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Thread: Death Penalty Pursued For Neil Patrick Broussard in 2020 LA Murders of Kyla Hidalgo and Kaleb Charlton

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    Death Penalty Pursued For Neil Patrick Broussard in 2020 LA Murders of Kyla Hidalgo and Kaleb Charlton


    Kyla Hidalgo


    Kaleb Charlton


    Neil Broussard

    Prosecutors To Seek Death Penalty Against Neil Broussard



    LAKE CHARLES, La. (KPLC) - Calcasieu prosecutors say they will seek the death penalty against Neil Broussard.

    Broussard, 51, is accused of shooting and killing 17-year-old Kyla Hidalgo and 18-year-old Kaleb Charlton on July 15.

    Calcasieu First Assistant District Attorney Jacob Johnson gave official notice that the state will seek the death penalty if Broussard is convicted of two counts of first-degree murder.

    “It’s on rare occasions that we do indeed seek the death penalty,” Johnson said. “It’s a very lengthy process, but certain criminals and certain crimes are deserving of it. We feel like that would be justice in this case, so we did make the decision to seek the death penalty.”

    Johnson says no decision has been made whether to seek the death penalty for Neil Broussard’s wife, Tori Broussard, 41.



    She is also charged with two counts of first-degree murder in the killing of Hidalgo and Charlton.

    At the time of killings, Tori Broussard was the chief investigator at the Calcasieu Public Defenders Office but has since been terminated.



    During a bond reduction hearing Wednesday for Tori Broussard, a sheriff’s deputy testified that investigators used cell phone records and video surveillance to track the movements of Neil and Tori Broussard before and during the killings.

    Prior to the killings, Neil Broussard was wanted on a rape charge – one of those killed was the alleged rape victim.

    Prosecutor Ross Murray argued that Tori Broussard’s part was lying, hiding and covering up. Had she told police where Neil was, Murray argued, it could have saved Hidalgo and Charlton.

    However, Tori Broussard’s attorney, Todd Clemons, argued there is no evidence or proof she was involved in the killings or near the scene Judge Sharon Wilson reduced Tori Broussard’s bond from $1 million to $300,000.

    There’s also a move to recuse Wilson from presiding over the case since she once was involved in prosecuting Neil Broussard. That will be taken up next month.

    https://www.kplctv.com/2020/08/12/pr...eil-broussard/
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    Bond lowered for wife in Westlake slayings
    August 13, 2020


    A woman who was recently indicted on two charges of first-degree murder had her bond lowered Wednesday from $1 million to $300,000 by Judge Sharon Wilson after a hearing in state district court.

    Tori Lynette Broussard, 41, a former chief investigator for the Public Defender's Office, was recently indicted along with her husband Neil Broussard, 51, in the shooting deaths of Kyla Hidalgo, 17, and Caleb Charlton, 18, of Westlake, on July 15.

    Prosecutors have said they plan to seek the death penalty against Neil Broussard.

    Todd S. Clemons and Adam Johnson are representing Tori Broussard while Richard Bourque is Neil Broussard's defense attorney.

    Prosecutors Ross Murray and Charles Robinson handled matters related to the state in court on Wednesday.

    A motion has been filed asking that Wilson be removed from Neil Broussard's case to avoid any possible bias because of her having been associated with another case of his, a matter from 2009.

    "Actually, we are asking to have you (Wilson) recused from both Neil Broussard's and Tori Broussard's cases," Robinson said.

    The recusal matter will be taken up by Judge Mike Canaday in the coming weeks.

    An indigency hearing for Tori Broussard will also take place in the coming weeks. The defense said she is indigent; the prosecution said she is not. Murray said in recordings of jailhouse calls, Tori Broussard talked about things she owned, properties she had inherited, jobs she had lined up if she was released on bond, etc. "She has a $50,000 truck, a BMW, and came up with $10,000 cash in one day for a retainer fee for her attorney," he said.

    Det. Travis Lavergne, a sergeant in the violent crimes unit at the Sheriff's Office, told Clemons in court that he believed Tori Broussard had a motive in the murders she is charged with but that he had no evidence that she was at the scene at the time of the murders.

    Clemons said if evidence did show she was present at the scene, that, in of itself would not be enough to convict her of first-degree murder, and Lavergne agreed.

    Addressing the court, Clemons said, "At this time there is no direct evidence that my client committed the murders of these two people. They (prosecution) have no evidence to prove these crimes. Even the sheriff said she is not the trigger person in this case. They have no evidence that even puts her in Westlake at the time of the murders."

    Murray disagreed, telling Wilson that Tori Broussard "is responsible for the deaths of these two young people. She could have told police where Neil was and saved the lives of Caleb and Kyla."

    The prosecutor also questioned Lavergne, who said Tori Broussard was deceptive during questioning at the sheriff's office when she said she didn't know where Neil Broussard was prior to the murders when he was being sought on a warrant for an alleged rape. Lavergne said surveillance had been obtained which showed Tori Broussard going to meet Neil Broussard at Quality Inn the night before the teens were killed and bringing him food from a local restaurant.

    Before lowering Tori Broussard's bond, Wilson said she had taken some time to go over the affidavit in the case as well as the jailhouse recordings.

    "I also wanted some time to reflect," Wilson said. "The court is to consider the seriousness of the charge. The court is also to consider the strength of the charge. This is clearly a circumstantial case. But I have to examine it for what it is. I also have to consider the defendant's (Tori Broussard) deceptions. The state's case may be weak with specific intent to murder. Then it becomes, what is a fair bond? I have no evidence that points to Ms. Broussard being a danger to the community."

    A third victim in the July shooting, Catherine R. Hidalgo, 40, was taken to a local hospital on the same day as the murders with critical gunshot wounds and has been recovering from injuries. Hidalgo told deputies with the Calcasieu Parish Sheriff's Office that Neil Broussard had kidnapped her 14-year-old daughter and stolen her car.

    Sheriff Tony Mancuso, after the apprehension of Neil Broussard in Ragley on July 16, and after the arrests of both he and Tori Broussard, said, "I think they had an elaborate plan and basically Tori dropped Neil off to go kill these two people."

    At the time of the murders, authorities had been seeking Neil Broussard to serve a warrant for his arrest on rape allegations.

    "Had we been able to find him and get to him, this (double homicide) may not have happened," Mancuso said. "She is just as guilty as he is in the participation of this brutal act and murder ... even though she didn't pull the trigger. These two people deserve to go to jail."

    Mancuso said both Neil Broussard and Tori Broussard "went through extreme measures" to prevent law enforcement from obtaining information through various electronic sources. "The Sheriff's Office has invested millions of dollars to undo what these people have tried to hide from us," he said. "Although they were very crafty and very smart, in this particular case we were a little more crafty and smarter."

    A registered sex offender, Neil Broussard was convicted of molestation of a juvenile in 2005 and two counts of molestation of a juvenile in 2011. Prior to his arrest, there was an active warrant in the amount of $2 million for his arrest for first-degree rape and molestation of a juvenile.

    https://www.americanpress.com/news/c...e46afd599.html
    Thank you for the adventure - Axol

    Tried so hard and got so far, but in the end it doesn’t even matter - Linkin Park

    Hear me, my chiefs! I am tired. My heart is sick and sad. From where the sun now stands, I will fight no more forever. - Hin-mah-too-yah-lat-kekt

    I’m going to the ghost McDonalds - Garcello

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    Court of Appeal: Judge right to exclude statements in Westlake double homicide

    By Crystal Stevenson

    December 10, 2022

    The appeal of a 14th Judicial District Court order suppressing statements and evidence obtained during a 2020 interview of a woman accused in the deaths of two Westlake teenagers has been denied.

    This week the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeal denied the motion made by the Calcasieu Parish District Attorney’s Office, which claimed Judge Derrick Kee abused his discretion in granting the motion to suppress statements made by Tori Lynette Broussard during her interview with Calcasieu Parish Sheriff’s deputies following the shooting deaths of Kyla Hidalgo, 17, and Caleb Charlton, 18.

    Broussard, a former chief investigator for the Public Defender’s Office, was indicted on two counts of first-degree murder in 2020 along with husband Neil Broussard.

    Catherine R. Hidalgo, who survived the attack, said after the fatal shootings Neil Broussard also stole her car and kidnapped her 14-year-old daughter.

    Sheriff Tony Mancuso previously told the American Press that Tori Broussard is suspected of willingly participating in hiding Neil Broussard and preventing his arrest.

    In August of 2021, Tori Broussard’s defense attorneys, Todd S. Clemons and Adam Johnson, successfully argued against the introduction of certain evidence — including video statements and items taken from her home — during the trial. Kee granted the motion, ruling deputies “used trickery to circumvent her constitutional rights.”

    Calcasieu Assistant District Attorney Ross Murray argued the measures taken were necessary because deputies were trying to save the girl Neil Broussard allegedly kidnapped.

    “Even under difficult circumstances, people’s rights have to be respected at all costs. In this case, they didn’t do that, and they suffer the consequences,” Johnson said during the trial.

    The 3rd Circuit Court of Appeal ruled on Tuesday that Tori Broussard “validly invoked her right to counsel” when she accompanied her lawyer to a July 14, 2020, interview. That invocation carried over to an interview conducted the following day, the judges determined.

    “At the outset of this second interview, (the) defendant asked if she needed her lawyer, but the officer responded in the negative,” the panel wrote. “Both the bringing of counsel to the first interview and inquiring about counsel during the second interview must be looked at together and not individually. When viewed as one event, the defendant clearly claimed her right to counsel by bringing her attorney with her to the first interview.”

    The appeals panel also agreed with the trial court that the second interview was not an interview at all, but a “custodial interrogation.”

    The judges said once Tori Broussard arrived at the station just 12 hours after her first interview the day prior, she was escorted into the station house, separated from her children, placed in an interrogation room and made to wait. She was then subjected to more than an hour of questioning by two deputies without being provided with Miranda warnings.

    In its appeal, the DA’s office also argued Kee erred by suppressing Tori Broussard’s statement in its entirety without allowing use of it to impeach her. The 3rd Circuit said though Brousssard’s rights to counsel were violated, the trial court did not affirmatively determine whether she provided a voluntary statement. The judges ruled the trial court must enter a clear ruling on the issue before it can assess the office’s claim.

    The 3rd Circuit also remanded back to the trial court instructions for it to more fully consider independent source and inevitable discovery doctrines on the use of Tori Broussard’s cell phone records, GPS data, a daily planner and other physical evidence seized from her home while both the prosecution and the defense prepare further arguments on their use.

    “After a lengthy delay we are extremely pleased that the Third Circuit Court of Appeal ruled in the favor of justice,” Clemons and Johnson said in a statement to the American Press. “We felt from the inception of this case that the Calcasieu Parish Sheriff’s Office detectives violated Ms. Broussard’s constitutional rights.

    “We also commend Judge Kee for having the courage to hold them accountable for their egregious conduct. We now look forward to expeditiously getting this matter litigated in district court. Tori Broussard has been falsely accused of murder and this impactful ruling is one step closer to her vindication.”

    https://www.americanpress.com/2022/1...uble-homicide/
    Thank you for the adventure - Axol

    Tried so hard and got so far, but in the end it doesn’t even matter - Linkin Park

    Hear me, my chiefs! I am tired. My heart is sick and sad. From where the sun now stands, I will fight no more forever. - Hin-mah-too-yah-lat-kekt

    I’m going to the ghost McDonalds - Garcello

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    Three years since double murder of teens in Westlake, no trial date set for suspected killer

    By Theresa Schmidt

    WESTLAKE, La. (KPLC) - A sad anniversary this week – Saturday, July 15, marks three years since the shooting deaths of two teens in Westlake.

    A husband and wife are charged in connection with the killings, but neither have gone to trial.

    In 2020, Kyla Hidalgo, 17, and Kaleb Charlton, 18, were found shot to death at the house in Westlake. A 14-year-old girl was kidnapped but later found alive, and 40-year-old Catherine Hidalgo was shot multiple times but survived.

    After a manhunt in Beauregard Parish, convicted sex offender Neil Patrick Broussard, 51, was arrested and indicted on charges including two counts of first-degree murder.

    The state is seeking the death penalty if Broussard is convicted of first-degree murder, as Calcasieu First Assistant D.A. Jacob Johnson told us in August 2020.

    “It’s on rare occasions that we do indeed seek the death penalty. It’s a very lengthy process, but certain criminals and certain crimes are deserving of it. We feel like that would be justice in this case, so we did make the decision to seek the death penalty,” Johnson said in 2020.

    Broussard’s wife, Tori, was also arrested. Before the killings, Neil Broussard was wanted on a rape charge. In 2020 prosecutors said Tori’s part was lying, hiding, and covering up.

    Prosecutors suggested if she had told police where Neil was, it might have saved the teens. One of those killed was the alleged rape victim.

    At this point pretrial motions are ongoing, and no trial date is set for Neil, while Tori’s has been on hold.

    Neil Broussard remains in the Calcasieu Correctional Center. Tori Broussard is out on bond.

    https://www.kplctv.com/2023/07/15/th...outputType=amp
    Thank you for the adventure - Axol

    Tried so hard and got so far, but in the end it doesn’t even matter - Linkin Park

    Hear me, my chiefs! I am tired. My heart is sick and sad. From where the sun now stands, I will fight no more forever. - Hin-mah-too-yah-lat-kekt

    I’m going to the ghost McDonalds - Garcello

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