Beauregard Gothic Jail Investigation

HISTORY

(Thanks Shawn Martin of the American Press for the history)

Built in 1914, the Beauregard Gothic Jail is one of the most unique looking jails I
have ever seen. The building, extremely ornate in fashion, was said to be able to
hold just over 100 inmates in its three story structure. During its 70 years of
“active duty” (1914-1984), the jail is most known for its double hangings, which
took place on March 9, 1928.

On August 28, 1926, Joe Genna and Milton Brasseaux committed one of the most
heinous crimes, when they brutally murdered Deridder taxi driver, J.J. Brevelle.
The two men coaxed Brevelled into driving them to a remote spot in eastern
Beauregard Parish. Once there, however, the plan went wrong and Brevelle was
severely beaten with a car leaf spring, stabbed in the head, and his throat was
slashed. After getting away with only $14, the two men disposed of the body in an
old mill pond in Pickering and the taxi was found burned in Calcasieu Parish.

On September 2, 1926, the two men were arrested, Genna in Orange, TX and
Brasseaux, in Sulphur, LA. Six days after their arrest, the jury indicted the two
men. On December 11, 1926, both men were sentenced to death. After several
failed attempts at appeals, the two men were executed on March 9, 1928. The
men were hung from make shift gallows with the noose tied from the barred grate
above the 3-story spiral staircase. In addition to the two hangings, the jail was
also home to many brutal assaults, suicide attempts, and even several deaths
(natural & unnatural).

ACTIVITY

There have been numerous reports of possible paranormal activity from
members of the police jury as well as former staff of the prison. The most
common claim is the spotting of an older male standing on the front porch of the
jail, smoking a pipe. The man is said to be in “maintenance” style clothing. In one
case, a photographer, taking pictures of the jail, captured what they feel is the
image of the man on the porch. The photo is on display at the police jury office.

INVESTIGATION

We arrived at the jail early that evening, being accompanied by Lori Veazy of the
tourist commission, Hattie Sherrick of the Deridder Daily News, Shawn Martin of
the American Press, and Lee Peck from KPLC TV. Never had we received so
much media attention prior to, and up to, this one investigation. It was a pleasure
working with all those just mentioned.

Due to the attention we got, I was more determined than ever to come out with
some type of evidence so we brought in every piece of equipment we could. With
three DVRs leading a total of 16 IR cameras through out the jail, we pulled out
everything we had. After setting up and demonstrating our equipment to the
media, we then led Lee Peck of KPLC through the jail. As we entered one of the
cells, Brandon got a significant EMF spike. As he backed up to find the source, he
noticed one of our IR cameras, which was attached to a sturdy tri-pod, fall over.
Upon replay of the video, we found no one to of knocked the camera over, nor did
anyone get caught up in the video cable. Following this, we conducted our normal
investigation until about 3:00 a.m. and then all camped out in one of the cells.
During the night, several investigators claimed they heard footsteps and running
water when no one was moving throughout the building. We awoke that morning
and packed up, knowing we had hours of evidence to go through.

After going through the audio, several interesting clips were pulled, as you will
see below. In once case, James and I were alone in one of the "death cells",
which was basically a form of solitary confinement. You will hear the two of us
speaking clearly. As we speak, you will hear a third voice saying "NO", louder than
the two of us were speaking. We were about 5 feet from the recorder so for
something to sound that close, it had to have been about 3 feet away. I am positive
that we were the only two people in the room at that time, so the source of the
third voice is still unknown.

In closing, the night produced several interesting things. However, being we strive
to be as professional and scientific as possible, these types of experiences and
bits of evidence are still not enough to truly validate a haunting of the Gothic Jail. I
can assure you that when dealing with small, amateur groups, as you will often
find, you will get a very small, questionable piece of evidence, while having the
location immediately labeled as "haunted". However, due to our strenuous
screening process, I demand and require that we attempt to rule out any and all
logical explanations for strange occurrences. Only when all logical explanations
have been expelled, then we look into the "paranormal realm". Still, on a personal
note, due to such a rich history and the personal experiences that were, in fact,
felt, I definitely feel that we have enough legitimate evidence to warrant a follow-
up investigation of the Beauregard Gothic Jail. Hopefully, with the help of such a
kind Police Jury and Lori Veazy, director of Beauregard's Tourist Commission, we
can make this happen. Our main goal(s) are to possibly find concrete proof of the
paranormal, see the building restored and up to safety codes, and then hold
paranormal seminars/investigations to members of the public who wish to learn
more on such a fascinating hobby.