'Killer in Question' Episode 3: Who's Thomas Cisco? Investigation Discovery show visits 1997 Louisiana triple murder
After two episodes of revisiting past criminal cases, the Investigation Discovery series ‘Killer in Question’ is back with another new episode. The last two episodes were titled ‘The Hunted’ and ‘The Girl in the Lake’ respectively. ‘The Hunted’ featured the 1990 case of hunters Doug Estes and Jim Bennett. Episode two 'The Girl in the Lake', delved into the 1987 case of 11-year-old Teresa McAbee, whose body was found face down in a lake and the local rookie cop named James Duckett was the alleged culprit, who was given a death sentence.
Now, the third episode, titled ‘The Man with the Rabbit's Foot’, revisits the 1997 case where three bodies are found in the walk-in refrigerator of a store in Lake Charles, Louisiana. Later, Thomas Cisco, confessed to the murders. However, many including the victims' families still believe he has an accomplice who is still free.
Who is Thomas Cisco?
On July 6, 1997, Marty LeBouef, Stacie Reeves and Nicole Guidry were all found in the cooler of KK's Corner. The victims had been shot more than once, as per a KPLC news report. After a year of the incident, investigators arrested Thomas Frank Cisco. He was tried and sentenced to death.
However, both investigators and the victims’ families did not believe the case ended there. Major David Wagoner -- head of the Calcasieu Sheriff's Office Cold Case Unit -- said a witness saw more than one person that night. "When she was interviewed, she identified at least two people that entered the store that night, one of those being Cisco. So there was one more person in the company of cisco, there may have been more,” Wagoner says. Victim Marty’s Ellis had said, “They still have not recovered all of the checks that were taken and there are items that were taken from the victims that have not been recovered. If any of that could be discovered and linked to an individual or other individuals then it's possible that they might be able to solve this thing.”
According to the KPLC report, detectives inform that they have spent hours going through reports and have traveled to Tennessee, Oklahoma and California in search of new information. They even worked to identify people who may have information, including 17 people in the New Orleans area. Wagoner says, “We spent three weeks in the housing projects of New Orleans identifying these people, interviewing them and obtaining information that was not available to the task force when they began their initial investigation. One of the things with this type of investigation is that a person may have information the feel is insignificant, however, it could be extremely significant to us and have enormous weight as to the direction we go in.”
The report further states that during the course of the investigation, authorities identified two cars that were alleged to be involved in the case. One was a black car similar to a late 80's model Chevrolet Spectrum. The other was a full-sized red pickup truck. A body language expert was also called in to help review tapes of Cisco's interviews with investigators. She helped them identify people to target in the investigation. During those interviews, Cisco alleged three people were involved: Malcolm, Bobby and Chris. Investigators say Malcolm and Bobby were removed as suspects. However, they say a man by the name of Chris Cabral, who allegedly resembled a sketch of a man wanted for questioning, had not been cleared.
The woman who identified Cisco
In 1998, Lonnie Kemp watched ‘America's Most Wanted’ and after the show, her phone call helped to an arrest in the case. Kemp knew the victim Stacie Reeves, as reported by KPLC in the year 2000. After she heard that one of the two men leaving the store had a rabbit's foot key chain she got reminded of Cisco-- the only person she ever knew who had a rabbit's foot key chain. Kemp testified that her daughter was friends with Stacie and that she knew Cisco and would sometimes help him with family problems. She informed that two weeks before the murders Stacie had told her that Cisco was coming from New Orleans to Lake Charles.
Later, according to a 2001 KPLC report, Kemp wanted to collect the one hundred thousand dollar reward offered for information in the KK's corner murder case. However, the new sheriff's attorney had said no one qualifies for the reward. But Kemp was not ready to let go. What had happened was, almost a year after the triple murder no arrests were made. Then in June of ’98, then sheriff Wayne McElveen had offered a 100-thousand dollar reward. McElveen had said, according to the report, "This is one of the most horrible murders we've had in this parish. I would like to see it solved. You know my own son has been accused as have a lot of other people. So if this information can bring out the facts about who actually did it that's why I'm putting out one hundred thousand dollars."
How the events happened
The jury in the case also got to read the written statement Cisco made to the FBI two days prior to his arrest. He described participating in the robbery but said another man with him committed the murders. However, District Attorney Rick Bryant said the man Cisco tried to blame was not involved. “He had an alibi," Bryant said. "He was playing bingo that night with his family." Cisco's statement also gave vivid details about the crime and described the shooting of each victim. He allegedly said Stacie Reeves, “was crying and begging me to let her go.” The statement goes on, “I told her ...I couldn't...because he would kill both of us.”
In another report by KPLC, it is mentioned that on July 6, 1997, just before 5 am, two employees reported for work at the store. They called 911 after noticing something was wrong. Money was lying around and the door to the manager's office had been torn off the hinges. The first Calcasieu sheriff's deputy on the scene made the horrific discovery – the dead bodies of the three victims in the cooler. During testimony, it was revealed that the store's security system was not turned on that night and the watch guard security called the sheriff's department requesting a patrol officer to check the doors. However, no one was dispatched.
Another report details Cisco’s testimony tape which was played for the jury and where he expressed his regret about Stacie Reeves. He said, “I loved Stacie and I would of gave anything in the world. But right at the time I didn't care. I didn't want to get caught, Lucky. I took her into the cooler and shot her. I know I shot her multiple times, multiple times.”
Even though Cisco was convicted and was given death sentenced, on appeal he was granted a new trial, reports KPLC. Due to more legal issues surfacing, the case was transferred from the Calcasieu District Attorney to the State Attorney General's office. Cisco ultimately pleaded guilty to three counts of manslaughter and was sentenced to 90 years in prison. The report states, the victims' family members also expressed their disappointment that Cisco was yet to tell who else was involved in the murders. Assistant attorney general David Caldwell said that they were still hopeful that one day whoever else was involved can be brought to justice.
In a 2017 KPLC report, it was stated that Lane LeBouef, the older brother of victim Marty LeBouef, wanted the case to be reopened to pursue others who were involved. He had alleged, “I think it's time that the truth does come out. I do believe 100% with all my heart, that it is a cover-up. The people out there that know who they are, that know they were involved with the case, that know the truth, it's time that they come forward and that they shed some light on this and they bring the people to justice that need to be brought to justice. The families have suffered long enough.”
The twin daughters of victim Stacie Reeves -- Traci and Tiffani – spoke to KPLC in 2019. “We did have our grandmother and she worked really hard to raise us. Our mother was killed before we even turned two. And so, we have had a hard life, and it’s heartbreaking to know how different our life could have been with her,” said Tiffani. Traci alleged, “One person shouldn't be sitting in prison for something he didn't do alone.”
These remarks were made by a third-person and individual organizations, MEAWW cannot confirm them independently nor does it support these claims and the respective references are linked in the article