Coushatta, Louisiana

Episode 459 / 18 January 2024 / 180 min / full

Serial Killing For Fun

"We're going to Coushatta, Louisiana ... this is in Red River Parish because they don't have counties, they have parishes" about 0:05:35

The case: Murder of Heather Dawn Church (September 1991); Murder of Rocio Sperry (November 1987); Murder of Melody Ann Bush (March 1984); Murder of Wanda Fay Hudson (May 1983); Murder of Nidia Mendoza (February 1984); Murder of Fay Self (1983); Murder of Catherine Jean Hayes (1980); Murder of Timothy Lee Warren (1985); Murder of Lisa Low (). Read the case file.

The figures, as told in 2024

Population

2,217

Median age

32.9

Median household income

$25,448 a year

Median home value

$92,900

Two-bedroom rent

$1,030 a month

Cost of living

$76

Religious

40%

Violent crime

▲ about 50% above the national average

Property crime

▼ slightly below average

History, in brief

• Named after the Coushatta Indian tribe who inhabited the area before being forced away by settlers. about 0:06:10
• The town is pretty much only known for the Coushatta massacre. about 0:06:24
• The massacre happened after the Civil War, during Reconstruction, when the Klan was forming. about 0:06:30
• Red River Parish is one of the smallest parishes in Louisiana. about 0:06:48
• The parish was known for good farmland and had a plantation economy before the Civil War. about 0:06:53
• Twice as many people in the area were slaves as non-slaves. about 0:06:59
• In the 1800s the crops were cotton, corn, sweet potatoes and sugar cane. about 0:07:21
• The Civil War destroyed the area, but residents continued to grow crops. about 0:07:25
• In 1874 militias formed a group called the White League, Louisiana's version of the Klan. about 0:07:31
• The White League used violence against officials they disliked and to suppress votes. about 0:07:47
• In August 1874 the White League captured six officials in Coushatta, made them sign a pledge to leave the state and killed them as they left. about 0:08:00
• The victims included the brother and three brothers-in-law of Republican state senator Marshall H. Twitchell. about 0:08:17
• The White League also killed five to twenty freedmen who had been with the officials. about 0:08:27
• The events became known as the Coushatta massacre, and federal troops had to be sent by President Grant. about 0:08:44

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