Bio

Feltus Taylor Jr. was born in 1962. He grew up in Louisiana, where he faced various challenges during his childhood. Not much is documented about his early family life or education. He later became known as a fry cook, working at different fast-food restaurants throughout his adult life.

Taylor had a history of being hired and fired from jobs, including Cajun's Fabulous Fried Chicken, where he worked at the time of the incident that led to his arrest. He was described as a person who struggled with maintaining steady employment due to performance issues.

Despite being friendly with some coworkers, Taylor often found himself in financial trouble. This led to stress and desperation in his life. His difficulties in finding stable work contributed to a downward spiral, affecting his mental state and decisions in later years.

As a young adult, Taylor turned to crime to resolve his financial problems. He had previous convictions, including an unrelated armed robbery. These issues set the stage for the events that would eventually lead to his conviction for a far more serious crime.

In 1991, he attempted to return to his former workplace, seeking another chance at employment. However, things did not go as planned. Taylor's life came to a tragic turning point on March 27 of that year, which altered his path forever.

Murder Story

On March 27, 1991, Feltus Taylor Jr. entered the Cajun's Fabulous Fried Chicken restaurant in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. He had been a former employee and was attempting to get his job back. On that morning, Donna Ponsano was working as a cook, and the restaurant manager, Keith Clark, was helping her open for business. Taylor, who had recently lost his job due to poor performance, knocked at the front door. Clark welcomed him inside.

Taylor expressed his financial difficulties and asked Clark to rehire him, but Clark refused. Instead, Clark gave Taylor money to buy a newspaper and helped him look for job listings. Despite this assistance, Taylor decided to rob the restaurant. He left to retrieve a .22 caliber handgun and handcuffs from his car.

Upon returning, Taylor took Ponsano hostage, holding a gun to her head and demanding that Clark open the restaurant's safe. Clark complied after Taylor threatened to shoot Ponsano. Once in the storeroom, Taylor handcuffed both Ponsano and Clark together. Clark opened the safe, handing over about $800. Taylor, however, refused an offer from Clark to write him a personal check and insisted that Clark not inform the police about the robbery.

After a brief exchange about rehiring Taylor, Ponsano indicated she did not support this. In response, Taylor shot Ponsano five times in the head and upper arm. He then reloaded his gun, shot Clark in the head, and took an additional $580 from the cash register before fleeing the scene.

Another employee arriving for work witnessed Taylor's car and heard shots. When the police arrived, they found Ponsano and Clark in the storeroom, both suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. Ponsano succumbed to her injuries two days later, while Clark survived but was left paralyzed.

Later that night, police arrested Taylor at his apartment. He confessed to the crimes and led officers to the stolen money, stating that he had discarded the murder weapon in the Mississippi River. Taylor was charged with first-degree murder and armed robbery.

At trial, Taylor admitted to the shooting and was found guilty. The jury recommended a death sentence due to several aggravating circumstances, including the nature of the crime and the risk posed to multiple individuals.

Feltus Taylor Jr. was executed by lethal injection on June 6, 2000, in Louisiana at the age of 38. Prior to his execution, he expressed regret for his actions.