Missing body found; investigation continues into case
May 16, 2019
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May 17, 2019
One Montegut man is in the custody of the Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Office in the shooting death of a 53-year-old Montegut man, who had previously been reported missing.
Another suspect is wanted for the same crime and is still at large.
On May 14, the Terrebonne Parish Sheriff’s Office began investigating the disappearance of Kirby Courteaux Jr., of Montegut. A family member called TPSO and reported him missing and said he’d not been seen since May 11.
On the morning of May 15, TPSO deputies and detectives spotted the victim’s vehicle traveling on Island Road in Montegut and attempted to make a traffic stop.
The driver sped away at a high rate of speed, before abandoning the vehicle in a wooded area along La. Highway 665. He was eventually caught and identified as Terance Dupre.
TPSO investigated and learned that Courteaux was killed near a boat launch in Pointe-Aux-Chenes in Lafourche Parish, but his body was left in Morgan City.
LPSO detectives responded and discovered the crime scene near the bullet launch and bullet casings and other evidence were processed at the scene.
Authorities then also found the body in Morgan City in the area of Levee Road and Veterans Boulevard.
LPSO recovered the body with assistance from the Morgan City Police Department.
LPSO detectives began questioning Dupre in reference to Courteaux’s death. During investigation, authorities learned that Dupre, Davonte Matthews, 21, of Montegut and Courteaux were at a boat launch on Saturday night when Courteaux was reportedly shot.
The two suspects then took the man’s body and truck, taking the body to Morgan City, leaving him near a wooded area.
An autopsy of the body revealed that Courteaux suffered from multiple gunshot wounds in the shooting.
On Thursday, detectives obtained warrants for the arrest of both Mathews and Dupre for second-degree murder with bond set at $1 million each.
During questioning, Dupre was transported to a local hospital for treatment on an unrelated matter.
But upon release, he will be booked on the charge.
Authorities are looking for Mathews.
Anyone with information on his whereabouts is asked to submit a tip anonymously through Crime Stoppers Bayou Region by phone at 1-800-743-7433 or online at www.crimestoppersbr.org. Tips can also be submitted using the P3 Tips app on your mobile device. Tipsters could be eligible for a reward of up to $1,000 in cash if the information leads to an arrest.
Detectives learned Dupre knew the victim, but they have yet to determine Mathews’ relationship to the victim or a motive in the shooting. The investigation is continuing.
