Joyce Thomas daughter struggles with parole board s decision to release DeWoody
Joyce Thomas daughter struggles with parole board s decision to release DeWoody
and last updated 2021-05-01 00:00:50-04
In Part 3 of our investigation into the Philip DeWoody case file, we talk to Joyce Thomas s daughter, Brecky Lavigne.
Thomas is the woman DeWoody admitted to killing after kidnapping her from her Evangeline Parish apartment in March of 2020.
She says she knows Philip DeWoody is the person who killed her mother, but she blames the state parole board for him even having the chance. I hope it haunts them everyday because it s their fault, Lavigne explains. How did they come to the decision to release someone who is serving over 100 years? Apparently someone serving that much time means they must be someone who needs to be removed from society.
How investigators knew who Joyce Thomas killer was
How investigators knew who Joyce Thomas killer was
and last updated 2021-04-30 00:21:46-04
LAFAYETTE, La. â Before a man killed a Ville Platte deaf and mute woman, he had already bought supplies to cover up his tracks.
Still, police were able to determine that Phillip DeWoody was the killer they were looking for using the digital footprints he left along the way.
Phillip DeWoody s day began around 9:00 a.m. on February 26, 2020 - the last day that Joyce Thomas was alive. His bank statements and receipts show he made some purchases that would be used to cover up the murder⦠even before he had met up with Joyce later that day.
The witness and the officer: Two involved in Joyce Thomas case speak
The witness and the officer: Two involved in Joyce Thomas case speak
Posted at 5:34 PM, Apr 28, 2021
and last updated 2021-04-28 23:14:39-04
It s been more than a year since a Ville Platte woman was murdered.
Joyce Thomas, 72, who was deaf and unable to speak, was missing for several days before her body was found along the I-49 service road between Sunset and Opelousas.
Phillip Dewoody is serving two life sentences after pleading guilty to a number of charges, including the first-degree murder of Thomas.
We re now learning the details of the investigation that led searchers to her body, and that ended with Dewoody s guilty plea.
The Disappearance of Joyce Thomas
The investigation that led to her killer
Posted: 1:40 PM, Apr 29, 2021
Updated: 2021-05-01 00:13:04-04
The witness and the officer: Two involved in Joyce Thomas case speak
About a month ago Phillip Dewoody pleaded guilty to murdering Joyce Thomas, just a few weeks after the first anniversary of her death. After lying about what happened for roughly six months, he finally confessed, and later was indicted. At the same time, he pleaded guilty to the abduction and sexual assault of another woman, and for these crimes heâs now serving three life sentences. Because his case is now closed, the investigative file has become public record.
St. Landry Kidnapping, Murder Suspect Pleads Guilty
The man who kidnapped and murdered a Ville Platte woman last year will spend the rest of his life in prison.
Philip Dewoody received three consecutive life sentences after pleading guilty this morning to first-degree murder, aggravated kidnapping, and aggravated rape.
The first-degree murder charge stemmed from the death of Joyce Thomas. Thomas disappeared from Ville Platte last March. State troopers found her body was found days later off I-49 between Sunset and Opelousas after Dewoody led them to it. The aggravated rape and aggravated kidnapping charges stemmed from a separate incident involving a separate victim. Dewoody was on parole when he committed the crimes.