A Lafayette dentist serving two life sentences will remain in prison. The state parole board denied David Garrett’s request for early release. In 1986, Garrett murdered Tracy Batton and Rusty Mayne, a daughter and stepfather. Their family has fought for months to keep Garrett behind bars. Batton’s aunt, Susan Batton Carriere said she will continue to fight and give her family a voice.
“They’re family. We are going to fight for family. We are not going to lay down and play dead. We are going after whoever is going to take us on,” Carriere said.
She says she remembers her niece and cousin very well. On February 18th, 1986 the two were murdered by Tracys’s former boyfriend, David Garrett. Garrett was a well-known dentist in town. Garrett went to Tracy’s home, killing her and then her stepfather.
“He went to Steinberg’s, which was a sporting center at the time in the Oil Center. He bought ammunition for his 9mm gun,” Carriere said.
This July, Susan and her family learned Garrett would fo before the parole board. That’s when they began their fight to keep him behind bars.
“Six months of actively working on this. We have contacted our family, friends, and politicians and all of the elected officials in our area,” Carriere said.
28 relatives went to Monday’s hearing. Tracy’s daughter, who was three when her mother died, spoke on her behalf. Other family members wrote a total of 60 letters, urging the pardon board to deny Garrett’s request for release.
“Most of the testimony was short, but it felt like he was not very remorseful. It felt like he was trying to lay the blame on everyone but himself,” Carriere said.
The family says they can now breathe after learning Garrett will remain at Angola.
