Bio

Elmo Patrick Sonnier was born on February 21, 1951, in Louisiana. He grew up in a troubled environment and faced challenges early in life. Sonnier was raised in a poor household with limited resources. His family struggled financially, which put a strain on their relationships.

As a child, Sonnier had a difficult time in school. He attended school until the seventh grade, when he dropped out to help support his family. He then took on various jobs, including working in the oil fields. Many people described him as a troubled youth, often getting into trouble.

Sonnier had a criminal record that began when he was a juvenile. He was arrested multiple times for various offenses, including burglary. As he grew older, his criminal behavior continued. He faced several arrests and convictions for offenses such as theft.

In 1970, he was sentenced to prison for auto theft and served time at Angola Penitentiary, a well-known maximum-security facility in Louisiana. He was paroled in 1972 but quickly found himself back in trouble with the law, which kept him cycling in and out of the criminal justice system.

Murder Story

On the evening of November 4, 1977, David LeBlanc and Loretta Ann Bourque attended a high school football game. After the game, they parked in a remote area of St. Martin Parish, known to locals as a "lover's lane." At approximately 1:00 A.M. on November 5, Elmo and Eddie James Sonnier, who were rabbit hunting nearby, came across the couple's car.

The Sonnier brothers approached the couple while posing as police officers. They informed David and Loretta that they were trespassing and needed to take them to the landowner. They confiscated the teenagers' driver's licenses for their ruse. The pair was then handcuffed and placed in the back seat of their own car. The brothers drove them twenty-one miles to a remote oilfield in Iberia Parish.

Once at the oilfield, they removed David from the car and handcuffed him to a tree. Loretta was taken a short distance away, where Elmo Sonnier raped her. Afterward, Loretta agreed to engage in sexual activity with Eddie in exchange for their eventual release. Having finished, the brothers prepared to let the teens go but Elmo expressed concern that they might inform the police about the incident, which could endanger his freedom.

Instead of releasing them, the brothers forced David and Loretta to lie face down on the ground. Each of them was shot three times in the back of the head with a .22-caliber rifle. After the murders, the brothers returned to the couple's vehicle to retrieve their own car. They changed a flat tire using tools from the victims' car and disposed of the victims' driver's licenses. They buried the rifles used in the crime to evade discovery.

On December 5, 1977, the brothers were arrested following a tip about their vehicle's location at the crime scene. During questioning, Elmo gave a verbal confession, which was recorded on video, admitting to the murders. The police located the rifles, which ballistics confirmed were used in the killings. Handcuffs from the victims were found in Elmo's bedroom. The Sonnier brothers were indicted on two counts of first-degree murder by a grand jury.

Their trial began in 1978. Both brothers were convicted and sentenced to death. Elmo’s conviction was upheld after key evidence showed he was primarily responsible for the murders, and despite his brother’s attempts to shift blame during later hearings. Elmo’s death sentence was ultimately affirmed by the courts.

Elmo Patrick Sonnier was executed by electrocution on April 5, 1984. He faced his death with a mix of emotions, addressing the fathers of his victims prior to the execution. He expressed remorse and sought their forgiveness, saying he held no hatred in his heart. After saying his last words, he was strapped into the electric chair and executed. He was pronounced dead shortly after at the age of 33.