Naman Shrestha
In ‘Murder at KK’s Corner,’ the primary focus is on the horrific triple homicide of Stacie Reeves, Marty LeBouef, and Nicole Guidry in a convenience store in Lake Charles, Louisiana, in the summer of 1997. It took the detectives several months before they received a tip that cracked the case wide open. The documentary provides a detailed account of the case, the ensuing investigation, and how the perpetrator tried to pin the blame on others.
Stacie Reeves, Marty LeBouef, and Nicole Guidry Died at a Lake Charles Gas Station Store
Born on June 22, 1971, Stacie Lynn “Boogie” Reeves was the beloved daughter of Robert Lane “Bobby” Reeves and Sheryl Reeves. Known for her positive attitude towards life and her compassionate energy, Stacie found it easy to make new friends. By the time she turned 26, she had entered motherhood, giving birth to twins, Traci and Tiffani. She was a friend of Marty LeBouef, who worked the night shift at KK’s corner in Lake Charles, Louisiana, where he was born on January 2, 1976. The beloved son of Ellis and Janila Bradford LeBouef, Mark Patrick Bradford “Marty” LeBouef grew up with two brothers, Lane LeBouef and Chad LeBouef, and two sisters, Laura Duhon and Tanya Davis.
The Barbe High School graduate was also a member of the Barbe Band of Blue and the Royal Order of the Demolay. In the early hours of July 6, 1997, Stacie had visited Marty at the KK corner, accompanied by her 14-year-old babysitter, Nicole Renee Guidry, who was born on August 9, 1982, to Harold Guidry and Pamela Jean Fontenot Benniefiel. At the time, she was in the eighth grade at J.I. Watson Elementary School. The three were together when 21-year-old Marty was about to close the store for the night. However, they didn’t make it to their respective homes that night.
A few hours later, when another KK Corner employee arrived to open the store, she noticed something strange and called 911. After the deputies from the Calcasieu Sheriff’s Office arrived at the scene, they discovered the remains of Marty, Stacie, and Nicole in the cooler. The cause of their deaths was multiple gunshot wounds. Upon inspecting the crime scene, they noticed that over $10,000 in money orders, cash, and cheques had been stolen from the store. Thus, burglary was determined to be the motive behind the tragic killings. Without wasting any time, the authorities launched a triple homicide investigation.
Stacie Reeves, Marty LeBouef, and Nicole Guidry’s Killer Changed His Story Multiple Times
In the following days, the authorities interviewed around 60 people, seeking leads that could point them toward the perpetrator/s. They also offered a $10,000 reward for any information that could lead to the arrest of the killer. About 10 days after the murders, the Task Force released a composite sketch of a man who was seen at the crime scene with another man before midnight on July 5, 1997. At the time, he was not considered a suspect as the police only wanted to interview him. A few days later, the FBI also got involved, joining the investigation. By January 1998, the detectives had only a few leads, so they aired the case on ‘America’s Most Wanted,’ after which they received dozens of calls from potential witnesses.
Due to a torrent of claims and rumors from the callers, the detectives had multiple persons of interest and potential suspects in the case. However, none of them turned out to be the killer. By the time the one-year anniversary of the murders approached, the reward money had risen to $100,000. In late August 1998, thanks to a tip generated by ‘America’s Most Wanted,’ the police were led to a man named Thomas Frank Cisco. During the interrogation, Thomas confessed that he and another man named Robert Thigpen were responsible for the murders. However, he claimed that Robert was the shooter. He provided them with a number of statements, most of which were inconsistent and contradictory.
The Killer Recanted His Confession Two Days After Admitting to the Crimes
Blaming Robert was coming up with the idea to burglarize the KK corner store, Thomas stated, “He just popped up, like, out of the blue, man, and said, ‘Let’s go. Let’s go rob KK’s Corner.’ I thought it was a joke, actually, I really, truly thought it was a joke at first. And, like a dummy, I went with him.” Thomas also claimed that he tried to stop his accomplice, but failed to. In the end, he told the detectives that he stole $400, and Robert got $800 before fleeing the scene. On August 28, 1998, Thomas was arrested and charged with three counts of first-degree murder. Upon digging deeper into the accused’s life, the authorities learned that he had relocated from New Orleans to Lake Charles recently for a fresh start. Furthermore, he was a high school friend of Stacie Reeves and had allegedly spent time at her house, too.
The detectives also learned about his arrest in 1998 for stealing a grave marker, as he claimed that he was into devil worship. Just a few days after his confession, Thomas recanted his statements. After eliminating Robert as a suspect because he had a solid alibi for the fateful night, they confronted Thomas, who changed his story again and claimed he never went to KK’s Corner that night. The accused said that the reason he confessed to the crimes in the first place was that he wanted the interrogation to be over, as he was allegedly being harassed by the FBI. Despite his recantation of confession, Thomas was formally indicted on three counts of first-degree murder on October 8, 1998.
Thomas Cisco is Supposedly Serving His Sentence While Awaiting Parole
A few months after his indictment, Thomas shifted the blame to Richard McElveen in March 1999, claiming that Richard had hired him for $20,000 to commit the killings. He stated, “I admit I wasn’t in my right mind to take a $20,000 hit. But I was desperate for money ‘cause I had to have my drugs.” However, the detectives found no links between the crime and Richard, who also had a concrete alibi for the night of the crime. On October 9, 2000, Thomas’ triple homicide trial got underway. After less than ten days of testimonies, on October 18, the jury deliberated for two hours before finding the defendant guilty of all the charges against him.
The following day, the convict was sentenced to death by lethal injection. Three years later, on December 3, 2003, the Supreme Court overturned his conviction. With a new trial granted, on March 26, 2010, Thomas decided to plead guilty to three counts of manslaughter. Consequently, he was sentenced to 90 years in prison. After serving 24 and a half years, the killer was granted parole on February 8, 2023. However, on February 10, the night before his parole hearing, he was allegedly caught with multiple anti-psychotic drugs and Benadryl. Thus, he became ineligible for parole for at least two years. Still awaiting his parole, the killer is seemingly incarcerated at a Louisiana prison facility.
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