American Homicide - S1: E22 – Bodies on the Bayou, Part 1

Episode Date: March 20, 2025

A week after a New Orleans preacher lands his dream job, he’s murdered at his home. In post-Hurricane Katrina chaos, his case goes cold — until the killer strikes again.  Reach out to the American Homicide team by emailing us: [e-mail]. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You want to play a game? Now is the time to talk. All new Law & Order Toronto Criminal Intent. What we're talking about today is murder. Their stories continue. We can protect you. We're sworn to. Who wanted this accountant dead and why? With stories inspired by the headlines. There's barely any evidence.

He was lying from the beginning. Law & Order Toronto Criminal Intent. All new Thursdays 10-9c on CityTV or stream it on CityTV+. Prohibition is synonymous with speakeasies, jazz, flappers, and of course, failure. I'm Ed Helms, and on season three of my podcast, Snafu, there's a story I couldn't wait to tell you. It's about an unlikely duo in the 1920s who tried to warn the public that prohibition was going to backfire so badly, it just might leave thousands dead from poison. Listen and subscribe to Snafu on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. What's up, y'all? I'm AJ Andrews, pro softball player, sports analyst, and the first woman to win a Rawlings

Gold Glove. On my new podcast, Dropping Diamonds, we dive headfirst into the world of softball by sharing powerful stories, insights, and conversations that inspire and empower. It's time to drop bombs and diamonds. Dropping Diamonds with AJ Andrews is an iHeart Women's Sports production in partnership with Athletes Unlimited Softball League and Deep Blue Sports and Entertainment. Listen to Droping Diamonds with AJ Andrews on the iHeart radio app, Apple podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. Brought to you by Novartis, founding partner of iHeart Women's Sports Network.

Hey y'all, it's your girl, Chiquis, and I'm back with a brand new season of your favorite podcast, Chiquis and Chill. I'll be sharing even more personal stories with you guys. And as always, you'll get my exclusive take on topics like love, personal growth, health, family ties, and more. And don't forget, I'll also be dishing out my best advice to you on episodes of Dear Cheeky's. It's going to be an exciting year and I hope that you can join me.

Listen to Cheeky's and Chill, season four on the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcast, or wherever you get your podcasts. A talented New Orleans preacher got the job of a lifetime. A week later, he was dead. This case was one that immediately drew my attention because it was not a typical murder case. It happened in the trine months following Hurricane Katrina. Absent any eyewitness and given the circumstances and the resources in the city,

it simply just became a cold case. But the killer would strike again. Oh my God, another one? One person had information that could stop the killer from striking a third time. He was sort of the last man standing who could bring it to the authorities. But could the police get to him before it was too late? This is only something you hear about on the TV show. You know, like, you never think this was something that would happen in real life.

Today we're in New Orleans, Louisiana, for the tragic story of an aspiring preacher named Ernest Smith. I'm Sloane Glass and this is Part 1 of Bodies on the Bayou on American Homicide. And just a warning that this episode contains some graphic content. Please take care while listening. content. Please take care while listening. I don't know if you've ever been to New Orleans, but it's a very special place. The historic French Quarter dates back to the 1700s. Today, the city's oldest neighborhood is famous for its vibrant nightlife. That is where you find Bourbon Street and many of our most famous bars. That's Laura Roderich. She worked with the New Orleans District Attorney's Office.

We like to eat, we like to drink. There are constantly events going on, or carnivals, or parades. We are a city that simply likes to party. It's a city that lives by the motto, Let the good times roll. And Bourbon Street plays host to many of those parties. Whether it's the cuisine or the arts, there's so many different opportunities here to explore so many different things. Where else in the world can you walk down the street

eating a po'boy in one hand with a cocktail in the other while a jazz player strikes up a song on the corner? Having been somebody who has traveled elsewhere I can say that there really is no place like New Orleans. Today well over a million people from all different walks of life make their home in the Big Easy. There is a certain sense of camaraderie among the community. They rally together, they support one another and they take a lot of pride in saying that they're from New Orleans. Let's look back at the summer of 2005 as a test of that camaraderie. That's when

Hurricane Katrina made landfall and left nearly 80% of New Orleans underwater. Katrina slams into the Gulf Coast. Wind gusts up to 120 miles an hour. Rejectiles that can kill you. water. The city lost more than 850,000 homes, 300,000 vehicles, and 1,800 lives, making Katrina one of the deadliest hurricanes to hit the U.S. It truly did devastate the city of New Orleans to a large extent. At the time, over half of its population relocated to other cities. After Katrina, there were simply problems for everyone in the city in terms of getting back into their homes, what was left of the neighborhoods. So you might be living in a home and you might be the only person on your block. And that's scary.

It was scary, especially when things went wrong. It really made law enforcement's job a lot more difficult. It wasn't like patrolling the street normally and knowing that there were people also looking out for each other. You know, it's pitch black in some of these neighborhoods where power hasn't been turned on to some of the homes if the people haven't returned. Like all city services in New Orleans after Katrina, The police department struggled to keep up. In certain neighborhoods, you didn't know how long it would take and whether it was even worth it to get the police involved. And that's when violent crime soared. Hurricane Katrina chased away more than 200,000 people in New Orleans, but criminals are coming

back. Police department figures show the number of murders has gone up every month since the storm. So now, here is our story. In April of 2006, 38-year-old Ernest Smith was a preacher who had just moved back to his home in New Orleans. Let's talk about Ernest's life before that move. Ernest was always, whenever you saw him, he could walk into a room,

and the first thing he has on his face is a smile. Carolyn Jackson and her husband, Apostle Jackson, were ministers who mentored Ernest. Ernest was special. He was the real deal. Ministry was his heartbeat. Ministry was what he was about. He loved to preach. I think he would walk up with a Bible and a microphone. He was born with one.

He was truly a man of God. Life was a tough climb for Ernest, who lost both of his parents at a very young age. Although he was later adopted, he was always plagued by that desire to fit in and belong. To us, he was a son. I think he felt like we were the only parents he had. The church became that place where Ernest felt like he belonged. But the downside of being a preacher was it didn't pay his bills.

So Ernest supplemented his income by working as a truck driver. The money was good, but he was often on the road and away from his wife and daughter. To no one's surprise, his marriage ended up in a divorce. And not long after that, a single mom named Emma walked into his life. She met him by going to his ministry when he was preaching. That's the song. When a man loves a woman, that's what's Ernie's song. He really loved this woman. Emma and Ernest married in 1995. Emma and Ernest married in 1995. Emma was the perfect pastor's wife. She did everything to help the church.

She did whatever was necessary to make sure his ministry was functioning and running. Emma was also busy outside of church. She prepared taxes, dabbled in real estate. She even sold beauty supplies. She sold wigs and all those other things that make you look girly. I guess you would say she was a jack of all trades. More than that, Emma was a go-getter.

She grew up poor and always dreamed of living the glamorous life. She wanted to have nice things, so she went out to the business world. She was busy. And it paid off. Every year or so, Ernest and Emma would upgrade homes and move into a place that was a little bigger and nicer.

But when Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans in 2005, it forced Ernest and Emma to temporarily relocate to Arlington, Texas. Emma came back to New Orleans. She came back because she needed to get back to her business, so Ernest stayed after she moved back here. They didn't come back together. Ernest liked Arlington. He wanted to stay because he had plans to build a church there.

She wanted him to come back, but he was saying that he didn't want to come back. The battle over where to live put a strain on their marriage. Call us up, anyone talk to us about the marriage. I think that's when we found out that something was really going on. Apostle wondered whether there was more to the story, but he did what any preacher would do. I convinced him that he needed to get his marriage another chance. Ernest took that advice, and he took Emma on a cruise to help rekindle their relationship and put their marriage back on track.

And he started looking for a full-time pastor job so he could spend more time at home. Then came a miracle. An opening at a mega church in Atlanta. Ernest interviewed and landed the job. Him and her was gonna move to Atlanta. She was gonna be First Lady and he was gonna be pastor. On the evening of April 12th 2006, Ernest called Apostle with the good news. He was already excited, like he had found a treasure. It was a much needed step forward for Ernest and Emma's marriage, and a huge boost for his career.

This would have been the first time in his ministry that he'd have had a ready-made family, ready for him. I mean, if you ever wanted a pastor, he would have been the one. He was just that gifted. So they have that conversation on April 12th. And that night, Ernest and Emma took a break from packing up for their big move. Emma wasn't feeling well, so Ernest planned to go out for a ride on his motorcycle. I said, y'all be careful out there. He said, no, I hung up.

Then five hours later, we get the news that he's dead. We were asleep. We have a good phone call from Emma. She tells me, she says, Ernest is gone. I said, gone where? And she said,, she says, Ernest is gone. I said, gone where? And she said, he's dead. That just tore my heart up. Emma was a mess.

In between crying, she explained that Ernest took his motorcycle for a ride and returned around 11 p.m. That's when someone ambushed him. She said, well, I heard three bang, bang, bang. She said, but I thought it was a car back firing. Emma said she was in bed with a bad toothache and had taken some pain medication to help her sleep. She woke up to the sound of her husband's cries from downstairs.

He woke her up out of her sleep. He said, bang, I've been shot. When Emma came downstairs, she found Ernest collapsed on the front steps of their home. His red shirt was completely covered in blood. She tells us, she said, well, somebody was trying to rob Ernest, you know, steal his motorcycle. Somebody was trying to take his bike from him. She called the police, called the ambulance. She said, well, y'all know we living in New Orleans. You know how long they take to get here. So by the time they got here, he was already gone.

Ernest Smith, the gifted preacher who was just days away from being installed at a church in Atlanta, was now a casualty of the post-Katrina crime wave in New Orleans. At the time of Ernest Smith's death, the city was still very much suffering after Hurricane Katrina. Laura Roderich worked with the New Orleans District Attorney's Office. The place where they were living was largely abandoned.

In fact, they were the only people living in that apartment complex. It was almost a scary place to live because you had nobody around you. There weren't lights on anywhere. Ernest was shot twice in the chest with a nine millimeter weapon. There were no witnesses and no known motive. His motorcycle was right there on the scene next to him. The keys to the motorcycle were found

in the grass right nearby. Absent any eyewitness and given the circumstances and the resources in the city, it simply just became a cold case. It seemed like a senseless crime that would go unsolved. Then, five years later, another murder in a neighboring state brought this case back to life. You wanna play a game? brought this case back to life. We're sworn to. Who wanted this accountant dead and why? With stories inspired by the headlines. There's barely any evidence.

He was lying from the beginning. Law and Order Toronto Criminal Intent. All new Thursdays 10, 9c on CityTV or stream it on CityTV+. Prohibition. It's no secret that banning alcohol didn't stop people from living it up in the 1920s. When we're five years into Prohibition, the government is starting to go, okay, this isn't working. In fact, you might even say it backfired spectacularly. I'm Ed Helms, and on season three of my podcast, Snafu, we're taking you back to the 1920s and the tale of Formula Six.

Because what you probably don't know about Prohibition is that American citizens were dying in massive numbers due to poisoned liquor and all along an unlikely duo was trying desperately to stop the corruption behind it. They were like superhero crusaders turning the page on a system that didn't work, wasn't fair and was corrupt. So how did prohibitions war on alcohol go so off the rails that the government wound up poisoning its own people? To find out, listen and subscribe to Snafu on the iHeart radio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Dr. Joy here. You may know me from Therapy for Black Girls, where we're celebrating 400 episodes of the podcast. That's a whole lot of girl me too moments. For years, we've had deep, thoughtful and inspiring conversations about black women's mental health. And now we're celebrating this milestone in a big way. In this special episode, Peloton Y, Chelsea Jackson Roberts shares how yoga has taught her

to stay grounded and present while balancing motherhood and self-care. I can't control my partner. I can't control my child. I can't control anyone outside the way that I govern myself in this world. And the celebration doesn't stop there. We'll continue this milestone with Dr. Lauren Mims,

who joins me to discuss the powerful, yet sometimes challenging transition from girlhood to womanhood for Black Femmes. Together, we explore how we navigate this transformative journey with strength and grace. Black girlhood is giggling, it's sisterhood, but it is also, I think, focusing on learning how to cope with really difficult things that are

happening. With insights like these, this 400th episode celebration is one for the books. Listen to Therapy for Black Girls on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Mark Seale. And I'm Nathan King. This is Leave the Gun, Take the Canole. The five families did not want us to shoot that picture.

Leave the Gun, Take the Canole is based on my co-host Mark's best-selling book of the same title. And on this show, we call upon his years of research to help unpack the story behind the godfather's birth from start to finish. This is really the first interview I've done in bed. We sift through innumerable accounts, many of them conflicting, and try to get to the truth of what really happened. And they said, we're finished, this is over.

They know it's not going to work. You gotta get rid of those guys. Leave the Gun, Take the Cannoli features new and archival interviews with Francis Ford Kobla, Robert Evans, James Kahn, Talia Shire, and many others. Yes, that was a real horse's head. Listen and subscribe to Leave the Gun, Take the Canole on the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. In 2006, Ernest Smith was about to begin his dream job as a pastor of an Atlanta church. But a few days before he and his wife Emma moved there, he was gunned down in front of his New Orleans home.

His mentor, Apostle Jackson, performed his eulogy. The funeral was wall-to-wall. People were standing up. At the request of his devastated widow, Apostle did something at the funeral he had never done before. He used his eulogy to urge anyone who knew what happened to Ernest to come forward. I was trying to convince them that somebody need to go to the police and try to find out what happened. It was heartbreaking for everyone, including Emma, who struggled to afford the proper funeral she felt her husband deserved.

She was grieving. She had to borrow the money from me to bury him. When she got the insurance money, she did give me my money back. Even with Apostle's plea at Ernest's funeral, no new leads came in, and his murder remained unsolved. A year later, Emma started over. She moved to the tiny city of Poplarville, Mississippi, which is about an hour north

of New Orleans, and built a home in the rural countryside. That's one of the most beautiful houses I've ever seen in my life. There was a TV in every room. I'm talking about a big screen TV in the bathroom. It was just beautiful. It is a lot less expensive to live in Poplarville than it is to live in New Orleans. But when Apostle and Carolyn visited Emma in her new home, they were in awe. The house had a swimming pool, a pond, and a boat. Even a state-of-the-art security system.

It was the perfect home on a street called Emma Lane. But even with the new house, they could still sense a lot of pain with Emma. Grief can do many things to a person. And Apostle's wife, Carolyn, was concerned with how thin Emma looked. This is our first time seeing her at the funeral. It's been a while. And we look at her and say, wow, you know, she had lost a lot, a lot of weight. There was also something else different about her.

Emma Smith proudly announced she was now Emma Rain. A few months earlier, she had quietly married James Rain, a former military buddy of her late husband. Much like Ernest, James Rain was adopted, drove a truck, and was a few years younger than Emma. James said he looked up to Ernest almost like a big brother. And with Ernest gone, James seemed like the perfect person for Emma. She and I had an opportunity to just sit out on the front porch and I told her, I said,

well, this is it. This is what Ernest always dreamed of. This is what he wanted. He had a boat, the house, and the big wanted. He had a boat, the house and the big pond. You had the big, elaborate house on the inside, so you got everything. She said, yeah. He's telling me how she missed him. She wished that he was there to enjoy all of that. I said, I wish he was here too.

Emma finally had the life she'd always hoped to have with Ernest, but it would only last a short time. Five years later, in 2011, Carolyn, an apostle, turned on the nightly news and were left speechless. James had got killed. Emma called. She said she was out of town on a business trip.

And then that's when they found him deceased. I'm like, oh my God. You know, another one? It's too much. It was just too much to deal with. It was unbelievable. One week before James Rain's 38th birthday, someone broke in and shot him while he was in bed.

So this is like, whoa, this is like way too much and it's way crazy that all these husbands are dying. How could someone lose their husband not just once, but twice, in such a cruel manner? That's crazy. That's crazy. Lord have mercy. Laura Roderig worked for the New Orleans District Attorney's Office. The police come out and essentially start trying to piece together what happened. They learned Emma was away on a business trip in Arkansas. And the last she heard from her husband, James, was sometime around midnight.

By 11 a.m., she was worried. Emma Rain calls James' mother and says, I can't get a hold of James. Can you go check on him? So James's mother goes to the home. She goes upstairs, finds him shot in the head and in the neck, in the bed. She calls the police. There was nothing missing from the house. It appeared to be a targeted shooting. But why?

It was a vacant area. There were no eyewitnesses to the murder. There wasn't a motive that was clear. The police department in the quaint town of Poplarville canvassed the neighborhood to find a lead. Poplarville is sort of a small town where everybody kind of knows everybody through a relative, a cousin, a friend, somebody you work with. They were getting a lot of statements, trying to navigate and piece together what could have happened here. If there's one thing about small towns, it's that people usually know everyone else's business. And the people of Poplarville knew some dirt about James Rain.

The detectives learned that there had been issues of infidelity with James Reign. The two of them had engaged in a physical relationship for some time before Ernest Smith had been killed. Keep in mind, they were military buddies, and they stayed friends. The police learned James used to socialize with Ernest and Emma. James Reign and him had become friends during the military, and that's how they knew each other. In fact, James almost looked up to Ernest Smith, like a mentor, somebody who he respected

and would go to for advice. But that friendship ended when Ernest learned what they were doing behind his back. He had confronted James Rain in the past and was just determined to really fight for his marriage and to make it work. Ernest had been trying for a pastor job in Atlanta and he knew no church would hire him if his marriage was on the rocks. So up until his death he was trying to fix things with Emma. He was fiercely loyal to Emma Rain. He just did not want to give up on their marriage. In fact, he had just gotten her a dozen roses right before the murder.

So let's break this down. Emma was fooling around with James while she was married to Ernest. Ernest knew about the affair and confronted James. Then Ernest mysteriously got killed. A year later Emma marries James and then five years later James was also mysteriously killed. It was certainly a strange set of facts. And while detectives tried to make sense of what was happening, the estate that James and Emma had built in Poplarville, Mississippi burned to the ground. Luckily, no one was injured. But investigators ruled that that fire was arson.

What was going on? So that again is very suspicious, very strange. This is a whole different ballgame. With two dead husbands and one burned down house, Emma Rain's life hit rock bottom. In search of another clean start, she left Poplarville and headed to Missouri, where her luck was about to change. You want to play a game? Now is the time to talk.

All new Law and Order Toronto criminal intent. What we're talking about today is murder. Now is the time to talk. All new Law & Order Toronto Criminal Intent. What we're talking about today is murder. Their stories continue. We can protect you. We're sworn to. Who wanted this accountant dead and why? With stories inspired by the headlines. There's barely any evidence. He was lying from the beginning.

Law & Order Toronto Criminal Intent. All new Thursdays 10, 9c on CityTV or stream it on CityTV+. Flying from the beginning. Prohibition. It's no secret that banning alcohol didn't stop people from living it up in the 1920s. When we're five years into Prohibition, the government is starting to go, okay, this isn't working. In fact, you might even say it backfired spectacularly. I'm Ed Helms, and on season three of my podcast, Snafu, we're taking you back to the 1920s

and the tale of Formula 6. Because what you probably don't know about Prohibition is that American citizens were dying in massive numbers due to poisoned liquor, and all along an unlikely duo was trying desperately to stop the corruption behind it. They were like superhero crusaders, turning the page on a system that didn't work, wasn't fair, and was corrupt.

So how did prohibitions war on alcohol go so off the rails that the government wound up poisoning its own people. To find out, listen and subscribe to Snafu on the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Dr. Joy here. You may know me from Therapy for Black Girls, where we're celebrating 400 episodes of the podcast. That's a whole lot of girl me too moments. For years, we've had deep, thoughtful and inspiring conversations about

Black women's mental health. And now we're celebrating this milestone in a big way. In this special episode, Peloton yogi, Chelsea Jackson Roberts, shares how yoga has taught her to stay grounded and present while balancing motherhood and self-care. I can't control my partner. I can't control my partner. I can't control my child. I can't control anyone outside the way

that I govern myself in this world. And the celebration doesn't stop there. We'll continue this milestone with Dr. Lauren Mims, who joins me to discuss the powerful, yet sometimes challenging transition from girlhood to womanhood for Black Mims. Together, we explore how we navigate this transformative journey with strength and grace. Black girlhood to womanhood for Black fans. Together, we explore how we navigate this transformative journey with strength and grace.

Black girlhood is giggling, it's sisterhood, but it is also, I think, focusing on learning how to cope with really difficult things that are happening. With insights like these, this 400th episode celebration is one for the books. Listen to Therapy for Black Girls on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Mark Seale. And I'm Nathan King. This is Leave the Gun, Take the Cannoli.

The five families did not want us to shoot that picture. Leave the Gun, Take the Cannoli is based on my co-host Mark's best-selling book of the same title. And on this show, we call upon his years of research to help unpack the story behind the godfather's birth from start to finish. This is really the first interview I've done in bed. We sift through innumerable accounts.

I think it's 35 pages. Many of them conflicting. That's nonsense. There were 60 pages. And try to get to the truth of what really happened. — And they said, we're finished. This is over. They know it's not going to work. You can't get rid of those guys. This is a disaster.

— Leave the Gun, Take the Canole features new and archival interviews with Francis Ford Coppola, Robert Evans, James Kahn, Talia Shire, and many others. — I guess that was a real horse's head. — Listen and subscribe to Leave the Gun, Take the Cannoli on the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

By 2012, Emma Rain had buried two husbands and even lost her home to a fire. Police couldn't make sense of it. Across the two homicides, there were no suspects, no arrests, not even so much as a lead. Prosecutor Laura Roderig investigated. This case was one that immediately drew my attention because it was not a typical murder case. There were no eyewitnesses to either murder. Nothing was adding up.

There wasn't a motive that was clear, other than the fact that we knew this woman's last two husbands were also found dead in sort of mysterious circumstances. The first case had gone cold, and investigators did not want James Rain's murder to reach a similar fate. If they aren't able to develop a suspect or get a lead within the first couple of weeks, it's almost never going to be easy to find one quickly after that.

But shortly after James Rain's murder, things would take a turn. Late one night, James's brother received a mysterious phone call. A woman's voice he did not recognize told him to walk outside and check his mailbox. As cryptic as that sounded, he wanted answers. James' brother went to the mailbox and found a thick envelope filled with documents. These documents contain information about a lawsuit Ernest Smith's life insurance company had filed to prevent Emma from obtaining the insurance proceeds from Ernest's policy. She had the insurance policy on Ernest Smith,

and it started at $100,000. The money increasing from year to year, from $100,000 to $250,000, all the way up to $800,000. The money increasing from year to year, from $100,000 to $250,000, all the way up to $800,000. But a closer look showed that just before Ernest's death, the amount was increased to $800,000. And the beneficiary changed to James Rain. Which was extremely suspicious, because everybody knew that was her boyfriend while she was married. So it didn't make any sense why Ernest Smith would allow James Reign to be his beneficiary

since he had clearly had heated arguments asking James to stay away from his wife and you know really just did not get along with James in that time period in his life. And there was more. These documents also indicated that James Rain had been involved in Ernest Smith's murder. How is it possible that an insurance company could put two and two together, but detectives couldn't. If this is actually true, if they actually prove this, this is shocking. Alright, so this is getting really weird, especially for James Reign's brother. He's just found out that the insurance company blamed his brother James for the death of

Ernest Smith. So he shares this with a couple of his trusted relatives, including his other brother, Alfred Everett. James Rain's murder leads to what we learn is sort of an uneasy feeling that Alfred Everett is going through. He was nervous. He has a moment where he feels like he needs to talk to somebody and that he has to get this off of his chest.

Obviously Alfred's strange behavior concerned the group, so they did something weird too. They drove him out to the middle of nowhere so they could talk candidly. During that conversation, Alfred Everett admits that Emma and James had paid him to shoot Ernest Smith, that there was a life insurance policy, he was supposed to get $100,000 from it, and that's why he shot Ernest Smith. After keeping this secret for five years, Albert's conscience finally got the best of him, and he shared what happened on April 12, 2006. Alfred Everett parked down the street.

Again, during this time, it would have been too dark for anybody to sort of locate what would be considered a suspicious car or something out of the ordinary. Alfred revealed he sat and waited that night for Ernest to return from riding his motorcycle. He runs up, he shoots, and exits the scene as quickly as possible to jump in the car to head back toward Mississippi.

On the way back, Alfred said he threw the gun in Lake Pontchartrain, which borders New Orleans. The bridge over Lake Pontchartrain is also known as the Causeway, which is the world's longest continuous bridge over water. Lake Pontchartrain is a very, very large lake. So there was really very little to no chance that we would ever recover that weapon. It's often speculated how many weapons could possibly be at the bottom of Lake Pontchartrain,

just to give you an idea of how massive the lake is. So let's sort through this. Alfred, James Reign's brother, said he was hired by James and Emma to murder Emma's first husband, Ernest Smith. And he did it for a cut of Ernest's life insurance money. However, Alfred claimed he had absolutely nothing to do with his brother James Reign's murder. The group knows they're all gonna sort of make a decision

what to do with this information and how to sort of protect Alfred to whatever extent they can, but also have him acknowledge what he has done. You know, he was sort of the last man standing who could bring it to the authorities. They certainly wanted Alfred to do the right thing, but they also wanted to somehow protect him. And so they offered to help him get an attorney. They advised him that he should report this to the authorities.

And Alfred says that he will. He promises that he's going to tell the police, he's going to come clean, and he's going to accept responsibility for what happens. But Alfred never went to the police. He just disappeared, leaving his relatives even more conflicted. They wondered, was Alfred hiding out? Was he being honest when he said he wasn't involved

in James' murder? Or worse, was he killed? There were so many moving parts. There were dead bodies, life insurance policies. They were left with very little options. So the families caught between a rock and a hard place. So what did they do? They decided to call a detective they saw on TV.

They see Descenda Barnes on a televised episode of a case that she had handled, a cold case in New Orleans, and decide to randomly reach out to her in the New Orleans Police Department. Relatives of James Rain came to police headquarters after seeing me on a Channel 6 news. James' brother and uncle were impressed by how Detective Barnes cracked an unrelated cold case,

and they felt she was the person to help them. They had recently learned about the brother being involved, Alfred Everett, and as soon as they tried to give him the opportunity to come forward and to speak to the authorities, and when he refused they had to, I guess, take matters in their own hand and they had to advise the authorities of what they were able to learn. They handed over the insurance documents that mysteriously wound up in the mailbox of James Raines' brother.

Think about that. How did that happen? And then they shared Alfred Everett's confession with Detective Barnes. That could not have been easy. A lot of witnesses come forward after their family members are murdered, and I guess they feel for their family. And now they can put their self in that family's shoes. So that allows them to, I guess, have a come to Jesus moment.

Prosecutor Laura Roderig worked with Detective Barnes. I remember Descenda and I kind of sitting down and being like, whoa, you know, it was just not your typical case. No, it wasn't. And now the New Orleans PD reopened the murder investigation of Emma Reign's first husband, Everett Smith. As soon as she sat down with them and they gave her the information and she was able to pull the cold case file, it was very obvious to her that this was making sense.

And wait for this. Once everything came into focus, the police would find another victim. He was tragically hit by a vehicle. And there was a growing fear that there were more. This was somebody who had no regard for human life at all. And it will all hinge on finding Alfred Everett. We had a murder for hire, you know, somebody killing husbands to make a living. I'm Sloane Glass. In the surprising conclusion of Bodies on the Bayou, we'll uncover all the secrets behind

the murders of Ernest Smith and James Reign. She gets the phone call, she learns that James is dead, hopped some champagne and had sex to celebrate. That's next time on American Homicide. You can contact the American Homicide team by emailing us at americanhomicidepodatgmail.com. That's americanhomicidepodatgmail.com. American Homicide is hosted and written by me Sloane Glass and is a production of Glass Podcasts, a division of Glass Entertainment Group in partnership with iHeart Podcasts.

The show is executive produced by Nancy Glass and Todd Gans. The series is also written and produced by Todd Gans with additional writing by Ben Fetterman and Andrea Gunning. Our associate producer is Kristen Malcuri. Our iHeart team is Allie Perry and Jessica Kreincheck. Audio editing, mixing and mastering by Nico Arruca. American Homicide's theme song was composed by Oliver Baines of Noiser. Music library provided by MyMusic. Follow American Homicide on Apple podcasts, and please rate and review American Homicide. Your five-star review goes a long way towards helping others find this show. For more podcasts from iHeart, visit the iHeart Radio app,

Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Prohibition is synonymous with speakeasies, jazz, flappers, and of course, failure. I'm Ed Helms, and on season three of my podcast, Snafu, there's a story I couldn't wait to tell you. It's about an unlikely duo in the 1920s who tried to warn the public that Prohibition was going to backfire so badly, it just might leave thousands dead from poison. Listen and subscribe to Snafu on the iHeart radio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

What's up y'all? I'm A.J. Andrews, pro softball player, sports analyst, and the first woman to win a Rawlings Gold Glove. On my new podcast, Dropping Diamonds, we dive headfirst into the world of softball by sharing powerful stories, insights, and conversations that inspire and empower. It's time to drop bombs and diamonds. Dropping Diamonds with AJ Andrews is an iHeart women's sports production and partnership with Athletes Unlimited Softball League and Deep Blue Sports and Entertainment. Listen to dropping diamonds with AJ Andrews

on the iHeart radio app, Apple podcast or wherever you get your podcast. Brought to you by Novartis, founding partner of iHeart Women's Sports Network. I'm Emi Olea, host of the podcast Crumbs.

For years, I had to rely on other people to tell me my story. And what I heard wasn't good. You really f***ed last night. It felt like I lived most of my life in a blackout. I was trapped in addiction. You had to grab the lamp and smash it against the walls. And then I decided I wanted to tell my own story.

Listen to Krumz on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey y'all, it's your girl Cheekies and I'm back with a brand new season of your favorite podcast, Cheekies and Chill. I'll be sharing even more personal stories with you guys and as always, you'll get my exclusive take on topics like love, personal growth, health, family ties, and more. And don't forget, I'll also be dishing out my best advice to you on episodes of Dear Cheekies. It's going to be an exciting year

and I hope that you can join me. Listen to Cheekies and Chill, season four, on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcasts.