”