A body found in Mississippi has been identified as that of Randall Duplechin.
Last month, Mississippi law enforcement arrested a man on a murder warrant obtained by Lafayette Police in connection with the slaying of Duplechin, 65, of Lafayette.
Last week, Lafayette Police identified a location where they believed the body had been discarded, and so they called the Pearl River County Sheriff’s Office of that location.
The Pearl River County Sheriff’s Office found a body there, and Lafayette detectives traveled to Pearl River County to collect evidence and bring the body back to Lafayette. Lafayette investigators have confirmed that the body is that of Dupelcin.
It was Justin Weber, 40, who was booked into the Harrison County jail, accused of first-degree murder in Duplechin's death.
Lafayette Police got a warrant for Weber's arrest after they got a call from Harrison County Sheriff's deputies telling them to check on a house on Leonie Street. Once there officers found "evidence that a homicide occurred."
Initially, police would not tell us anything about whether Duplecin's body was found when they checked the house, but KATC Investigates called the Lafayette Coroner's Office and officials there said they did not pick up a body at Leonie Street, and that they did not have Duplechin's body.
Also arrested in the case was Milford Cumberland III, 55, of Gulfport. He was arrested in Mississippi and booked with one count accessory after the fat to first-degree murder.
