New photos show the bloodied bedroom where a 21-year-old Louisiana man allegedly murdered his parents after killing his girlfriend, as well as her father and brother.
The pictures show a blood-stained mattress and bullet holes in the bedroom where Elizabeth and Keith Theriot, both 50, were killed on Saturday morning.
Their son Dakota Theriot has been charged with five counts of first-degree murder, illegal use of weapons, home invasion, and theft of a motor vehicle.
Theriot allegedly killed his girlfriend Summer Ernest, 20, her father Billy Ernest, 43, and her brother Tanner Ernest, 17, before murdering his own parents.
Photos show the bloodied bedroom where 21-year-old Dakota Theriot allegedly murdered his parents after killing his girlfriend, as well as her father and brother, in Louisiana on Saturday
The pictures show a blood-stained mattress and bullet holes in the bedroom where Elizabeth and Keith Therior, both 50, were killed at their home in Gonzales
Theriot has been charged with five counts of first-degree murder, illegal use of weapons, home invasion, and theft of a motor vehicle
Theriot was arrested at gunpoint at his grandmother’s house in Warsaw, Virginia just after 7am on Sunday morning.
Authorities said he had driven 16 hours and more than 1,000 miles in Billy Ernest’s truck to reach the home.
Although Theriot did not contact his grandmother, she stayed in a hotel on Saturday night because she feared he might come to her house, according to The Advocate.
Theriot’s grandmother had returned with officers on Sunday morning to check on her house when Theriot pulled into the driveway with a ‘firearm pointed out the window’, Richmond County Sheriff Stephan Smith said.
‘The deputies sought cover and challenged Theriot, who then dropped the firearm upon their commands and was taken into custody without incident.’
Authorities say Theriot shot his parents Keith and Elizabeth Theriot, both 50, (pictured) after killing his girlfriend and her father and brother
Kim Mincks walks down a blood stained hallway inside her home in Gonzalez. Keith and Elizabeth Theriot were her housemates
Rosalina Chastant, 5, walks across a blood stained floor, next to her father Jacob Scott Chastant, who was also a housemate of Keith and Elizabeth Theriot
Theriot has since made statements to investigators about the murders.
‘He seemed tired, had a little bit of sleep deprivation, and there were some statements made,’ Smith added. ‘But at this time that’s part of the investigation.’
Theriot will soon be extradited back to Louisiana to face charges.
A motive in the killings has not been revealed, but authorities believe it was a ‘boyfriend [and] girlfriend type of dispute’, according to WAFB.
Livingston Parish Sheriff Jason Ard said Theriot had been living with Summer Ernest’s family for a few weeks before the shooting. The couple had only just started dating.
Before shooting his parents, Theriot allegedly shot dead Summer Ernest, 20, (above) and her father and brother
Authorities said Theriot had been living with Summer’s family for a few weeks. Her brotehr Tanner, 17, and father Billy, 43, are pictured here
Authorities said Theriot first shot Summer and her father and brother at their trailer home in Livingston Parish.
A seven-year-old and one-year-old child were also at the scene. The seven-year-old took the baby to the house of neighbor Charlene Bordelon and asked for help.
Bordelon called 911 after the seven-year-old told her that their father, brother, and sister were dead.
‘It’s so heartbreaking,’ Bordelon told The Advocate. ‘She was terrified.’
Bordelon said she heard a truck speed away from the home just moments before the seven-year-old girl knocked on the door.
Theriot had stolen Billy Ernest’s truck and drove to his parents’ home 30 miles away in Gonzales, shooting them both in their bedroom before fleeing the scene, authorities said.
The mobile home where Theriot allegedly killed his parents is pictured above. Authorities said Theriot’s parents had recently kicked him out
Investigators are pictured at the scene of Keith and Elizabeth Theriot’s murders on Saturday
Mincks was devastated as she took in the horrific crime scene in her own home on Sunday
At one point she showed Elizabeth Theriot’s community college identification card (pictured)
Both Elizabeth and Keith Theriot were still alive when police were called to the home.
Ascension Parish Sheriff Bobby Webre said police were able to get a ‘dying declaration’ from Keith Theriot ‘to let us know that it was his son that committed this act’.
The couple were rushed to the hospital, but both passed away from their injuries.
Webre said that Theriot had been living with his mom and dad ‘for a little while’ but was ‘recently asked to leave with some disagreements’.
‘But no idea why he would do anything like this,’ Webre said during a press conference on Saturday. ‘This is probably one of the worst domestic violence [incidents] I’ve seen in quite a while.’
While Theriot was at large, authorities pledged that they would ‘work every lead’ and ‘follow every tip’ to find him.
Theriot was arrested at his grandmother’s house in Warsaw, Virginia just after 7am on Sunday morning after a 16-hour manhunt
Police released a picture of Ernest’s stolen 2004 Doge Ram pickup truck, as well as pictures of Theriot’s tattoos, and said he was ‘armed and dangerous’.
Now two families are trying to make sense of the horrific tragedy.
Crystal DeYoung, Billy Ernest’s sister, said her family had only just met Theriot last week at a birthday party.
Theriot was arrested at his grandmother’s house at gunpoint on Sunday morning
‘They didn’t get good vibes from him,’ DeYoung told the Associated Press. ‘My mom is a good judge of character and she just thought he was not good.’
DeYoung said her brother, niece, and nephew all had ‘very good hearts’.
‘They trusted people too much,’ she added. ‘They all loved unconditionally.’
Michael Logan, who lives next door to the mobile home where the Theriots were killed, said he had overheard several arguments at night in the home recently.
‘There’s been a lot of yelling matches,’ he said, also revealing that police had checked his barn on Saturday morning to see if Theriot was hiding there.
‘Any time you hear of a shooting this close to home, it’s never good,’ he added. ‘It never gives you a good feeling.’
Both authorities and Billy Ernest’s wife, who had been at work at the time of the shooting, said there were no red flags regarding Theriot before Saturday’s massacre.
Theriot had been arrested in April 2017 for marijuana possession and fleeing authorities during a traffic stop.
And past posts uncovered from his Facebook page revealed turbulence in Theriot’s life.
‘If you have a problem with me, tell me. Not everyone else,’ he wrote in May.
‘I don’t care what people say about me I know who I am and I don’t have to prove anything to anyone,’ another post read.
In June, Theriot posted that he wished he could ‘clear my mind just for one day’, adding a sad face emoji.
Authorities said Theriot had driven through the night to Virginia in the 2004 Dodge pickup truck he allegedly stole from Billy Ernest . Authorities released a photo of the truck (pictured) while Theriot was still at large