Town file
Ville Platte, Louisiana
Ville Platte, Louisiana (Evangeline Parish, Louisiana) is the town in one episode of Small Town Murder, the comedy true-crime podcast: episode 646, "The Chopped Swamp Murders" (8 November 2025). Ville Platte sits in Evangeline Parish in the centre of Louisiana, about two and a half hours from both New Orleans and Shreveport.
- Town
- Ville Platte
- County
- Evangeline Parish
- State
- Louisiana
- Country
- USA
- Episodes
- 646
- Approximate location
- 30.690, -92.274
Episode 646 / 8 November 2025 / 72 min / express
The Chopped Swamp Murders
"This is uh Ville Platte Louisiana ... This is in the Evangeline Parish" about 0:03:12
The case: Murders of Lawrence ' ' Cook and Sheila Kirby (December 2002 to January 2003). Read the case file.
The figures, as told in 2025
- Population
- 6,488
- Median household income
- $21,818
- Median home value
- $97,100
- Property crime
- ▲ pretty high
- Violent crime
- pretty much on point
- Murder rate in Louisiana
- one of the highest in the country of anywhere
History, in brief
- The area around Ville Platte was first settled in the late 1700s, while Louisiana was still under Spanish rule, with the earliest records of settlement about the 1780s. about 0:05:26
- Popular legend makes Marceline Guerrone, a major in the army of the French Empire under Napoleon, the founder of Ville Platte; he obtained one of the first two lots platted. about 0:05:48
- The second of the first two platted lots was obtained by Dr. Robert Windex. about 0:06:02
- In 1900 Ville Platte had a population of 163. about 0:06:39
- The railroad arrived, the town was laid out on a grid, and it began to grow. about 0:06:44
- By 1910 the population was 600. about 0:06:51
The reviews read out
5 stars
"Everyone knows everyone, family and best friends are in the town, and it is a great town; there may not be much to do but there are plenty of job opportunities."about 0:07:22
3 stars
"Somewhat family oriented, needs more job opportunities, not nearly enough places to eat or shop, schools are small and not the greatest, and people still think the old Cajun ways and are somewhat close-minded."about 0:07:42
3 stars
"Has a lot of culture, from the smoked meat festival to the tournament and the cotton festival, but not much room to grow and no real job opportunities or entertainment."about 0:08:29
2 stars
"All small towns in general just are not as great as big cities."about 0:08:51
"The town has such a high crime rate; property crime is pretty high, violent crime is pretty much on point, and it makes citizens feel uncomfortable to go there, so changes need to be made."about 0:09:14
Nearest Small Town Murder towns
- St. Martinville, Louisiana47 miles
- Lake Arthur, Louisiana49 miles
- Iowa, Louisiana54 miles
- Dry Prong, Louisiana63 miles
- Lake Charles, Louisiana65 miles
- Franklin, Louisiana77 miles
Everything here is as told in the episode, on the date it went out; figures and places may have changed since. Endings are covered: open an episode and use the spoiler switch to read them.