‘Murder by Numbers: Monster Among Us’ by Investigation Discovery details how the Baton Rouge Police Department apprehended Jeffery Lee Guillory, a serial murderer who was responsible for at least three women’s deaths in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Despite the fact that his first victim’s body was found in September 1999, it took more than ten years to track him down. Here is what we know about Jeffery’s victims and his present whereabouts if you’re interested in learning more.
Who Were Jeffery Lee Guillory’s Victims?
On September 3, 1999, the Baton Rouge Police Department received a 911 call from a person stating that a woman’s body had been discovered in the former Dynasty Lounge at the intersection of North Boulevard and 11th Street in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. But when the person said the victim’s name, Florida Douglas, the operator thought it odd. When the first responders got to the crime site, they discovered the building had been abandoned for a while and was covered with trash. It served as a sanctuary for unlawful activities like drug usage and alcohol drinking.
When the cops entered the run-down structure, they discovered a woman’s body lying on a box with her back in an odd posture. It appeared that the murderer had placed her there to startle anyone who entered the room and saw the dead. She had been dead for at least 18 to 20 hours because of how rigid she was and because rigour had set in on one of the bodies. She was reportedly mostly nude, raising the possibility that she had been raped and killed. She had multiple wounds, including scrapes and abrasions on her neck.
The detectives saw that her neck’s groove had clear fingernail prints on it. Her body was positioned such that it appeared as though someone had strangled her; the way her head was tilted back suggested that the murderer wanted to draw attention to their work. She had bruises on her neck and blunt force injuries from having her head pushed into what appeared to be a solid wall. Her skull and back of her head were covered in blood, and physical strangulation was determined to be the cause of death.
With the use of her fingerprints and dental records, the authorities were able to identify the victim as Florida Douglas Edwards. Florida’s friend Elizabeth Glasper characterised her as a “very reserved person, who was quiet, sweet, and intelligent.” While investigating Florida’s homicide, the Baton Rouge police received another upsetting 911 call: on July 25, 2001, about 12:30 pm, someone had discovered the body of another woman on the North Acadian Thruway. When the first responders came, they discovered a second decomposing body partially seated.
Her body reportedly showed signs of advanced decomposition, and the police observed some startling parallels to the murder in Florida. Both remains were found partially sitting in decaying structures as the result of brutal assaults. The woman suffered from blunt force trauma to several body regions as well as bruising on her neck and chest. Due to the severe level of decomposition, they were unable to ascertain the cause of death. Her fingerprints allowed the investigators to identify her as Sylvia Cobb, age 37.
She lived with her mother and sister Luella, according to the episode, and was reported missing the day before she was found. On April 10, 2002, in Baton Rouge, exactly eight months and 19 days after Sylvia’s murder, the police discovered Renee J. Newman’s body in the flower bed of a shuttered department store. The 46-year-old single mother was born on May 22, 1955, and her brother worked as a police officer for the Baton Rouge Police Department. She died from strangulation with her legs seperated by a tiny tree. Investigators surmised that the murder weapon had been her white tee pulled up to the area of her neck.
Where is Jeffery Lee Guillory Now?
Investigators questioned numerous witnesses after Florida’s body was found to find out about a black man using a pay phone nearby. He had a plastic bag wrapped around his hands, which raised suspicions. After examining the phone’s receiver, the cops discovered no fingerprints. The officers surmised that he knew the victim since he had used her maiden name. Her fingernails had DNA that was taken out by the forensics team and belonged to an unnamed male criminal.
In order to learn more about Florida’s abusive boyfriend Jimmy Bowers, who had some prior criminal activity, the investigators questioned Florida’s relatives and acquaintances. He was taken into custody by the police and readily consented to a buccal swap. To compare his DNA sample with the DNA sample found under Florida’s fingernails, the police forwarded his sample to the crime lab. The investigators received another potential lead while they awaited the DNA analysis when a lady claimed Donald Andrews had sexually harassed and assaulted her.
Donald had a lengthy criminal past as well, and the police sent a sample of his DNA for testing. In the meantime, Sylvia and Renee’s bodies were located by the police, and DNA samples taken from them were a match to ones taken from Florida’s fingernails. By the time the DNA study results were received, Donald and Jimmy were eliminated as suspects. When a LaFayette woman reported an event that matched the same M.O. in late 2009, the police made a breakthrough in their hunt for the alleged serial killer.
Johnnie Martinez had been brutally beaten, and the cunning victim pretended to be dead to flee. She used her First National Bank debit card four times in Baton Rouge, but he stole it. With the aid of bank security film, the authorities were able to identify the individual as Jeffery Lee Guillory, who was 45 at the time. He was a native of Lake Charles, Louisiana, and had migrated to Baton Rouge when he was 12 years old. He had a lengthy criminal past, according to police reports, including convictions for burglary, first-degree robbery, drug offences, and forgeries.
He was taken into custody for attempted first-degree murder after Johnnie chose him from a lineup. On March 15, 2010, he was found guilty of attempting second-degree murder and given a 50-year prison term. After Jeffery’s DNA matched that of the sample taken from Renee’s body, he was also linked to the killings of the three Baton Rouge women. His prints matched a beer can that was discovered close to Sylvia’s body. In his September 2011 trial for the 2002 murder of Renee Newman, he received a life sentence. At the David Wade Correctional Centre, he is completing his term.
