Cold Case Files - Murder in the Bayou: Lost Soul in Lafayette

Episode Date: March 25, 2025

When the body of free-spirited Bonnie Ruphard, 47, is spotted by a runner in Lafayette, LA, police suspect domestic violence. The case sits for a decade until DNA places a sprawling Bayou family under the microscope for her murder.Cook Unity: - Go to Cookunity.com/COLD or enter code COLD before checkout for 50% off your first week!Homes.com: We’ve done your homework.Progressive: Multitask right now. Quote your car insurance at Progressive.com to join the over 28 million drivers who trust Progressive.Quince: Go to Quince.com/coldcase for free shipping on your order and 365-day returnsSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Hi, cold case listeners. I'm Marissa Pinson. And if you're enjoying this show, I just want to remind you that episodes of cold case files as well as the A&E classic podcasts, I survived, American justice and city confidential are all available ad free on the new A&E crime and investigation channel on Apple podcasts and Apple plus for just $4.99 a month or $39.99 a year. And now on to the show. a month or $39.99 a year. And now onto the show. This program contains subject matter that may be disturbing to some listeners. Listener discretion is advised. My mom said she was going to Louisiana and next thing you know, she was gone. The east side of Lafayette, it's a very remote area,

very desolate. Someone could really do some heinous things in those areas. There are gators, water moccasins. It's not all fun and games when you get lost and trouble quick. This was probably one of the bloodiest scenes that I had seen. Her neck was cut very deep and possibly multiple times. I started fighting and others couldn't stop. I had no control.

This was pure evil. Somebody that had no regards for life whatsoever. I told them, you treat this like this was your mother because I want answers. There are over 100,000 cold cases in America. Only about 1% are ever solved. This is one of those rare stories. Stephen Bajaw is a sergeant with the Lafayette Police Department. Lafayette's located in south central Louisiana, about 50 miles west of the Mississippi River, 20-30 miles from the Gulf of Mexico. It's an entertainment hub.

Shay Randall is a former reporter for The Daily Advertiser. Lafayette is its own little bitty piece of Louisiana. It's really small and has its own little flavor. The Haitian culture is everywhere. I mean, it's in the food, it's in the way that people live their lives. I don't think I went to as many festivals and just celebrations as I've ever been in any other place that I've lived. I felt like I could connect to people a little bit better because they're so welcoming. I still love it very much.

It's still very much home for me. Just a few miles from Lafayette City Center lie the murky depths of the bayou. As soon as you leave the city limits, you're in an area where there's no lights, there's no houses, buildings, or any kind of structures. The majority of that area is very desolate, very remote. You're in swamp land.

You're in a marshland. You end up in bayous and bring your hip boots because you're going to be in mud and water. There are gators, water moccasins. It's not all fun and games when you get lost and trouble quick. Someone could really do some heinous things in those areas. On Saturday, December 6th of 2008,

it was a typical cool morning. The Cajun Country Marathon at the time was a half on half off road marathon that was taking place in Lafayette. A runner was warming up prior to the event and had stepped off of one of the trails to relieve himself and while in doing so he located a female obviously deceased and he notified the local sheriff's deputies that were working the race off duty. Sergeant Bajaw makes his way to the crime scene just off La Junet Road, an

area surrounded by thick southern oak and cypress. The body of the victim was about 20 yards inside the woods from the roadway. The victim was a white female. She was in her mid 40s. Her arms were above her head. And there was a significant amount of blood in the area. The most obvious injury that we were able to tell was that her neck had been cut very deep and possibly multiple times. She was still fully clothed. Her pants were unbuttoned, but it didn't appear that the victim had been sexually assaulted. Her killer leaves behind one identifying and vicious piece of evidence.

We located a boot print in blood on her chest, which would have been caused after the stabbing occurred because she was found lying on her back. That made it look like there was anger involved and that it was a personal attack on her. At the time that this occurred, I was on the force for nearly eight years, and this was probably one of the bloodiest scenes that I had seen. Scott Broussard is a sergeant with the Lafayette Police Department. Since the body was found with no animal activity or no kind of decomposition, which happens very fast here in South Louisiana, it led us to believe that she

had not been there very long. We were unable to find any identification, any type of purse, any type of personal belongings. There was only one thing that was located in her pocket, and that was a room key to a local hotel. The key belongs to room 46 at the Regency Inn, located five miles from the crime scene. When detectives arrived at the Regency Inn, using the key and the room number, we went and knocked on the door to see if there were any associates that would help us identify the victim.

We were able to locate a female who said that her friend, Bonnie Rupert, had not returned from the evening before. We learned that Bonnie Rupert was in her late 40s. She wasn't a resident of this area, she was from Illinois. With the hotel key and the statement that we obtained from the friend that we interviewed, we were fairly confident that Bonnie was the individual that we found off of Lajane Road.

Fingerprints confirmed the victim as 47-year-old Bonnie Faye Rupert. Detectives reach out to her daughter, Nicole Teague, in Illinois to break the news. I got off of work. I was in IGA. It was me and my daughter's father. And my grandma called.

She said, hey, girl, are you off work? I said, yeah. I remember her saying, they found your mama dead today. I said, huh? She said, yeah, they found your mama dead today. And I remember falling in the middle of the store. And my daughter's father looked at me. He said, I know that. I know that scream.

He said, is body feel okay? I said, no. My mom was from Broughton, Illinois. My mother went through some horrible things that had happened to her by her grandfather. And at age 14, my mom decided to leave Broton, and she came to Champaign, Illinois, and she met my father.

I was born, but my mom was my mom. I mean, she just had a tough fight in this world. She had really bad depression and anxiety, and she was bipolar. And I think instead of her taking her meds, she would turn to the drugs and that would help numb her. But when that high came down, those problems were still there. As Bonnie struggles with addiction, she parts ways with Nicole's father. In 1981, Nicole's grandmother steps in to adopt her while free-spirited Bonnie takes to the road. My mom was a worldly woman.

She was 5'11", beautiful. She had these olive skin tones, and she had the most beautifulest hair and the most bubbliest personality, and she just traveled. She would be in California, Texas, Massachusetts. All I could say is she traveled very well. Two decades pass.

Nicole is in her mid-20s and a mother herself. When Bonnie returns, she's welcomed with open arms and once again makes Illinois her home. Giselle Carter is Bonnie's granddaughter. When Grandma Bonnie came into my life, I was about six or seven. She was a lively woman. She always kept herself up, jewelry, purses, her hair done. She taught me how to do an inside-out French braid, how to take care of my hair, and she was excited about it.

She was happy to be a part of her grandkids' life. It was a good moment because now I had another grandma that spoiled me. In 2007, Bonnie's wanderlust kicks in again. I came to visit my mom one day and she told me she was leaving. She said, I met this cool man. I didn't even know his name. And she said she was going to Louisiana. I said, you know what you're doing? She told me, yeah. And next thing you know, she was gone. Police discover Bonnie is part of a traveling group. She's been sharing a room with the man she mentioned to her daughter. His name is Lambert Hatfield and their relationship is rocky.

We had learned that there was a domestic incident that had several months prior, out of state, where it was reported that Lambert was intoxicated and had struck Bonnie, which led her to go to a woman's shelter and to get a stay-away order against him. Bonnie had checked into the women's shelter and then had checked out, stating that she was traveling to Mississippi to do some work, which obviously wasn't the case because she ended up here in Lafayette with Lambert.

It's a very high percentage of when a woman is murdered that it's going to be some type of romantic partner or relationship going bad. And because of the injuries and how violent this crime was, the total disregard for her body and her remains that led us to believe that someone committed the murder in a fit of rage, you would associate these types of wounds

with a domestic violence incident. That'll definitely raise a red flag and make Lambert suspect number one. Bonnie Rupert and Lambert Hatfield had been traveling together for some time. And there's a history of domestic violence. Investigators bring Lambert in for questioning. Lambert said that the last time he saw Bonnie

was the Friday morning prior to her death, and that as he left to go to work, she was still sleeping in the hotel room. Lambert denies any involvement in Bonnie's murder. Lambert said that Bonnie would disappear on occasion and that she would perform sex acts as a form of revenue so that she could purchase narcotics. It appeared that Bonnie was in this situation because of addiction, and doing that along with small odd jobs is the only way that she could support herself and live to see the next day. Lambert said that he didn't approve of what she was doing, but was okay with the fact that she was bringing in some type of revenue. Additional information that we learned is that Lambert had told Bonnie to get rid of all of her identification and to cut ties with all of her family in Illinois.

Doing this to someone is a clear sign of them trying to isolate them from anyone that they love and could be considered potentially premeditation to commit a murder and make it difficult for law enforcement to identify the victim. I started going online searching and I seen a picture in an article that the Lambert had beat on her and she looked sad and she looked down and out. You got rid of her ID, you wouldn't let her call me anymore. Most people who do that, it's because they have something to hide and they're about to do something really, really crazy.

Because it was such a violent crime, you look at the individual to see if they had any types of injuries or scratches on their hands, anything on their face, and Lambert didn't have any of those. Lambert's clothing was also looked at closely. His shoes were inspected not only for blood or trace evidence, but for the tread on the soles. And that was compared to any type of tread that we located on the scene, and none of those matched. And no physical evidence of blood was found on his shoes. Lambert was very cooperative with the detective that was conducting the interview.

He answered all of the questions. He voluntarily gave a DNA sample and ultimately took the polygraph. The results of that test showed that he did not show any deceit. The amount of cooperation that he extended towards us, the lack of physical injuries, and just the way that he presented himself

led us to believe that he wasn't involved in the murder. On December 8th, 2008, an autopsy was conducted on Bonnie at the Lafayette Parish Coroner's Office. The initial thought that Bonnie wasn't sexually assaulted was confirmed. The pathologist discovered that Bonnie was stabbed 11 times on her back and shoulders.

She was struck with a blunt object approximately four times on her head, and that her throat was slashed six times. When looking at everything that took place in the scene, the boot print on Bonnie's chest and blood, the blunt force trauma, the multiple stab wounds, and the way that she was discarded in a trash pile, this was pure evil.

Somebody that had no regards for life whatsoever. Hearing the details of her death, it kind of made me hurt worse. Whoever did it, they beat her, they stabbed her all over her body, and they bashed her skull in. You really wanted to end her life, and I just want to know why. A monster did that.

But that monster didn't realize who he was dealing with dealing with my mom. And I know my mom was a fighter. And when I tell you, wrist was broke from her punching bag, stab wounds everywhere. That little lady fought for her life. Bonnie's battle with her killer may well provide detectives with the evidence to catch him. During the autopsy,

it's standard procedure to get nail scrapings. In the case of Bonnie, there was skin that was located underneath her fingernails. During the autopsy, it's standard procedure to get nail scrapings. In the case of Bonnie, there was skin that was located underneath her fingernails. While documenting the blood stains on Bonnie Ruppert's shoes, a 90-degree drop was located near her laces and on the toe of her shoe. A 90-degree blood drop is the perfect circle. This indicates to us that it came from an elevated level. That type of blood drop leads investigators to believe

that the suspect was standing over her whenever the blood was deposited there. It could have been from one of the items that the suspect used to stab Bonnie. She could have punched the suspect in the nose, could have scratched him, could have caused him to bleed. But they led me to believe that whoever stabbed her had cut himself during the altercation

and had blood on her shoes. So we were fairly confident that we had the suspect's blood, we had the suspect's skin, DNA evidence that potentially could help us identify that individual that committed this heinous murder. A swab of the 90-degree blood drop, along with Bonnie's fingernail scrapings, was sent to the Akitiana crime lab for DNA testing with the hopes of finding a suspect. As detectives await lab results, Bonnie's body is transported north 700 miles to her

hometown of Broughton, Illinois, where she is finally laid to rest. We just had a small little grave sign service. But before we went there, my grandmother took me and we got the most prettiest nightgown. Went a housecoat and it was silky and long. She said, you don't have to get her regular clothes in the car. She's going to bed for the rest of her life.

And they got her dressed and I looked at her and I gave her a kiss. She was so young. Like she was 47. You still have a whole life ahead of you. She still had time to change. She had time to fix her life. She had time to, like, make things better. And that's not fair.

It's not fair that she didn't get the chance to, like, keep being, you know, be able to be a better person. As the family grieves, detectives receive results from the lab. Ten days after submitting the blood swabs and fingernail scrapings from Bonnie to the KDNA crime lab, we received a full DNA profile of a white male. So we were fairly confident that this was the blood and DNA profile of our suspect. The sample was Internet of CODIS, but the national database where the DNA is stored, you have to commit a felony or a violent crime. It did not match to anybody in the database at the time. That was extremely frustrating for us because we felt that the individual that was

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Prior to Bonnie's death, since 2005, about 40 miles down the interstate in Jennings, Louisiana, seven women have been killed and their bodies disposed of in these very remote places, canals, wooded areas. It is alarming. Jennings is very small. It's a very everybody-knows-everybody type of place. All of these women lived very similar lifestyles. Some of them had to resort to doing sex work. Some of them have lived through poverty.

They have some substance abuse issues. Detectives cannot ignore the eerie similarity to Bonnie's case. Some of them have lived through poverty. They have some substance abuse issues. Detectives cannot ignore the eerie similarity to Bonnie's case. Bonnie was somewhat down on her luck. She would prostitute herself for money. So we felt like because of the victimology that Bonnie could have been a victim of their suspect.

We also have where these women in Jennings, their bodies have been disposed of in these very remote places. And then you have Bonnie Lafayette, who also you find her body off into the woods. You're wondering if the same person is doing the same thing in these two very small communities. I was scared for everyone

because it wasn't just my mother. It was young ladies and women all over because killers move. They kill people from one town to the next town, and they don't stop until they are caught. You start to wonder if this is a serial killer. Is he or she expanding their territory? Do we have to worry about somebody else being killed?

Is this coming this way? We were concerned that the serial killer that was operating 40 miles down the road had moved his operation into our city. It's a very eerie feeling that you really can't shake. And so for that to spread to somewhere like Lafayette that is happy-go-lucky, community-oriented, it's an unsettling thing because you don't know

what's going to happen next. Local agencies were investigating those other murders that took place in the Jennings area, and we reached out to those agencies because of the victimology. Bobby O'Dneay, Sr. is the Assistant Attorney General for the Louisiana Department of Justice. There were similarities in all of those young ladies' backgrounds. Young women who basically lived the same lifestyle as Bonnie. Substance abuse problems, some sex work. We contacted investigators that were in charge of those crimes,

compared similarities to what was going on. Looking at the injuries to victims in that area and the extensive stab wounds that Bonnie had, we were able to determine that there were minimal similarities. While Bonnie was stabbed to death, investigators believe that most of the Jennings victims were strangled.

We determined that Bonnie wasn't a victim of their suspect, and we were able to exclude her from that group. This is a setback for detectives who are now out of leads. The lead investigator in Bonnie's case worked diligently for months, exhausted all leads, exhausted all tips, and ultimately, she decided to suspend the case. It's extremely frustrating when all the leads dry up.

One of the worst things that can happen to an investigator is to hit that wall. After a year of effort by investigators, the case of the murdered grandmother goes cold. I was angry at whoever did it. I was angry at the world because it wasn't fair I lost my grandma. And especially when I got her into my life later in life. So to get her taken away from me permanently, it was a different type of pain because like she can't come back this time. It's now February 2012, three years after Bonnie's murder.

Though her case sits on the shelf, the crime lab continues to run DNA samples through CODIS, looking for a match to their suspect. Then something catches a specialist's eye. One of the lab technicians recognized a familial trait on the Y chromosome. That familial trait ran in the Abare family. So if you were a male with the last name Abare or your father had the last name Amare, you were likely to carry this trait. So while there was still no hit in the database, you now had a last name. What feels like a major break in the case could be more akin to finding a needle in a haystack. With a little research, I was able to determine that just in the state of Louisiana,

there's over 20,000 individuals that have that last name. You can narrow that down because we're looking for a male, but it's still a significant amount of people in the state. By 2013, I had been transferred to our Homicide Violent Crimes section. And upon my arrival in that section, I requested that I be assigned Bonnie's case. Because I was on the scene, because of how violent it was,

it was always in my mind. And having the opportunity to pick it back up in 2013, I jumped at the chance. Having that full DNA profile, I knew that if we identified a very good suspect, that we could solve it. The lab was able to identify three A-bears that had a very distant DNA match to our suspect. And the first thing I thought of at that time was to get as many swabs from family members

along the family tree of the known individuals that we had. And if I could find a common relative, possibly I could get a suspect name and do what I could to get a swap from them to compare to our suspect. It's now March 8th, 2018, nine years after Bonnie's murder. For years, Sergeant Bajaw collects voluntary DNA samples from A. Behr family members and keeps plugging them into the system without a hit until a surprise phone call reignites the investigation. So in March of 2018, 10 years after Bonnie's murder took place, I was building a shed in

the back of my house and I received a phone call from the crime lab. And the technician who I'd worked with for years was extremely excited on the other side of the phone saying, we got him, we got him. When she finally calmed down, she said that she had a match to the suspect DNA in Bonnie's case and that he had been arrested on a drug charge and booked into the Lafayette Parish Correctional Center, where they obtained a swab from during the booking process.

And in fact, that it was an A-bear and it was an individual by the name of Millard A-Bear. I was extremely excited because I knew that I had him. Looking into Millard's background, up until 2018, Millard was leading a clean life. He was a family man from a small town called Youngsville, just south of the city of Lafayette. We learned that he was a tow truck driver

for a local tow company, and that he was in his mid to late 50s. Luckily for us, Millard was still waiting to bond out on the drug charge. And I couldn't wait to get into work the next morning to hit the ground running and do what we needed to do to make sure that he didn't harm anybody else. and do what we needed to do to make sure that he didn't harm anybody else.

How you doing, Mr. Avery? I'm fine. How's your meal? You good? Oh, cool. You cool? Yeah. So we arranged it with our local sheriff's department

to bring him down to an interview room. What is this about? This is about a case that happened in 2008. Just because your DNA is found at the scene doesn't mean you committed the murder. But it was blood and skin under Bonnie's fingernails. Have you ever seen this woman before? No.

Explaining why his DNA was present was going to be difficult. Anybody by the name of Bonnie? You have any news with anybody by the name of Bonnie? Not that I remember. Sergeant Bajaw doesn't waste any time diving into the reason he's questioning Millard Abear. What I do is I investigate cold case murders.

Okay. And, you know, to be blunt forward and straight honest with you, we're here mainly because you hadn't been arrested since 1987. Right. That was pre-DNA. Okay. And you were swabbed when you were booked on February 15th and that swab was sent to the crime lab. Okay. And your DNA came back to this homicide. When I say your DNA, your blood and your

skin was on her body. Okay. At this point, we're beyond any you saying I wasn't involved or anything like that. We're here to find out what happened, and we'd like to hear your side of what took place. But I'm trying to remember this, but I've been a mess for a while. I understand. And I don't remember anything.

When we started the interview, Miller didn't know why we were there, but that didn't last long. I know just from sitting here looking at you that you know what happened that night. I've had flashbacks of thinking something happened, but now you remember something, but you don't know if it was reality or not.

I want you to understand that I know what happened to her. I was there. I saw everything. I know how she died. I believe you know, but I believe it's hard for you to understand that I know what happened to her. I was there, I saw everything. I know how she died. I believe you know, but I believe it's hard for you to say what happened. Well, at that point I sat back in my chair and within 30 seconds, Miller just started talking

and without even being asked a question. I picked her up, I believe on Cameron Street. I said, yeah, I don't remember. I was on the map. I picked her up high and we were all around. Pulled off on the side there and got out the truck in the back and started fighting. And I strangled her.

I freaked out. Couldn't stop. She cut me with a knife. Then I cut her with a knife. And I hit her. Hit her in the head. I was lost. I was lost.

I had no control. Do you remember how she ended up dying? I went away. OK. Well, the hard thing for me to believe is the wounds that she had. There's no way that you would not have known that she was dead. Oh, I mean, I blacked out.

I don't. I remember hitting her. What I did after that, I can't tell you. I believe when Millard said I blacked out. I don't... I remember hitting her. What I did after that, I can't tell you. I believe when Millard said he blacked out, he knew how brutal it was. He was disgusted by it, I feel. And I don't think that he could bring himself to admit fully what he had done to Bonnie.

What sparked it? Was there an altercation? I mean, was there an argument? Was that... Yeah, uh, Bonnie for sex. That's what it was about. We started arguing about it and then it just escalated from there. Threatening to call the cops on me and telling them I was picking her up in the red car. Millard said that during that argument, Bonnie threatened to call the police and she threatened to call his employment and report that he was doing this type of activity on the job.

I believe that he was scared to lose his job. I believe he was scared to be arrested. I believe that he was high on some type of narcotic and lost control. Was there any blood on you that you noticed after? I had a cut on my hand. I know it's because I had it on my face. We were able to determine the blood came from his hand,

and the skin more than likely came from his face. Mr. Avery, this is a question I ask everybody. It's not just you, but is this the only incident that you've been involved in like that? There's the only one. Nothing else? Nothing else. The brutality of the murder, it was shocking to us

that Mirla hadn't done it again or hadn't done it before. We were diligent and looking to see if he would have been involved in anything else. And ultimately, this appeared to be the only time that he had done that. I was well-respected. I was like a lethal drug that destroyed me, my family, her family, her life. What surprised me is that being a tow truck driver, he had instances where he was involved with law enforcement for years on all of our accident scenes, and he was right there amongst us the entire time.

I feel good and I feel terrible. I don't have to live with this anymore. Her poor family. Sergeant Bajaw immediately calls Bonnie's daughter, Nicole, in Illinois to share the news she's waited a decade to hear. I was at work and my phone rang, and I wasn't going to answer it, but I said,

this is a Louisiana number. And I remember it was March 9th and her birthday was March 10th. And he said, we got him. And I remember saying, boy, that's the best birthday present you could have ever gave her. And I was excited and I was in the hallway jumping up and down. That little piece of hope that I had held on to for all those years, it finally came true.

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not available in all states. On March 16th, 2018, former police chief Toby Aguilard announces the arrest of Millard A. Bear for the murder of Bonnie Rupert. We at the Lafayette Police Department want the public to understand that we don't put cases down here. public to understand that we don't put cases down here. It may have taken us 10 years to bring someone to justice in this case, but it's important that the public know that we don't stop. So the message we hope to the family is that this arrest leads to some sense of justice and some sense of closure. As A-Bear's case moves through the court, Bonnie's family makes an unusual request.

I asked the prosecutor not to take this to trial because I did not want to drag my mother through the mud. I want this to be done at all with. I didn't want my kids to have to experience that trial. I did think about the fact that Miller had a wife and a daughter. And I felt bad for them that they see that their father and husband had murdered someone. They had nothing to do with this. They knew nothing about it. And I had sympathy for them also.

I didn't want anyone's life dragged through the mud unnecessarily. Millard Abear pleads guilty to manslaughter and is sentenced to 20 years in prison. The fact that Millard openly came out and confessed made it seem like this had been a burden that had been bearing down on him for 10 years. He knew how brutal it was. He was disgusted by it. I believe Millard was truly remorseful in what he had done. When the sentencing hearing was over, I met the detective in the hallway

and I gave him the biggest hug. And it was a hug of peace. He was able to give me something and it wasn't about him and it wasn't about making a name for himself. And I am forever grateful to him. Of all things that makes you feel good as a law enforcement officer, it's that hug. It's the thank you and the gratification show

by the victim's family. That's unexplainable. Nicole also makes a special request of Sergeant Bajaw. I said, do you have anything left that I can have from my mom? And he had me follow him to the police station. And he said, I can't give you much. And I placed these in this napkin when he gave them to me.

It's three earrings that she had on when she was killed, one set and one little one. And no, I won't wear these earrings. But these earrings give me a little piece and a little hope and let me know if nothing else, we always have a little piece of her. My grandma Bonnie lived her life the way she wanted to live, free. Without a worry in this world, that's what I want to remember. I want to remember her happy smile and face.

I want to remember the good times we had, the lessons she taught me. She was a loving person. And that's what I love, because not everybody can find that little bit of happiness in a world full of darkness. you love streaming for free. That means laughter is free with gut-busting comedies like The Neighborhood, Boomerang and Ferris Bueller's Day Off. Mystery is free with countless cases to crack from Criminal Minds, Tracker and Matlock. And thrills are free with heart-pumping hits like The Walking Dead and Pulp Fiction. Correct the mundo. Feel the free. Pluto TV.

Stream now, pay never. Resolve to earn your degree in the New Year in the Bay with WGU. With courses available online 24-7 and monthly start dates, WGU offers maximum flexibility so you can focus on your future. Learn more at wgu.edu.