14 outta 23 ain't bad
HOUMA, La. (AP) - A suspect in the murders of 23 south Louisiana men pleaded NOT guilty today to nine counts of first-degree murder.
Ronald Dominique was rolled into the courtroom in a wheelchair. He mumbled "NOT guilty" to each count as his sister and other relatives looked on -- along with family members of some of his alleged victims.
The nine charges, which carry a possible death sentence, stem from the rape and murders of nine men between 2002 and 2005 in Terrebonne Parish.
The 42-year-old Dominique has allegedly confessed to 23 murders of men from 1997 to 2005. Victims were found in ditches, sugar cane fields and other remote locations in southeastern Louisiana.
Dominique, who has a heart condition, was arrested at a homeless shelter in December.
Authorities have said he allegedly enticed victims with offers of money for homosexual sex, or in some cases by offering his "wife" for heterosexual encounters and showing the men a picture of a woman. Dominique is not married.
Bodies believed connected to Dominique were found in Jefferson, Saint Charles, Terrebonne, Lafourche, Iberville and Assumption parishes.