In a decades-old Louisiana cold case, Louisiana State Police said a podcast helped turn public attention into new leads—ultimately leading to criminal charges against four men in the rape and murder of Roxanne Sharp, a 16-year-old whose killing occurred in St. Tammany Parish in 1982.
Sharp was found dead in the woods of the parish, about 30 miles (48 kilometers) north of New Orleans, after police struggled for years to solve the case because of a lack of evidence and witnesses willing to come forward. Investigators later reached out to a local media company, Northshore Media, which agreed to produce a six-part podcast titled “Who Killed Roxanne Sharp?” that aired last year and renewed interest in the case.
Louisiana State Police spokesperson Marc Gremillion said the podcast helped investigators “piece together where Roxanne was days before to the time she died, to where we’re at now,” and he said it helped “get[] that message out to the public” so that “those witnesses” could return to investigators. Police also credited the podcast with producing crucial tips from the public and prompting new witnesses to approach investigators over the past few days.
Authorities announced that four men now face criminal charges connected to Sharp’s killing and described their charges as aggravated rape and second-degree murder. The men are Perry Wayne Taylor, 64; Darrell Dean Spell, 64; Carlos Cooper, 64; and Billy Williams Jr., 62.
The state said that Cooper and Taylor were already in prison on unrelated charges, while Williams and Spell were arrested earlier this week. Gremillion added that Sharp was an acquaintance of the four men and that she was known to frequent the neighborhood where they lived.
Sharp’s family expressed hope for closure after the announcement. Her niece, Michele Lappin, said in a statement on behalf of the family that they appreciate the work and “love that has been shown to Roxanne Sharp’s case” and that they hope “with justice will come healing and closure” for her family, loved ones, and community.
Williams’ son, Billy Williams III, said his father is innocent. He told The Associated Press that his father “thinks they’re putting him in for something he didn’t do,” and that he “would never in his life hurt anyone.”
Northshore Media vice president Charles Dowdy said the production team initially thought “nobody cared,” but that they were “quickly corrected” by members of the public who contacted them and said they knew Sharp. Dowdy said investigators also recreated aspects of the case as part of the podcast reporting, including using measuring tapes to mark exact locations where Sharp’s body was found and where other evidence was uncovered, and he said the audio recording showed that “she’d been grabbed on the street and dragged into the woods.”
The case had previously drawn other leads, including when serial killer Henry Lucas claimed responsibility for Sharp’s murder. Lucas later retracted that claim, and police said other evidence disproved his connection to the killing.
St. Tammany Parish resident Justin Joiner said his father—described as a Covington police officer—was among the first law enforcement to arrive at the scene and remained frustrated about the lack of closure for years. Joiner said the case became “a big black cloud on the community” and that people treated it as something to discuss privately, but he said the podcast opened discussion across generations and throughout the community, according to The Associated Press.
Covington Police Department Chief Michael Ferrell said cold cases close only when people keep working on them, adding in a statement that his agencies “refuse[d] to quit” and that “today, Roxanne and her family finally have the justice they have waited so long for.”