A Louisiana cold case that sat unsolved for 43 years may finally be nearing an answer, thanks in part to a true-crime podcast. Four men have been charged in the 1982 rape and killing of 16-year-old Roxanne Sharp, whose body was found near the St. Tammany Parish Fairgrounds in Covington after she was sexually assaulted and strangled, Louisiana State Police announced Friday, per NBC News. Investigators at the time had little to go on, and the trail went cold for decades until 2023, when LSP reopened the file, re-interviewed witnesses and potential suspects, and sent old samples for new DNA testing.
Police then teamed up with local radio host Charles Dowdy and Northshore Media Group to launch the podcast Who Killed Roxanne?, which last year aired evidence showing Sharp was "grabbed on the street and dragged into the woods," Dowdy tells the AP. The podcast drew out fresh leads and witness cooperation and "helped our investigators piece together where Roxanne was days before to the time she died, to where we're at now," LSP spokesperson Marc Gremillion tells the AP.
This month, authorities arrested Billy Williams Jr., 62, in Covington, and Darrell Dean Spell, 64, in Ohio, while two other suspects, 64-year-olds Perry Wayne Taylor and Carlos Cooper, were already in Louisiana state custody on unrelated charges. Gremillion says Sharp was an acquaintance of the men who often visited their neighborhood. All four face counts of aggravated rape and second-degree murder. Williams' son says his father denies hurting anyone, while Sharp's niece, Michele Lappin, says the family hopes justice will finally be served.
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