Prosecutors expect imminent ‘resolution’ in 2019 case involving multi-parish killing spree

WALKER – Prosecutors in Livingston Parish are expecting to soon resolve a case involving a man accused of killing five people in a shooting spree that spanned multiple parishes in 2019.

Dakota Theriot, who was 21 years old at the time, was charged with shooting and killing his girlfriend, her brother and her father in Livingston Parish. Theriot then drove to Ascension Parish, where he is accused of killing his mother and father. 

Theriot fled the state after the killings, and he was later captured outside his grandmother’s home in Virginia. A deputy was later quoted saying that Theriot admitted to killing the victims in “pure, cold blood.”

In Livingston Parish, where Theriot faces three counts of murder, prosecutors previously said they would pursue the death penalty. Prosecutors over Theriot’s case there said Tuesday that a “possible case resolution” may come as soon as Wednesday morning.

Court filings show he’s also scheduled to appear Wednesday afternoon in Ascension Parish, where he faces two more counts of murder, suggesting prosecutors in both parishes may have worked out a deal.

Records also show Theriot was found competent to stand trial in December, with a status hearing set for Jan. 11.

Read the full announcement from Scott Perrilloux, the district attorney for Livingston Parish, below:

The Twenty-first Judical District Attorney’s Office of Scott M. Perrilloux wishes to announce possible court action in the case of State v. Dakota Theriot in which Dakota Theriot is charged with three counts of first-degree murder.

Dakota Theriot is scheduled to appear for court in Livingston tomorrow morning at 9:30 a.m.
before the Honorable Brenda B. Ricks. A possible case resolution is expected to come from his court appearance.

More information will be released following Theriot’s court appearance tomorrow.