At least four people were killed and a child remained in critical condition after a stabbing spree in Louisiana on Saturday night. Authorities launched a manhunt for a person of interest with a history of violent arrests.
Terrebonne Parish Sheriff’s Office deputies found “multiple deceased victims” inside homes near the 200 block of Ashland Drive in Houma, Louisiana. They also discovered a juvenile suffering from stab wounds.
The unidentified child was taken to a hospital and was listed in critical condition, officials said.
Authorities identified Kaegan Jude Solet, 47, as a person of interest in the deadly attacks in the southwestern Louisiana community, located about 63 miles from New Orleans.
Solet has been arrested multiple times over the past decade in connection with several stabbing cases, including one that involved a fatality. However, he has not been convicted in any of those cases.
In January 2019, police charged Solet with the murder of Kemple Paul Scott Lovell, a homeless man who was found dead in Houma with multiple stab wounds.
Police arrested Solet after receiving an anonymous tip. Investigators found him hiding in a shed behind a mobile home, about a block west of Saturday night’s crime scene.
Several months later, a grand jury declined to indict Solet, citing insufficient evidence.
“Basically, the evidence we had that was presented to the grand jury wasn’t enough for them to come back with an indictment at this point and time,” then First Assistant District Attorney Jason Dagate said, according to the Houma Courier. “They made a decision to pretermit it, which means more information is needed to fully investigate. At this time we completely agree with the grand jury.”
Solet was also charged with attempted second-degree murder in December 2019 after a woman was found severely injured inside Houma’s Red Carpet Inn.
Cindy Boudreaux, 59, was discovered in a motel room gasping, “don’t let me die,” while paramedics treated her, the Houma Courier reported.
Boudreaux told investigators that a man entered her room, struck her with a wine bottle and then stabbed her repeatedly.
Boudreaux initially said it was her boyfriend, William Naquin, who had attacked her but later accused Solet.
Solet, who claimed to be homeless at the time, said he had been inside the room with Boudreaux the previous night but had been sleeping on the streets the day of the attack.
Prosecutors pointed to security camera footage and Solet’s DNA being found inside the hotel room as evidence he committed the attack.
Solet was arrested and charged in the attempted murder but was found not guilty of the attack on November 2023, the outlet reported.
