The Jennings 8 murders are back in the news after the Dr. Oz show featured the case, which has gone unsolved for more than a decade.
Oz described the case as a small-town crime story with law enforcement "caught up in a web of cover-ups and lies."
The show’s true-crime correspondent, Melissa Moore, said she traveled to Jennings to research the murders that happened over a span of four years, from 2005-08.
Moore alleged that law enforcement in the area colluded to protect major drug dealers there, claiming that they did not process evidence in the case.
"These are powerful people that have a lot to lose," Moore said.
Moore did not present any evidence to support the connection between drug cartels and law enforcement, and she did not specify which evidence she believes has been excluded. She also said she tried to interview a man named Frankie Richard, who’s a person of interest in the cases, but he declined an interview without compensation.
Moore did bring onto the show a former nurse, who claimed some of the victims foresaw their murders.
Nina Ravey said she treated some of the women when she operated a clinic in Jennings. Ravey claimed the women confided to her that they witnessed a drug deal gone bad and that would get them killed.
"They felt like I could maybe be a spokesperson for them. And I tried to be. But it backfired on me," Ravey said.
Ravey said when she reported this to local law enforcement, they turned a blind eye. She said the women were impoverished and addicted to drugs, so the warden called them liars. Ravey also alleged that when she urged law enforcement to pay attention to the women’s claims, they retaliated.
"They turned around and used it against me to get the State Police to come and charge me with collusion to get money from the Sheriff’s department," Ravey said on the show.
Law enforcement in Jefferson Davis Parish responded on Wednesday.
"They proclaim that they have overwhelming evidence and information that would make the case solvable, but they haven’t approached us or given us any of this information to verify if it’s true," Chief Deputy Chris Ivey told KATC. "They have no access to any of the evidence, so I don’t know how they are even determining that they have evidence they can solve the case with."
Ivey said the case is still open.
"They proclaim that they have overwhelming evidence and information that would make the case solvable, but they haven’t approached us or offered any of this information or given us any of this information to verify if its true. They have no access to any of the evidence so I don’t know how they are even determining that they have evidence they can solve the case with," Ivey said.
