State v. Rabalais
| Decision Date | 07 April 2021 |
| Docket Number | 20-303 |
| Parties | STATE OF LOUISIANA v. LISA W. RABALAIS |
| Court | Court of Appeal of Louisiana — District of US |
NOT DESIGNATED FOR PUBLICATION
Court composed of John D. Saunders, Van H. Kyzar, and Candyce G. Perret, Judges.
AFFIRMED.
P. O. Drawer 158
Lisa W. Rabalais
Charles A. Riddle, III
Defendant appeals her conviction and sentence after having been found guilty of being an accessory after the fact to murder. For the reasons assigned herein, we affirm.
Defendant, Lisa W. Rabalais, was charged by bill of information filed on January 22, 2019, with accessory after the fact, a violation of La.R.S. 14:25, in that "she did harbor, conceal or aid Andrew Bordelon after having grounds to believe that Andrew Bordelon had committed a felony upon Ray Paul Lachney with the intent to help him avoid escape, capture or prosecution." Trial by a six-person jury commenced on September 17, 2019.1 She was convicted the following day of harboring, concealing, or aiding Andrew Bordelon after having grounds to believe that Bordelon had committed second degree murder or manslaughter of Lachney.
The State presented evidence at trial establishing that Ray Paul Lachney had last been seen in July 2015, and his remains were discovered in January 2016 around the intersection of Hwy. 1186 and Hwy. 1 in Avoyelles Parish. Avoyelles Parish Sheriff's Office Detective Michael Glenn Cammack testified that he was assigned the missing person case involving Lachney, who was reported missing on September 2, 2015 by his cousin, Valery Gonzales, who said he had not been seen or heard from since July 2015. Detective Cammack contacted the mother of Lachney's former girlfriend, Ms. Geraldine Ducote, who reported that Lachney was not presently in a relationship with her daughter and neither of them had seen him in some time. He was then able to determine that the last persons known to have been seen withLachney on or around July 3, 2015 were Defendant Lisa Rabalais and her boyfriend Andrew Bordelon.
On September 6, 2015, Detective Cammack questioned Defendant after informing her of her Miranda2 rights. The statement was recorded on video and introduced at trial. In that statement, Defendant advised that on July 3, 2015, Lachney came to her home in Mansura, Louisiana, where she was with Andrew Bordelon, and knocked on the door at 3:00 in the morning. She invited him to stay. He was allowed to shower and Bordelon gave him some of his clothes to wear. Early that same morning the three traveled to the Zachary, Louisiana area to purchase a travel trailer that Bordelon wished to buy from a Mr. Tim McGee. Present at that location was McGee and another man, Gene Cobb. Defendant told Detective Cammack that while at that residence, some type of sexual encounter apparently occurred between McGee and Lachney, which upset Lachney.
After purchasing the trailer, Defendant, Lachney, and Bordelon rode back to Avoyelles Parish, stopping along the way at a Cracker Barrel restaurant in Zachary, a bar in Morganza, and a Shell gasoline station in Simmesport. Defendant stated that Lachney was upset during the ride and was "tripping out about it[,]" referring to the sexual encounter. According to Defendant, Lachney was concerned that he had been filmed during the sexual encounter while in Zachary and that the film would be posted to Facebook. At the intersection of Hwy. 1 and Hwy. 1186 in Avoyelles Parish, Lachney wanted to get out of the vehicle. The statement to Detective Cammack reflected that he did not get back into the vehicle and that Defendant did not see him again after that. She and Bordelon left, and Bordelon took her back to her house. Defendant did not indicate that anything else happenedto Lachney or that she or Bordelon had anything to do with his disappearance. She denied that she was afraid of anyone or that she had been threatened by anyone.
Detective Cammack questioned Defendant again two days later. She gave only minor additional details including calls she made after letting Lachney out, but again stated that Lachney walked off after getting out of the vehicle at the intersection of Hwy. 1 and Hwy. 1186 and that that is the last time that she saw him. Lachney purportedly called his girlfriend, Ms. Ducote, sometime after leaving Defendant and Bordelon, though Ms. Ducote's recollection of the alleged call did not match cell tower information as acquired by Detective Cammack.
On September 11, 2015, Detective Cammack and others searched the area around the overpass at Hwy. 1186 and Hwy 1. A cadaver dog was used during the search. No body was found at that time.
On January 3, 2016, the body was discovered. Lachney's mother's boyfriend located the remains of the body in the same general area of the overpass at Hwy. 1186 and Hwy. 1. The clothing located around the remains matched the description of what Lachney had been wearing the day of his disappearance, clothes given to him belonging to Andrew Bordelon. His cell phone and driver's license were also found.
Dr. L.J. Mayeaux, Coroner for Avoyelles Parish, testified for the State. He was accepted by the court as an expert in family medical practice and forensic medicine. He testified that he was alerted that a body had been found, later identified as Ray Paul Lachney, and that his assistant went to the scene of the body. He authorized the body be turned over to the FACEs program3 at Louisiana StateUniversity to assist with identification. Although the body was badly decomposed, the victim was positively identified as Ray Paul Lachney through a comparison of his remains with his known dental records. Dr. Mayeaux did not provide a cause of death. Responding to questioning from the District Attorney "if you assume that the body was left where it was found from July 2015 until early January would it be difficult to determine the manner of death in central Louisiana[,]" Dr. Mayeaux replied, "[y]es, sir."
On cross examination, Dr. Mayeaux admitted that he had no opinion as to the cause of Lachney's death. He further stated that based on the examination of the remains, no perimortem4 injuries or evidence of trauma could be determined. He did state that Mr. Lachney "did have one opening in the skull that was thought to be . . . because we didn't have brain tissue it was impossible to tell where that hole actually came from." On redirect, the following colloquy took place:
Lana Barr also testified for the State. She stated that she was a practicing Licensed Practical Nurse and also operated a hair salon in September 2015 when she agreed to allow Defendant, a long time acquaintance, to clean up the salon as Defendant had lost her job and needed some work to pay her bills. In a conversationthat occurred around September 5, 6, or 7, 2015, Defendant brought up the subject of Lachney with her, and told her that:
That was early part of July or something like that; h[e] had went late that night and he needed a place and it was about two or three o'clock in the morning and she had opened the door and at the time she . . . her and Andy, the gentleman Mr. Bordelon were dating but her and Ray were friends so she gave him a place to stay for a couple of days until he could get where he could either get his place or with his girlfriend, whatever it was.
She detailed how Lachney had showered and was given Bordelon's clothes to wear. Barr testified that Defendant told her that she, Bordelon, and Lachney drove together to the Baton Rouge area, Zachary or Denham Springs, for Bordelon to purchase a used travel trailer. At some point on the way home, an argument broke out between the group, and Bordelon stopped the vehicle for Lachney, who felt ill and got out of the car to throw up. Bordelon got out of the truck also, then got back in. Lachney was left there, at the intersection around Hwy. 1 and Hwy. 1186. Barr assumed that Lachney walked away. Bordelon took Defendant to her home and left her. Barr stated that Defendant told her that Bordelon came back to the home later, telling her that he killed Lachney. Barr was told by Defendant that she knew where the body was located but did state on cross examination that Defendant did not tell her that she aided in disposing of the body.
Barr also stated that Defendant told her that Bordelon was jealous of Lachney and wanted to put him out. Barr asked if that referred to the trip from south Louisiana back to Avoyelles Parish, and Defendant stated, "throughout the trip and when he was at the house because Andy wanted to put him out." She stated that Defendant did not want that; that she wanted him to stay. On cross examination she admitted that she did not make a formal statement to law enforcement until almost two years later, explaining that she did not really know the truth of any of the statements made to her by Defendant until Bordelon, who had been arrested, began to stalk her afterhe was released on bond. At that point she began to believe that what had been told to her by Defendant was true.
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