A Louisiana man facing rape charges tried to kill his accuser, but two murderers ended up killing his sister and neighbor, officials said on Monday. Neither Hope Nettleton, 37, nor Brittany Cormier, 34, was the person the killers were hired to kill on January 13, said the Terrebonne Parish Sheriff’s Office.
“Having a double homicide of this nature is very unusual,” said Sheriff Tim Soignet.
WWL-TV
On Friday, authorities arrested Andrew Eskine, 25, of Carencro; Dalvin Wilson, 22, from Rayne; and Beaux Cormier, 35, of Kaplan, accused of first-degree murder.
Cormier was previously arrested in Vermillion Parish for rape of the third degree and, according to Soginet, hired Eskine and Wilson to kill his accuser so that she could not testify against him.
When Eskine and Wilson went to a house in Montegut and asked about her, the investigators said that Cormier’s sister claimed to be the woman they had asked for and was shot and killed.
“The sniper asks for the name of the rape victim and Brittany Cormier tells the sniper that she is the rape victim, accepting her fate to save the life of a real victim,” said Soignet.
A neighbor, Nettleton, tried to fight the men, but was also shot dead, officials said.
The woman who accused Cormier of rape was not at home, investigators said.
Public prosecutor Joe Waitz Jr. said a $ 2 million bail was set for the suspects and it was not immediately clear whether they had lawyers.
“The death penalty is definitely on the table,” said Waitz.
Neighbor Tom Hopton told the CBS affiliate WWL-TV that he knew the two women well and spent the holidays with them.
“The whole story is bizarre, unnecessary and tragic,” said Hopton.