Louisiana Cold Case Murder Solved 20 Years after Victim Dies

Crowley, LA (KPEL News) - Years ago, one of the television networks had a show called "Cold Case." A detective would reopen a file that had been sitting in a box on a shelf, look over the information, and find the perpetrator within an hour. And law enforcement laughs and laughs.

In reality, cases run cold, but detectives in Louisiana don't stop looking for the person who committed the crimes. They realize that the victim and, in cases of murder, their families deserve closure and justice. Louisiana State Police work with agencies across the state and the Acadiana Crime Lab in New Iberia to uncover new evidence and any leads that may help catch a criminal.

Acadia Parish Sheriff K.P. Gibson announced this week that they have made an arrest in the 2003 murder of Susan Kennedy Jackson. Her body was found in December in Bayou Wikoff just north of I-10 off Exit 82 near Crowley, Louisiana. An autopsy revealed that Jackson had suffered blunt force trauma to the head.

DNA evidence was collected and submitted to the Acadiana Crime Lab who then put the information into a national database. That move proved successful 20 years after Jackson's death.

Recently, Acadia Parish investigators were notified that they "got a hit," a match to the DNA in Jackson's murder.

The DNA from the crime scene matched 44-year-old Ferris Bonham of Marysville, Washington. At the time the match was discovered, Bonham was incarcerated in Michigan on charges unrelated to Jackson's death.

Bonham was transferred from the Michigan jail to the Acadia Parish jail in Crowley where he was booked on an arrest warrant for second-degree murder. His bond is set at $1,000,000.

Sheriff Gibson says his department has been working with Louisiana State Police and the Acadiana Crime Lab for years on various cold case murders:

For the past 20 plus years, investigators have worked many cold cases for their victims and continue to do so today. This team has been focused and their hard work and determination has led to this arrest.

Sheriff Gibson is understandable pleased that his detectives and the team were able to solve the murder of Susan Kennedy Jackson:

I cannot express my appreciation for the investigators who never gave up on this case. Their teamwork has led to positive results.