The case that spurred a family to lobby for changes to Louisiana's laws on restraining orders ended today when a jury found Demetric Cornell Savoy guilty of the murder of Heather Mouton.
Jury selection began on June 14 and the trial ended today. The jury found Savoy guilty of second-degree murder and unauthorized entry of an inhabited dwelling. He faces a mandatory sentence of life in prison without possibility of probation, parole or suspension of sentence.
Heather Mouton died on May 25, 2018 at her home in Crowley. Just two weeks prior, she obtained a restraining order against Savoy, her estranged husband. Mouton, a mother of three, wrote in the request that Savoy "strangled/choked" her, and at one point asked if she "was ready to die."
"Lord knows I’m not ready to die. I have [too] much to live for," she wrote. "He said I better not report him or else."
Savoy broke into her home and shot her twice in the head, police said at the time. He was arrested quickly due to tips from the community, police said.
Within a month, her family was lobbying for stricter domestic violence and restraining order laws.
The result was Heather's Law, which was passed by the legislature in 2019 and became law that summer. It requires that all restraining orders be immediately forwarded to local law enforcement, and it requires officials to explain to victims that a restraining order does not initiate criminal charges against the subject of the order.
Savoy will be formally sentenced by Judge David Smith at a later date.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Elliott Cassidy, with assistance from Burton Guidry.
