How a Podcast Helped Solve a 44-Year-Old Louisiana Cold Case

Of all cold murder cases that occurred in Louisiana between 1980 and 2019, just over 10,000 are still unsolved. The tragic homicide of Roxanne Sharp is no longer in that statistic.

Thanks to the cooperation between Northshore Media Group and Louisiana State Police, the podcast Who Killed Roxanne Sharp? not only brought her death into the public eye—it contributed to justice being served.

Roxanne was a 16-year-old from Covington, La., a small city about 30 miles north of New Orleans. Even as a teenager, she was known to police as a drug user who’d been arrested for fights and property damage. Still, Roxanne was regarded as a friendly, resourceful girl whose survivor mentality came from adapting to a tough home life near the Ozone, an area where gangs and criminals gathered.

During early 1982, Roxanne’s mother said Roxanne seemed upset about a friend who’d overdosed and may have been murdered around the Ozone, but she never elaborated. Roxanne then went missing for three days before a couple of people participating in the Dixie Trail Ride discovered her body on February 12 near the St. Tammany Parish fairgrounds. She was found naked, aside from a jacket thrown over her genitalia.

Newspapers covered little about Roxanne as a person, despite being the first murder in Covington in two years. Also, unlike many homicide victims, she lacked an advocate who kept her case alive. According to Roxanne’s niece, Michele Lappin, her death was a “cloud that hung over” the family, many of whom—including Roxanne’s son, 18 months old when she was murdered—passed away during subsequent years.

While Roxanne’s name stayed alive in Covington, her story barely reached beyond its borders.

Investigators determined Roxanne was raped and then strangled to death before her body was moved to the woods near the fairgrounds. First responding officers found her scattered clothing all along a trail, 80 feet or farther from her body. She was estimated to have died 48 to 72 hours before her body’s discovery. While forensic evidence was left everywhere, heavy rain obliterated many clues.

The FBI’s Behavioral Science Unit also weighed in on Roxanne’s death, stating they believed she was killed by two or more individuals in the spur of the moment and knew her murderers. Yet while Covington police interviewed 150 people and created hundreds of pages of notes, many—especially in the Ozone—stayed silent. Due to the tight-knit nature of the area, many seemed scared to provide information.

Complicating matters was serial killer Henry Lee Lucas’s “confession,” one of many false ones authorities believed at the time. Closer to home, the then-recent murder spree of Robert Lee Willie—who’d been known to hang around the Ozone—shocked Covington, overshadowing Roxanne’s death.

The case was transferred from the Covington police to the Louisiana State Police, where investigator Stefan Montgomery spearheaded the investigation. He never thought Roxanne’s murder was an outside job or an isolated incident. He knew much of the DNA evidence, kept in freezers, was lost during Hurricane Katrina. Mostly, he wanted to know if anyone would reveal information now, years later.

The odds were slim, but soon he’d have one last chance for answers.

Podcasts like Serial, Your Own Backyard and The Murder Squad have led to breakthroughs and resolutions in several cold cases. Who Killed Roxanne Sharp? is no exception.

In 2024, Northshore Media Group’s Charles Dowdy mentioned to law enforcement his interest in using his platform to cover forgotten cold cases. Montgomery got in touch and told Dowdy about Roxanne’s homicide. Working with Louisiana State Police, the Covington mayor, DNA experts, law experts and more, Dowdy spent months researching and creating Who Killed Roxanne Sharp?

The initial six episodes aired weekly starting on February 25, 2025, covering everything from Roxanne’s life, crime scene materials and the history of the Ozone. In each episode, Dowdy encouraged listeners to reach out with tips, no matter how small or old. As early as the first episodes, the podcast received new leads that exceeded expectations; it was clear Roxanne’s story resonated with listeners decades later.

Montgomery was also surprised people were still alive who’d known Roxanne personally or been rape victims around the same time in Covington—especially considering St. Tammany now has some of the best Special Victims Units in Louisiana. “It’s sad that Roxanne will never have that chance," Montgomery said of the improvement. "But if we can’t do anything else, we can tell her story and maybe save somebody else.”

As a result of Who Killed Roxanne Sharp?, four Covington men in their early to mid-60s—Perry Wayne Taylor, Darrell Dean Spell, Carlos Cooper and Billy Williams Jr.—were arrested on charges of aggravated rape and second-degree murder. Should any of them be found guilty on either charge, they face a sentence of life imprisonment. Taylor and Cooper were already incarcerated in the Louisiana Department of Corrections, and all four men had connections to the Ozone or Robert Lee Willie.

During a press conference on April 24, 2026, officials credited the podcast as a crucial part of helping them solve Roxanne’s murder. There was little shared about the specific evidence given against the four men, but officials indicated that DNA evidence played a major factor.

Though he’s lost access to Montgomery while arraignments are underway, Dowdy isn’t done with the podcast. He aired an episode on February 12, 2026—the 44th anniversary of Roxanne’s body’s discovery—and another on April 29. Dowdy indicates he has more episode ideas, noting, “If this podcast does nothing else, I feel like at least it brought [Roxanne] back into the light.”

Montgomery was unable to comment to A&E Crime + Investigation as the investigation has transferred to an active prosecution.