LA LA - Judy Ann Gary, 19, St. Martinville, 1 August 1986

[Brightchaser47]

I also tried to obtain records of who was employed by the police department and sheriff's departments at the time. I was told by the Chief that there wasn't one. The woman who was his secretary was the only person who was still employed now and in 1986. Chief Martin asked her to create a list several times over at least an 8 month period. She never did..

RSBM
Do you believe the Chief is telling you the truth? If so, the secretary could well be covering for someone by stalling...

I had even contacted the mayor's office and they said they did not know of any records like that. I created my own list based off of names the public remembered and names I found in the newspaper. I am sure I am missing someone which is frustrating. I looked up marriage records for the names I did find and had no luck.

What about church records or Fraternal Order groups?

Did JAG and her sister Laura get along?
Yes, they were the closest in age and very close.

So her statements are credible and reliable, in your opinion?

After speaking to the pharmacy employees I feel confident she never made it to the pharmacy or there ever was a 4 door green car.

Would she have accepted a ride from a police officer and did any police live in her area?

The original Detective on the case was very thorough and got things done. The current one says he is going to certain things and never follows through. He is a snake in the grass. When this was reopened 2 years ago there was only one detective and now there are two. It is very small.

Could the newer one be there to thwart honest investigative efforts or at least "monitor" any progress being made?

 

[Rush4087]

@Finding Magness, the difference in the accounts of the pharmacy certainly seems significant.

Just to help me understand.. apparently there was a “card” in police evidence (evidence that has now been destroyed by LE - seemingly without good reason) that indicated that Eric Richard had told LE that somebody at the pharmacy had told him (ER) that they (somebody at the pharmacy) had seen JAG get into a green 4 door car (willingly, looking like she knew the person).

In a 10/6/23 KATC.com article, Laura Theriot (am I right in thinking that Laura is Judy’s sister, and the eventual foster mom of Rickey?) says that “the druggist” said he (she?) saw Judy get into the green 4 door car.

Then in a recent post (or two?), you indicated that you had tracked down three pharmacy workers, and that not only did none of them know about any green 4 door car, but knew nothing about Judy (or her disappearance).

An obvious question would be, was the druggist a different person than the three pharmacy employees you spoke to?

Why do you now think that Judy never made it to the pharmacy?

If Judy never made it to the pharmacy, either
1.) the druggist lied to Eric,
2.) Eric lied to the police / detective (in this case it seems LE would have asked the druggist directly rather than taking ER’s word for something the druggist said),
3.) what was written on the card was not accurate, or
4.) the detective made up what he wrote (I assume he wrote it) on the card in an effort to misdirect the investigation

If 1 it would seem the druggist had something to do with JAG’s disappearance. If 2, it would seem ER had something to do with JAG’s disappearance. If 4, we got a dirty LE detective on our hands, and might even have a LE detective colluding with ER..

Who was the LE detective? Was he “big cop” (the handsome guy, the one possibly married to Pam, the Pam who was possibly Pam Smith? If they were different people, did he (LE detective who wrote the card) and “big cop” (of Pam and big cop fame) work together?

The couple (Pam and big cop) who ER said were friends of JAG’s - who ER and JAG visited a couple of nights before she (JAG) went missing? The couple that ER suggested wanted to swap?

Who was the original investigating LE detective (again, the one who we assume wrote in the card) in relation to JAG? In relation to Eric Richard? In relation to JAG’s other family (parents, uncles, etc,)?

Apologize to all for thinking out loud! It’s often not a pretty sight!

Jmo

 

[Rush4087]

And what does any of this have to do with a woman’s body found in Slidell (Lake P) in 1986.

Why would anybody think that a woman’s body found in Lake P might be JAG? Not only are the two locations 120 miles apart, but it should have been easy to rule out due to the ring, the extracted wisdom teeth, the breast implants, etc.

Why would the genealogy of that person be important? Why would the geneology of ANY of Rickey’s ancestors (no matter how twisted and intertwined), have anything to do with the disappearance of Rickey’s mom (JAG)?

(And, sort of unrelated, but just curious, who did Rickey live with between about age 2 (when his mom disappeared) and about age 14 when he went to live with foster mother Laura Theriot?)

Tia for any clarification / correction / info

 

[Finding Magness]

Do you believe the Chief is telling you the truth? If so, the secretary could well be covering for someone by stalling...

Yes, I do. Unfortunately he is answering to the best of his knowledge and I think is naive to many of the happening around him.

RSBM

I have to admit I am very new to posting in here. I am SO GLAD there was a list posted with the lingo! I was trying to figure the abbreviations on my own. (Very unsuccessfully)

What about church records or Fraternal Order groups?

I haven't. Up until this point I have tried being completely open with the police department. I wanted to be an asset to the investigation and not overstep. They are aware of the list I had and once it was in front of them they would comment on certain officers but not necessarily add to the list. Judy's family do not trust the police, AT ALL. I have been the go between the entire time. Each time I talked to family members or people in the community I would record it and have it transcribed then emailed to them.

So her statements are credible and reliable, in your opinion?

I believe so. Her statements have never changed. Laura has called me or messaged me every week since first met.

Would she have accepted a ride from a police officer and did any police live in her area?

I believe she would, 1000%. In fact, there was one that stopped to talk to Judy one day. It happened in front of Laura. Judy said he was just checking to see if they were ok or need anything.
(I will make a post about this and other law enforcement connections.)

Could the newer one be there to thwart honest investigative efforts or at least "monitor" any progress being made?

In the beginning, I didn't think so. I have been told by a few people in the community that he is close knit with the Chief's secretary.
It reminds me of that saying Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.

 

[Finding Magness]

Just to help me understand.. apparently there was a “card” in police evidence (evidence that has now been destroyed by LE - seemingly without good reason) that indicated that Eric Richard had told LE that somebody at the pharmacy had told him (ER) that they (somebody at the pharmacy) had seen JAG get into a green 4 door car (willingly, looking like she knew the person).

The Detective refers to them as "Green Cards". The card has the individuals name and address where statement/crime occurred. Then dates, case numbers and the abridged version of the "incident". There is supposed to be a corresponding police report for each entry on the card. Originally when the case was reopened two years ago the secretary said there was no record of Judy's disappearance or Eric's statement. The original detective didn't like that she was always eavesdropping and hovering so one night he went while she wasn't there he went in and searched and like magic he found them. So we have incident cards but no reports.
The card doesn't say anything about the pharmacy or the green car. It shows the date of August 2, 1986, statement given by Eric Richard and states that Judy left with a man named Richard Franks. The green car statement was told to the family by Eric.

In a 10/6/23 KATC.com article, Laura Theriot (am I right in thinking that Laura is Judy’s sister, and the eventual foster mom of Rickey?) says that “the druggist” said he (she?) saw Judy get into the green 4 door car.

Laura Theriot is Judy's sister Laura Ann Gary Theriot (Formerly Smith) Yes, that is what Eric came home and told them.
The foster mom is Tamica Theriot. (No relation)

An obvious question would be, was the druggist a different person than the three pharmacy employees you spoke to?

The druggist/pharmacist passed away this past December. I spoke to his son in law online. When the story first aired on the news, the pharmacist's daughter, who was a high school senior in 1986, was surprised to hear about the case. She said she asked her father and he vaguely remembered something about it but couldn't be sure. I wish we could have spoken to him in person before his passing.

Why do you now think that Judy never made it to the pharmacy?

She may have BUT I am from South Louisiana so I am very familiar with the culture and community in Acadiana.
If a 19 year old, young wife and mother disappeared off of Main Street, regardless of the actions taken or not taken by the police, EVERYONE would know. The pharmacist, who had a daughter less than two years younger would have been on high alert protecting his own daughter. Those women in the pharmacy would remember and be talking about it for years to come. I believe that Judy's mother trusted Eric when he said he reported it and when he claimed to follow up on it.

Apologize to all for thinking out loud! It’s often not a pretty sight!

I actually appreciate you thinking out loud! This has all been living rent free in my head for two years and this is only the tip of the iceberg.

 

[Finding Magness]

And what does any of this have to do with a woman’s body found in Slidell (Lake P) in 1986.

When I first started all reports said the date Judy went missing was approximate. I knew almost every detail of Slidell Jane Doe case and Judy’s name was mentioned a few times. People speculated it could be her. I wasn’t aware of Judy’s case at all. There’s a list of women that have been ruled out. Judy’s name was not one of them. A lady in the group I followed claims she submitted Judy’s name to LSU faces as a possible match and they told the woman she wasn’t a match. I am a dot my i's, cross my t's kind of girl so it didn’t make sense to me why wasn’t her name on the list. A member of the group assumed there was a backlog and just hadn’t updated it yet. I strongly dislike assuming things and I want to know the facts. As it was the case of Judy Ann Gary never really made any sense to me and there was literally enough information provided about her disappearance to fill a sticky note.
I called the number listed on the flyer Detective Guidry to ask more about the case. I was stunned and confuse literally what was on the flyer is literally all they knew I told him about the several people talking about the possibility of her being this lady in the lake. I explained I wasn’t sure why she wasn’t being added to the list of exclusions. He told me that he would call the detective on that case, and ask why.
When I heard back again I got frustrated. Judy was excluded but not technically ruled out. Judy went missing August 1, 1986 according to what I read. The Slidell Jane doe was found June 19,1986. The dates didn’t line up so they never actually ran her DNA so she never made the list. One of the things I have learned about the previous months was that the date was a guess Judy wasn’t reported to the police until 2015. If it was an estimate how can they rule her out knowing that the date was an ESTIMATE I couldn’t help but feel like they were using that date as it was set in stone. So that is when I reached out to Tamica Theriot to ask more questions about Judy.

Why would the genealogy of that person be important? Why would the geneology of ANY of Rickey’s ancestors (no matter how twisted and intertwined), have anything to do with the disappearance of Rickey’s mom (JAG)?

When I first started helping Rickey, Judy's son, he wasn't positive she was truly missing. He heard so many rumors growing up. He heard different versions from family. Other kid’s would tell him things in high school just to be mean. Kids suck. They would tell him that she left to start another family. He was told she lived in Abbeville, LA with some black men and wasn’t allowed to leave the house. He was even told she had been seen a few years later in the Lafayette area with a two year-old daughter. Rickey doesn’t care where she’s been but he needs to know what happened to his mother and why she left him behind. I can’t imagine going 30 years and not knowing anything or who to trust. So when we started it was to see if Judy had taken an Ancestry DNA test or if he had a sibling that did.

(And, sort of unrelated, but just curious, who did Rickey live with between about age 2 (when his mom disappeared) and about age 14 when he went to live with foster mother Laura Theriot?)

Rickey lived with his father until age 14. He never saw Judy's family again after she went missing until he was a teenager.

 

[Finding Magness]

Here is a very basic tree of Judy, her siblings and their spouses at the time she went missing.

 

[bettyboop]

Wow! @Finding Magness , wow!!! Thank You so much for all the information!! Poor Judy. I feel as if I am getting a good idea of what she went through. I did want to say that in my town in Massachusetts, we have something called the ANNUAL TOWN REPORT, which we used to receive by mail every year. Now you have to specifically request it, to save on printing costs. But anyway, these are literally goldmines of information. As an amateur genealogist, I saved every single one I could get my hands on. They would have lists of who graduated from the high school; who married; who died; and WHO WAS ON THE POLICE FORCE that year!!
Among other things. Is there anything like that in Louisiana, and that specific town?? JMO MOO

 

[Finding Magness]

Wow! @Finding Magness , wow!!! Thank You so much for all the information!! Poor Judy. I feel as if I am getting a good idea of what she went through. I did want to say that in my town in Massachusetts, we have something called the ANNUAL TOWN REPORT, which we used to receive by mail every year. Now you have to specifically request it, to save on printing costs. But anyway, these are literally goldmines of information. As an amateur genealogist, I saved every single one I could get my hands on. They would have lists of who graduated from the high school; who married; who died; and WHO WAS ON THE POLICE FORCE that year!!
Among other things. Is there anything like that in Louisiana, and that specific town?? JMO MOO

The Teche News is the local newspaper and I have found it very helpful.

 

[Finding Magness]

I was hesitant in posting this one but you will definitely need it soon.

 

[bettyboop]

I understand, sigh!

 

[Finding Magness]

I wanted to explain Judy's family tree and why I became so invested in helping her son.
It is overwhelming so I will try my best to break things down by sibling.

Shirley Ann Gary Broussard is Judy's oldest sister (16 years older) and her Nanny. She is living and will be 74 next month.
Her husband, Steven Broussard is deceased. He was a registered sex offender and 6 years older than Shirley. They married in 1969 when Judy was 3. He began having sex with Judy when she was still a child.
I have spoken with her on multiple occasions and she has acknowledged it but said he was her husband and she loves and misses him everyday.

Mary Ann Gary was 10 years older than Judy and passed away in 2021.
Her first husband was Pierre Hebert. Deceased in 2009.
He and Mary Ann were raping 3 of their 5 daughters and allowing others to do so. Their son participated and it was filmed. The files are sealed and no charges were brought to anyone. They both passed. The 3 daughters are mentally handicapped and in their 50’s now, the youngest sister has custody of them. They remember everything even down to vehicles people drove. I have spoken to the youngest daughter multiple times and she is a phenomenal person. It was suspected there were some very influential people in the community that participated.
Pierre Hebert’s funeral was paid for by his employer. Eric Richard now works for the same man.
Mary Ann was married a few more times but I will let this information sink in before we go on to them.
Pierre's oldest daughter, now deceased, was the product of an affair with a woman names Delores Diaz.
Delores Diaz later became Eric Richard's third wife.

Delores Diaz passed away 9/30/2016 but I haven't been able to find her death certificate which I found odd.
Delores has another daughter named Bernadine Diaz Gary. She passed away 11/26/2014 and I haven't located her death certificate either.

Joseph Percy "Joe" Gary was 8 years older than Judy and he passed away in 2020.
He was married to Bernadine Diaz.
They had no biological children together. Bernadine had 8 and only custody of 1. That daughter was raised by Joe as his own. She has also helped me learn about the family.

Laura Ann Gary is 2 and 1/2 years older than Judy and is living.
She was married to Steven "Ba'Boy" Smith. (Now divorced and they have not spoken in years.) He is alive and I have spoken to him on a few occasions.

Please do not hesitate to ask questions!

 

[Finding Magness]

Here is a tree that explains more how Ronald Letullier fits in to Judy's life.

Ronald James Letulier is the half brother of Frem Allen Sonnier and Ray Anthony Sonnier.
Ray Anthony Sonnier is married to Ethel Lee Smith (Ba’Boy’s sister)
Frem Allen Sonnier is married to Mary Ann Hebert (Pierre Hebert’s sister)

Ronald Letullier also came up when I looked up Ray and Ethel’s home at 1318 Isle Labbe Rd
Eric knew exactly where the house was and remembered bringing Judy there a few times.
When I brought it up on another occasion he claimed he never said that.

Ronald Letullier’s mom lived in a wooden house past the bridge on the left
(About 2 miles past) on Isle Labbe Rd

 

[Rush4087]

When I first started all reports said the date Judy went missing was approximate. I knew almost every detail of Slidell Jane Doe case and Judy’s name was mentioned a few times. People speculated it could be her. I wasn’t aware of Judy’s case at all. There’s a list of women that have been ruled out. Judy’s name was not one of them. A lady in the group I followed claims she submitted Judy’s name to LSU faces as a possible match and they told the woman she wasn’t a match. I am a dot my i's, cross my t's kind of girl so it didn’t make sense to me why wasn’t her name on the list. A member of the group assumed there was a backlog and just hadn’t updated it yet. I strongly dislike assuming things and I want to know the facts. As it was the case of Judy Ann Gary never really made any sense to me and there was literally enough information provided about her disappearance to fill a sticky note.
I called the number listed on the flyer Detective Guidry to ask more about the case. I was stunned and confuse literally what was on the flyer is literally all they knew I told him about the several people talking about the possibility of her being this lady in the lake. I explained I wasn’t sure why she wasn’t being added to the list of exclusions. He told me that he would call the detective on that case, and ask why.
When I heard back again I got frustrated. Judy was excluded but not technically ruled out. Judy went missing August 1, 1986 according to what I read. The Slidell Jane doe was found June 19,1986. The dates didn’t line up so they never actually ran her DNA so she never made the list. One of the things I have learned about the previous months was that the date was a guess Judy wasn’t reported to the police until 2015. If it was an estimate how can they rule her out knowing that the date was an ESTIMATE I couldn’t help but feel like they were using that date as it was set in stone. So that is when I reached out to Tamica Theriot to ask more questions about Judy.

When I first started helping Rickey, Judy's son, he wasn't positive she was truly missing. He heard so many rumors growing up. He heard different versions from family. Other kid’s would tell him things in high school just to be mean. Kids suck. They would tell him that she left to start another family. He was told she lived in Abbeville, LA with some black men and wasn’t allowed to leave the house. He was even told she had been seen a few years later in the Lafayette area with a two year-old daughter. Rickey doesn’t care where she’s been but he needs to know what happened to his mother and why she left him behind. I can’t imagine going 30 years and not knowing anything or who to trust. So when we started it was to see if Judy had taken an Ancestry DNA test or if he had a sibling that did.

Rickey lived with his father until age 14. He never saw Judy's family again after she went missing until he was a teenager.

you are amazing

Eta: Removed lots of questions I had written last night but forgot to post before going to bed. This morning I realize that many were already answered or would confuse

 

[CuriousWhiskers]

@Finding Magness Props to you for your hard work and patience. I am shocked by all of this information.

I have two questions: Was Judy (or could she have been) pregnant? And has Judy's son tried to get honest answers from his father (ER)? My heart goes out to her son and sister.

 

[Finding Magness]

you are amazing

Thank you.

 

[Finding Magness]

@Finding Magness Props to you for your hard work and patience. I am shocked by all of this information.

Thank you! It has surely been a test of patience.

I have two questions: Was Judy (or could she have been) pregnant? And has Judy's son tried to get honest answers from his father (ER)? My heart goes out to her son and sister.

She was not pregnant that we know of but anything is possible. She even admitted to her sister Laura that she was having sex with someone other than her husband.
Yes, Rickey has asked Eric many times. He makes it sound like she ran off.

 

[Rush4087]

IView attachment 537124

This is a map of St. Martinville where Judy went missing from.
There is no proof that she made it to Hospital Drugs (.3 miles away) the day she went missing.

So many questions..

So, Eric and Judy lived on LaSalle at the time. What did Eric mean then when he said it was after Hamilton when Judy started writing notes? Did they (or Judy) ever move to Hamilton (I guess to mother’s)?

Did Judy’s mother actually see her leave, on foot?

How long was it after Judy left her mother’s house that ER showed up?

Was ER ever asked why he did not return to Judy’s mother’s house where his mother in law was caring for his 1 1/2 y.o. son (Rickey) was for 2 whole days after he supposedly left to look for her?

Under this scenario, ER would have first (supposedly) gone to Judy’s mom’s house on Hamilton, then (supposedly) learned from Judy’s mom that Judy had gone to Hosp Pharmacy for her, then (supposedky) gone to Hospital Pharmacy, then supposedly spoken to the druggist, and (supposedly) learned that Judy gotten into a green car, and then… ER disappeared for 2 days?

Did Judy have any relatives who lived along the route she would have walked from her mom’s house on Hamilton to Hospital Pharmacy at N Main and Railroad Ave?

Tia and jmo

ETA

 

[Rush4087]

FM, in an earlier post you said that it has been speculated that one or more LE officers may have known of Judy’s whereabouts in the (I guess first few) days after she went missing. Can you shed any light on that? Tia

 

[Teche]

Warning! Possible rabbit hole! :

“A card in evidence that stated that Judy Ann Gary left on August 2, 1986 with a man named Richard Franks”

Who’s card? Where did the info on the card come from if ER now claims he’s never heard of Richard Franks? Maybe just some detective writing himself a note? Could he have gotten the name wrong?

It is an interesting name, imo, because it is so similar to the name Frankie Richards, the notorious violent drug dealing pimp boss man in Jennings, LA (only about 45 miles west of St. Martinville)

The last names aren’t exact, but could Eric Richard and Frankie Richards have known each other, or even been related?

Frankie Richards died a few years ago, but he was rumored to have been the leader of a ring that might have been connected to the murders of 8 prostitutes in and around Jennings (the famous - or infamous, unsolved, Jennings 8 murders between 2005-2009). Frankie Richards would’ve been about 30 y.o. I think back in ‘86. With the disappearances being 30 years apart, probably unlikely to be connected, but who knows?

I admit it’s a pretty big leap, but I thought maybe there could be something there - being that the two towns are less than an hour apart, and on the same road. Could Judy be buried in Jennings?

All jmo

I'm from the area and Franks is not a common surname. On the other hand, Richard is extremely common surname and is pronounced Re-chard (French).