Brandi Hawkins Laurent, 29, Kiln MS, Aug 3, 2007(BODY FOUND)

[obi]

Texas group to join search for missing woman
By Dwayne Bremer
Oct 24, 2007, 09:18

World renowned search group Texas Equusearch is coming to Hancock County in three weeks to assist in the search for missing mother Brandi Hawkins Laurent.
It has been nearly three months now since Laurent--a 29-year-old mother of two-- went missing from her Kiln home.
Since then a massive effort by friends and family to find her has captured the hearts of many, but unfortunately Brandi has not been found and not one solid lead has materialized.
Texas Equusearch, a non-profit organization based in Dickinson Tx., has now been called in to help.
Over the past eight years Texas Equusearch has conducted hundreds of searches both in the United States and internationally.
The group was also a major contributer in the infamous case of Natalee Holloway, an Alabama teen, who went missing during a vacation trip to Aruba in May 2005.
Equusearch began in 2000, with the purpose of providing search and recovery teams for finding missing persons.
The group was dedicated to the memory of Laura MIller, a young woman who was abducted and murdered in 1984. She was the daughter of director Tim Miller.
Teams are comprised of volunteers of various experience, but the groups specialty is searches in wooded or hard to reach areas by means of horse back or walking.
Cindy Wisdom, a case manager said the group will be conducting two searches on November 10 and 11. A command center will be set up, but Wisdom said that location is still undetermined.
"We will be starting in the area where she went missing and then follow on a few leads," Wisdom said Monday.
Sheriff's investigator Rita Blaize Watson--who is the lead investigator in Laurent's disappearance--said Tuesday, the sheriff's department welcomes the help from Equusearch.
"This group has a good reputation and they rely on a lot of volunteers," she said.
Watson said the case has been tedious so far, and the sheriff's department is still getting a lot of leads.
Two chilling leads discovered last week have garnered a lot attention by investigators and Brandi's loved ones alike.
The first is a message left on an internet website where friends were symbolically lighting candles for Brandi. The message was posted by someone calling them-self "A messenger of God from Mississippi."
The message quotes a passage from the bible and a text written in a foreign language which translated may say "Brandi is located in the woods of Lakeshore."
Some have dismissed the message as a cruel hoax, but Watson said nothing can be ruled out at this time.
"We don't know if it is real or not," she said. "A lot of the leads we are getting now have to do with where we may find Brandi's body."
Watson said despite some morbid leads, the case is still being treated as a missing persons case.
Another clue can be found on www.zerogossip.com.
In a blog, Brandi's husband Leo is quoted as saying Brandi's friend Pomeca Vaughn may know where Brandi is.
"If I knew any way to get in touch with Pomeca at this point, I would go get her myself as I believe she has the answers that everyone is looking for," Leo said. "I wish I could give more , but like I said I can not paint a pretty picture out of the truth."
Vaughn gave a statement to police the day after Brandi went missing. In her statement, Vaughn claims to have seen Brandi "sick in bed" the evening before she went missing.
The next day, Leo first reported her missing.
Watson said Leo Laurent told officers he and Brandi had had a disagreement about midnight the previous evening, and a short time later, Brandi left the couple's home at the Pecan Park trailer park.
Leo told officers he drove around the trailer park and surrounding area, but Brandi was not to be found, Watson said.
Brandi was last seen wearing a tank-top, tan pants or shorts, and a pair of flip-flops, Watson said.
The Equusearch team was alerted to the case by Brandi's mother Anita Moody and Brandi's friend Andrea Dominach.
Wisdom said Equusearch will be bringing about 10 team leaders and they will rely on volunteer help to conduct the search.
"It comes down to getting boots on the ground," she said. "We have been successful because we don't close our door to the public."
She said having support from the local law enforcement agencies is a huge plus.
"You guys have a great sheriff's department," she said. "I know because I've worked with a lot of them."
Equusearch has produced tremendous results in their eight years of service.
Wisdom said the group has been involved in about 800 cases. Of the 800 cases, 300 people have been returned safely, including three Amber Alerts.
The group has also found about 75 bodies of missing people, most recently the group found the remains of a missing woman in Illinois last month.
Wisdom said anyone wishing to volunteer for the search can call 1-281-309-9500 or visit www.tesasequusearch.com.
Volunteers must be 18-years of age and capable of walking for extended periods, she said.

© Copyright 2007 Bay St. Louis Newspapers, Inc.

http://208.62.60.4/40/article_1622.shtml

[klaasend]

Thanks Obi - I'm reading up on this case now

[klaasend]

From the CTV board:

8-3-07 Statements and Information
The information I have gathered is somewhat conflicting so I will do my best to to add all information/statements that I have found pertainning to this particular day.


It is reported that Brandi Hawkins Laurent went to work on the day of Friday, August 3, 2007. It is also reported that Brandi left work early that day due to not feeling well.

In an interview on zergossip.com (http://zerogossip.com/2007/09/21/wh...di-laurent.aspx)

Brandi's mother states this information:
“Leo stated to me that Brandi had been ‘up’ meaning awake due to drugs for 2-3 days,” Anita recalled. “He said that she had spoken to him earlier that afternoon about going out dancing when he got off work. He said he told her he was too tired to go out. He came home and cooked dinner for the family and everyone ate, even Brandi who had left work early that day and had been in bed sick with an upset stomach.”
After dinner, Leo told Anita Brandi wanted to go out. He refused and an argument ensued. According to Leo, Brandi staggered to the door telling him she would have someone come pick her up and take her out. “He left her at the door,” Anita continued, “to tend to their crying baby. When he returned, she was gone. He said she left on foot and then that he thought he saw her in a car with someone.”
Leo told Anita he searched the neighborhood for her but couldn’t find her.




In another interview on zerogossip.com (http://zerogossip.com/2007/10/03/le...e-the-blog.aspx),
Leo gives this information:
"I know Brandi and Pomeca were making plans to go out Friday night (August 3)," Leo said. "Brandi had been up for 2-3 days but she wanted to go out. We argued. She could hardly walk. I told her it was the drugs or us. She said 'it was over." and left."
"I packed the baby up (the older daughter was not at home) and began searching.




In the statement given to the Hancock County Sheriff's Department, also posted on zerogossip.com, (http://zerogossip.com/2007/10/02/85...department.aspx)
Leo states this:
On Friday evening, Brandi and I were laying in bed. She had expressed interest in going out dancing at a night club like we had on previous weekends. At this point, she had already been up for 2-3 days straight on drugs.
She mixed some cocaine and meth to take then took 2 loritabs (pain pills). She could hardly walk straight. I told her we could not dance if she could not walk. I told her she needed to quit doing the drugs she was mixing because it was killing her and the family. She said she knew what she was doing and she was a grown woman.
I told her I would appreciate it if she would keep it out of the house as we have two children. She asked was I going to take her out or not. I said no, not in the state you're in. She said fine then it's over. I'll find a ride. I would not let her have the keys to the vehicle.
She went out the door and the baby had woken up and was screaming. I went to tend to the baby and get her. When I went back out to get her, she was gone. I put the baby in the truck and rode around and she was no where to be found. I assumed someone had come and got her as she said. Her phone was left on the counter so I called everyone in her phone that I thought may have picked her up and no one knew anything.
I have not heard from her in a day and a half and have both children here. She has done this before, but usually calls the kids at least.
This all took place around midnight on Friday (August 3).


Information given in a news interview to WLOX (http://www.wlox.com/Global/story.asp?s=7012766) Leo states:
"She was determined to go out that night. And she had already been up for four days straight. She had gotten mixed in with some meth," said Brandi's husband, Leo Laurent.




Information written in a post by Leo on Courttv.com (http://boards.courttv.com/showthrea...threadid=308285):
Yes she was determined to go out and I would not let her drive as she was in an altered state of mind. It would not have been safe for her to drive. REcently we believe we have found the person who took her out of the trailer park.



In a statement given to the Hancock County Sheriff's Department, also posted on zerogossip.com,(http://zerogossip.com/2007/10/02/85...department.aspx),
Brandi's friend Pomeca states:
The last time I spoke to her was Friday evening and she told me that she was home sick in the bed. I have not heard from her since that conversation despite my many efforts to contact her by phone until her husband Leo made me aware that she was missing.

[NYC_lover]

Texas EquuSearch to organize a search Nov. 9, 2007
Horseback searchers coming
Texas group will search for woman missing since Aug. 3

HANCOCK COUNTY --
A Texas group will arrive in Hancock County on Nov. 9 to organize a search for Brandi Hawkins Laurent, who has been missing from her north county home since early August.

A spokeswoman for the Texas EquuSearch Mounted Search and Recovery Team said Monday the group is seeking volunteers to help in a two-day search to take place Nov. 10 and 11.

[klaasend]

The body of Brandi Laurent was found today by TES.  More information to follow but it appears TES found her very quickly, within 1hr.

[Red]

The body of Brandi Laurent was found today by TES.  More information to follow but it appears TES found her very quickly, within 1hr.

Klaas is correct. I just got off the phone with Tim Miller and TES has found Brandi Laurent.

The preliminary details is that her body was found 3/4-1 mile from her home.

More too follow ...

[vms]

 
God bless Brandi's family and TES.

[MumInOhio]

The body of Brandi Laurent was found today by TES.  More information to follow but it appears TES found her very quickly, within 1hr.

Klaas is correct. I just got off the phone with Tim Miller and TES has found Brandi Laurent.

The preliminary details is that her body was found 3/4-1 mile from her home.

More too follow ...

 

May Brandi Rest in Peace and prayers going out for her family.

Prayers for Tim and TES. Their efforts have given so many families the answers they desperately need.

[Red]

Brandi Laurent Missing Since August 3, 2007 … Body has been Found By Texas EquuSearch

http://missingexploited.com/2007/11/10/brandi-laurent-missing-since-august-3-2007-body-has-been-found-by-texas-equusearch/

UPDATE II:  Multiple search  teams under the organization and direction of Texas EquuSearch have located the body of missing 29 year old Brandi Laurent. In less than one hour after the search began, the Harrison County Sheriff’s Mounted Patrol located the remains of Brandi Laurent. Brandi was found  in tall grass approximately 6 to 8 feet tall near a power line.

The location where Brandi Laurent’s body was found was less than one mile from where she lived on Kiln, MS off of Road 528 and 530. Reports are that her clothing was the first indication that this was the body of missing Brandi Laurent.

More ...

[MumInOhio]

BODY FOUND: Missing mother is possible murder victim
By J.R. WELSH

KILN --Three months of uncertainty ended Saturday when the body of a young mother missing since August was located alongside a power line cut-through in a wooded rural area of Hancock County.

Authorities tentatively identified the remains as those of 29-year-old Brandi Hawkins Laurent during a search organized by Texasequusearch and involving about 150 local volunteers. A group of civilians and Harrison County deputies on horseback found the body in tall grass about 100 yards from County Road 528 in a remote section of the county.

"We found her about where we thought we would," said Cindy Wisdom, the search commander for Texasequusearch. "But we found her a lot faster than we had expected."

The body was discovered roughly a mile from the trailer park where her husband, Leo Laurent, said he had last seen her at midnight on Aug. 3. The following day, Leo Laurent said in a sheriff's report that his wife left home on foot after they argued.

Leo Laurent said she had been using drugs for several days and disappeared wearing only a shirt, shorts and flip-flops. He moved from their trailer shortly after his wife vanished.

Brandi Laurent had two daughters, ages 2 and 12. The youngest still lives with Leo Laurent, her father. The oldest, Brandi Laurent's daughter by a previous marriage, has been living elsewhere since her mother disappeared.

The search began early Saturday at a command post at the Hancock County Fairgrounds. Volunteers fanned into the woods near Laurent's home, on foot, driving four-wheelers and on horseback. It took the horseback searchers only about 10 minutes to locate the body after they rode into a wide power line field off County Road 528 at 10 a.m.

Within minutes after the searchers headed back to the road, radios began to crackle. Hancock County deputies Sgt. Eddie Smith and Lt. Matt Barnett arrived and began stringing yellow crime scene tape in the field.

Brandi Laurent's status quickly changed from missing person to possible murder victim.

Rita Blaize-Watson, lead sheriff's investigator on the case, said she hopes an autopsy will yield more information on how Laurent died. Dental records and DNA testing are being used for an official identification.

Leo Laurent was not present at the search for his wife, which had been well publicized in advance. He had previously announced on an Internet site that instead, he would be attending a soccer tournament in Jackson this weekend, after his birthday on Friday.

Saturday's search followed weeks of building speculation that Brandi Laurent had been killed and her body disposed of in the rugged, rural countryside. But her mother, Anita Moody, had arrived at the search command post in a hopeful frame of mind at 7 a.m. Saturday, three hours before the body was found.

"Brandi needs me to be as strong as I can be," she said then. "I won't believe that she's out there dead until I see it."

 

[MumInOhio]

Posted on Tue, Nov. 13, 2007
HUSBAND DECLARES HE IS INNOCENT
Sheriff sources, off the record, say he failed lie dectector
By J.R. WELSH
jrwelsh@sunherald.com

BAY ST. LOUIS --The husband of a Kiln woman found Saturday during a volunteer search in Hancock County told the Sun Herald he is innocent of wrongdoing in the death of his wife, Brandi Hawkins Laurent.

Laurent, a mother of two, was reported missing Aug. 3 from their home off Road 528 near Kiln by her husband, Leo Laurent. He told deputies she had been using drugs for several days and left their FEMA trailer on foot at midnight after the couple had argued.

Authorities have considered Leo Laurent a person of interest in the case for weeks. He has been questioned on a number of occasions by Sheriff's Investigator Rita Blaize-Watson and others, and has taken at least two polygraph exams.

Leo Laurent has posted on Internet sites that he passed both tests, which normally are not admissible as court evidence, "100 percent."

Off the record, Sheriff's Department sources have said he failed both tests.

Leo Laurent acknowledged to the Sun Herald on Monday that he has been closely questioned by authorities. But he maintained his innocence.

"I had nothing to do with this," he said. "I don't want to be in the public's eye as being hated. This has been the hardest experience I've ever had to deal with."

He also said he has received death threats since the case began, adding, "I'm in a protective housing type of situation now." He declined to say who is protecting him from whom, or where.

Officials maintained Monday that autopsy results were still out on the case, and said crime scene examination results and dental record comparisons are not yet complete. However, sources close to the case said an initial examination showed Laurent may have been strangled.

Hancock County Coroner Norma Stiglet would neither confirm nor deny that strangulation may have caused Laurent's death. "I don't even have a death certificate yet," she said.

The death is now being considered a homicide.

Hancock County Sheriff Steve Garber declined to release further information and refused to say whether he has a suspect. Garber also said he had no knowledge of any autopsy results, and that his department has been instructed by District Attorney Cono Caranna's office to maintain silence on the case.

"The district attorney is telling us not to say anything," he said.

Caranna could not be reached by the Sun Herald on Monday and his office was closed for the Veterans Day holiday.

On Saturday, Laurent's body was found off a power company line clearing about a mile from the trailer. Local horseback riders participating in a search led by Texas Equusearch made the discovery. The body apparently had been originally buried in a shallow grave, then was possibly unearthed by animals before being found.

 

[Nut44x4]

The Sun Herald (Biloxi, Mississippi)
 
December 6, 2007 Thursday 
 
Trip to Tennessee yields no leads for police: Cause of death still not released

Dec. 6--HANCOCK COUNTY -- Sheriff's investigators recently traveled to Tennessee as their probe of the Brandi Laurent murder continues, but said they returned with no conclusive leads.

Representatives of the Hancock County Sheriff's Department went north to interview a woman who had filed a statement in the case in early August, when Brandi Laurent was still considered a missing person. After remaining missing for three months, her body was found Nov. 10 about a mile from her home.

Laurent, 29, had been murdered, although no medical cause or approximate date of death has been released. Sources close to the case have said she was strangled.

Laurent had been reported missing by her husband, 30-year-old Leo Laurent. He said she walked away from their home at a trailer park in a remote section of the county at midnight Aug. 3, after the two had argued.

On Aug. 5, Leo Laurent and a female companion, Pomeca Vaughn, filed handwritten statements with deputies who filed a report on Brandi Laurent's disappearance. In her statement, Vaughn referred to Brandi Laurent as "a very dear and close friend of mine."

Vaughn also wrote, "Her disappearance and lack of contact with her family for this length of time is uncharacteristic to the type of person she is."

That seemed to conflict with statements from Leo Laurent, who told deputies at the time his wife, who was 29, had been on a drug binge for several days and had abruptly left home on previous occasions. His claim has also been disputed among friends and family of Brandi Laurent, some of whom who have maintained she was an occasional drug user who held a steady job.

Vaughn also said she had last spoken with Brandi Laurent on Aug. 3, the same day the victim was last seen alive.

Vaughn left Hancock County after Laurent's disappearance.

On Wednesday, sheriff's department Chief Investigator Kenny Hurt acknowledged making the trip to interview Vaughn in Tennessee last week. But he said the discussion, though informative, provided no strong leads in the case.

"We talked to her for about six hours," Hurt said, describing the interview as "so-so." "She didn't have the information I wanted, but she helped us out some," he said.

Also Wednesday, Internet postings and callers said that Leo Laurent had left the area with his two-year-old daughter.

Laurent contacted the Sun Herald by cell phone Wednesday afternoon and insisted that was not the case. He arranged to contact the newspaper by 5 p.m. Wednesday for a face-to-face meeting, but failed to do so. He did call later in the evening to say he would call Thursday to reschedule.

Hurt said Laurent was free to come and go from the area, but was still in the region. He said he has an address and telephone number for Laurent.

"He's still answering my calls, no matter where he is," the investigator said. "He's around. He's within 30 miles of here."

Laurent has been named a person of interest in his wife's death. However, since no charges have been filed in the murder case, Hurt added, "We can't make him stick around."

Laurent is currently charged with embezzlement in an unrelated case. But as long as he makes court dates in that case, he only needs to report his whereabouts to a bail bondsman, Hurt said.

------

Benefit planned

A benefit for will be held Saturday in Waveland at the Knock-Knock Restaurant on U.S. 90 from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. Brandi Laurent's mother, Anita Moody, is raising money for Laurent's two daughters. Services will be held Sunday at Edmond Fahey Funeral Home, 110 Necaise Ave., Bay St. Louis. Visitation is from 1 until 3 p.m. A memorial service will be held at the same location from 3 until 5 p.m.

http://www6.lexisnexis.com/publisher/EndUser?Action=UserDisplayFullDocument&orgId=574&topicId=100020825&docId=l:712011350&start=4

[Nut44x4]

The Sun Herald (Biloxi, Mississippi)
 December 10, 2007 Monday 
 
Friends, family honor life of slain mother at memorial  

Dec. 10--BAY ST. LOUIS -- Brandi Hawkins Laurent, a murder victim whose body was found in November after she had been missing for three months, was memorialized at a gathering of family and friends Sunday.

Her husband, Leo Laurent, did not attend the services.

About 50 people came to a visitation and memorial service at Edmond Fahey Funeral Home on Sunday afternoon. The 29-year-old mother of two daughters was remembered by family members and friends as a kind, generous and compassionate young woman.

Poems were read by a friend and by Laurent's grandmother, Mary Frances Powell, and friends and family spoke about Brandi.

"She was the only one I always knew I could run to... talk to," said Laurent's sister, Jessica Fisher.

Laurent was reported missing by her husband, who told deputies she had disappeared from their rural home outside Kiln at midnight Aug. 3. Two days later Leo Laurent said in a statement his wife had been doing drugs for several days and left on foot after the couple had a disagreement.

Her body was found at a shallow gravesite in a power-line cut-through field about a mile from their home Nov. 10. Leo Laurent has been extensively questioned on numerous occasions by Hancock County sheriff's investigators, but no charges have been filed.

Late last week he told the Sun Herald he believes his wife was killed by drug dealers to whom she owed money.

Laurent also denied reports he had left the Mississippi Coast and had been living out of state. He said he would attend services for his wife, and added repeated threats had been made on his life. Laurent said his 2-year-old daughter, Peyton Laurent, would not be attending the services because "she's not going to take a stray bullet."

Laurent said at the time that as he had arranged the service, "There's no reason I wouldn't be there."

On Sunday, Brandi's mother, Anita Moody, said she had received a phone call from Leo Laurent telling her he would not be attending. Moody said he told her he was traveling to Texas "to pick up Peyton."

Brandi also had a 12-year-old daughter, Bailee, from her previous marriage. She did attend the services. Bailee has since gone to live elsewhere, but Leo Laurent has maintained custody of the younger child.

Efforts by the Sun Herald to reach Leo Laurent following the service were unsuccessful. He has been living in undisclosed locations and has been reachable only by cell phone.

Brandi Laurent grew up in Hancock County and graduated from Hancock High School. She was employed at the Dollar General store in Kiln and had been working to complete a bachelor's degree from the University of Southern Mississippi.

Those at the service ranged from family members to old friends from her childhood, and other friends who had worked with her. They included Andrea Dominach, who, along with others, had conducted their own relentless search for weeks until Laurent's body was located.

"I keep thinking," Dominach said after the service, "she wasn't even 30."
http://www6.lexisnexis.com/publisher/EndUser?Action=UserDisplayFullDocument&orgId=574&topicId=100020825&docId=l:713807483&start=1

[Nut44x4]

The Sun Herald (Biloxi, Mississippi)
 December 12, 2007 Wednesday 
 
Laurent says he was shot at
 
Dec. 12--WAVELAND -- Authorities are casting a skeptical eye on claims by the husband of a murder victim who has reported someone tried to kill him from a distance of 60 feet with an automatic pistol, yet left gunpowder burns on his shirt.

Hancock County Sheriff's Department Chief Investigator Kenny Hurt said Tuesday claims by Leo Laurent, who told police he was the subject of an attack on the Waveland beach Friday night, are beyond credibility.

Laurent, 30, showed officers gunpowder burns on a T-shirt he was wearing after reporting a would-be assassin fired a .45-caliber round at him from a car on Beach Boulevard. The attack reportedly occurred as Laurent walked the beach in the dark, 20 yards from the road.

Hurt, who is investigating the murder of Brandi Laurent, Leo Laurent's wife, said he discussed the powder-burn theory with a ballistics expert. The distance was too great to leave powder residue on the man's shirt, he said.

"It's not going to happen. No way," the veteran investigator said.

The reported attack occurred around 10 p.m. Friday. Officers who raced to the scene after receiving a dispatch call found Leo Laurent standing behind his white Ford Explorer by the beach, said Waveland Police Chief James Varnell. He said Laurent told police he had been fired upon from a blue Oldsmobile occupied by two black men who had passed him, wheeled around in a driveway on Beach Boulevard, then came back and fired a single shot from a silver pistol before speeding away.

Officers found no tire marks in the sand or driveway where Laurent said the attackers had turned the car around, according to a police department release.

Laurent has been described as a person of interest in the death of his wife, 29-year-old Brandi Hawkins Laurent. He reported her missing in early August and said she disappeared from their rural Hancock County home at midnight Aug. 3 after the two argued.

At the time Laurent told deputies his wife had been on drugs for several days. According to his statements, she left their rural home dressed only in a shirt, shorts and flip-flops with no car keys, wallet or cell phone. She apparently was never seen alive again, except by her killer.

Brandi Laurent was considered a missing person for three months, until her remains were found by a horseback search party at a shallow grave site about a mile from the couple's home outside Kiln on Nov. 10.

Leo Laurent has maintained innocence of his wife's death and sheriff's investigators have filed no charges yet. He did not attend memorial services for his wife Sunday and is now said to be in Texas.

Varnell said other events unfolded as officers continued their questioning of Laurent on the beach Friday night:

--He told officers: "Hey, if you catch these guys, you may be able to solve two cases at the same time." He then told them he was the husband of a murder victim.

--Laurent told police he had no narcotics or weapons in his car and gave permission for a vehicle search. Under the front seat of the Explorer they discovered a .45-caliber pistol.

--The gun contained shells of the same caliber and make as a spent shell casing found in the area and believed to be from the shot fired at Laurent. He told officers: "Oh, I forgot about the gun. That's an old one. I don't think it even works."

--Police impounded the gun and are continuing tests. Varnell said Tuesday he expects to have more information "in the near future." He declined to comment on whether a test was performed to detect gunpowder residue on Laurent's person.

"We're not going to release that at this time," Varnell told the Sun Herald, adding the case remains under investigation.

http://www6.lexisnexis.com/publisher/EndUser?Action=UserDisplayFullDocument&orgId=574&topicId=100020825&docId=l:715328666&start=4

[pdh3]

He did it.
I hope he doesn't hurt that baby.

[Nut44x4]

Laurent pleaded guilty to false info, bound to grand jury for murder
Feb. 9, 2008
By Jeremy Pittari
Item Staff Writer

KILN — Leo Laurent was bound over to the grand jury for the murder of Brandi Laurent after the case was brought before the Hancock County Justice court for a preliminary hearing.

Friday Hancock County Investigator André Fizer presented the evidence he and the other investigators collected before Hancock Justice Court Judge Ricky Adams, who bound the case to a grand jury.

In 2007, Brandi Laurent reportedly had walked away from the couple’s home after the couple engaged in an argument on Aug. 3. Brandi Laurent’s body was not found until Nov. 10. by an Equine Search team.

The official cause of death for Brandi Laurent was strangulation/asphixiation, Fizer said. In one of the last of about seven statements Leo Laurent made to investigators, he said an altercation involving a gun was involved in her death.

Leo Laurent’s statements were made to Chief Investigator Kenny Hurt and Hancock County Sheriff Steve Garber at the Pearl River County Jail on and after Jan. 6.

The remains of Brandi Laurent were found in a shallow grave off of Road 528 in Hancock County, near some power lines. The body was described as being badly decomposed and appeared as though animals attempted to feed on it, Fizer said. Animal tracks were found near the scene and the body was described as in and out of the dirt and partially skeletal.

“At the time there was not a whole lot of flesh left,” Fizer said.

Identification of the body was achieved through tattoos and dental records, Fizer said. Her body was described as, “gnawed and scattered by animal activity,” in a report read at the hearing.

Two of the last statements Leo Laurent had given indicated he and Brandi had engaged in a fight because she wanted to go out that night. In the first of those last statements Leo Laurent stated he left the room during the fight to get dishes from the bedroom and when he returned he saw blood coming from her mouth and nose. He described her as passed out on the floor, possibly due to drug use, so he attempted CPR. His last statement to the department involved a similar incident, with the exception that when he returned with dishes in-hand Brandi Laurent had a gun pointed at him; a fight for the gun ensued and the gun went off. Laurent stated that the bullet entered Brandi’s body under her right breast and exited through her back. In neither statement did Leo Laurent indicate he had called 911, Fizer said.

After Leo Laurent determined Brandi Laurent was dead he said in his statement that he got a trash can and loaded her body into it. He then packed up their baby into the car seat, loaded the trash can into the couple’s van and headed to Road 528. Leo Laurent found the area with the power lines, where the body was later found, and placed her in a hole in the ground he found.

With new information of a gunshot being involved investigators with the Mississippi Bureau of Investigations Crime Unit rechecked the Federal Emergency Management Agency trailer the couple was living in at the time. They found evidence consistent with bullet penetration in the master bedroom wall. It appeared that the hole had been patched and blood was found on the walls, in the hallway and in the utility room.

Fizer said this statement’s information was relayed to the doctor who performed the autopsy. The doctor had indicated there were wounds on the front and rear of the ribcage that could be consistent with a bullet wound. While the official cause of death is listed as strangulation, Fizer did say that the gun shot is being investigated.

Defense attorney Bryan Alexander asked for a reduced bond, which Adams denied, leaving the bond at $1 million.

Garber expressed satisfaction with the proceedings on Friday and remorse for the children who have lost their mother.

“I was very pleased he didn’t reduce the bond,” Garber said.

Thursday, Laurent faced a separate charge in Waveland and pleaded guilty to false report of a crime, which involved a faked attempt at Laurent’s life. The incident occurred on Dec. 7, where Laurent called the Waveland police stating he had been shot at by two black men driving by in a car while he was walking along the beach. Laurent described the shot came from about 60 feet away, according to news stories in Gulf Coast papers. Investigation into the incident proved Laurent’s claims were false. Waveland Assistant Police Chief Mike Prendergast said enough evidence had been collected in the investigation to prove Laurent was guilty and had made the story up.

Prendergast said Laurent was brought before the Waveland Municipal Court on the charge of false report of a crime, to which he pleaded guilty. With Laurent’s guilty plea he was ordered to pay a $605 fine, and another $5,000 to reimburse the city for the investigation and man hours involved.

Laurent is also being held for the charge of embezzlement while he was employed at the Picayune CVS pharmacy.

http://www.picayuneitem.com/local/local_story_040185132.html

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Laurent pleads guilty to embezzlement

Monday, Nov. 24, 2008
Leo Laurent pleaded guilty today to charges that he embezzled money from a CVS pharmacy in 2006.

Laurent, currently being held at the Pearl River County jail, entered his plea this morning, Pearl River County Distric Attorney Hal Kittrell told the Sun Herald.

He will be sentenced Monday by Circuit Judge Michael Eubanks.

He also faces murder charges in the of his wife Brandi Hawkins Laurent, whose body was found in Hancock County in November 2007.
http://www.sunherald.com/291/story/975111.html

I have not found anything yet that is more recent. Looking for Trial info on the murder charge.

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Published: December 01, 2008 07:36 pm   
Laurent, Strange get probation for embezzlement

By Jeremy Pittari
Item Staff Writer

POPLARVILLE — Two individuals charged with embezzlement in two separate cases both pleaded guilty and both received five years of non-adjudicated probation.

Leo Laurent and Ashley Strange were both in Pearl River County’s Circuit Court on Monday to face the charges against them. Circuit Court Judge Michael Eubanks presided.

Laurent pleaded guilty on Nov. 24, to the charges against him for embezzlement during his employment at the Picayune CVS pharmacy. He was sentenced to five years of non-adjudicated probation, and four to six months in the Regimented Inmate Discipline and the ACTS program. He also was ordered to pay $5,100 in fines, court costs and restitution.

Laurent, 31, also is facing separate murder charges out of Hancock County for the 2007 death of his wife, Brandi Laurent.

Strange, 19, was charged with embezzlement dealing with Western Union transactions during her employment with Winn-Dixie in Picayune. Charges against her were listed in police reports and a news story alleging her possible romantic involvement with a Picayune Police officer.

She pleaded guilty on Monday to the embezzlement charge against her and was sentenced to five years of non-adjudicated probation. RID was deferred because of her current status as a college student.

http://www.picayuneitem.com/local/local_story_336193621.html

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The Sun Herald (Biloxi, Mississippi)
January 21, 2009 Wednesday 
 
Laurent indicted: Brandi Laurent's body found in field in 2007
Jan. 21--BAY ST. LOUIS -- The long-standing murder case of Brandi Hawkins Laurent moved closer to the trial stage Tuesday when the victim's husband was indicted by a grand jury.

Grand jurors handed down a murder indictment against Leo Laurent, 31, charging that he killed his wife on or about Aug. 3, 2007. The death of Brandi Laurent, the 29-year-old mother of two young children, led to a controversial case that sparked national interest, a long investigation, hundreds of Internet postings and dozens of news accounts.

Leo Laurent originally reported his wife missing, telling deputies she had left their rural home at midnight with no car, cell phone or identification, after the couple argued. Her body was found partially buried in November 2007.

Laurent held to his story throughout an instigation, giving multiple interviews to newspaper and television reporters. He maintained that his wife was killed by drug dealers to whom she owed money.

The indictment was returned more than a year after Laurent was arrested in the murder. In early 2008, he told investigators he did not kill his wife, but admitted to placing her body in a wheeled garbage can, driving to a remote Hancock County field, and burying the young woman. He also said the couple's 2-year-old daughter was in the car at the time.

Laurent, who was a longtime youth soccer coach, is a native of Bay St. Louis and graduate of St. Stanislaus College. After his wife remained missing for about four months, her body was found by a horseback search party in a partial grave located east of Kiln in a field about a mile from the couple's FEMA trailer.

Assistant District Attorney Chris Fisher said that the next step in the case would be an arraignment for Laurent. No date has yet been set, Fisher said.

Brandi Laurent's disappearance began a strange sequence of events that continued until her husband's arrest. A mysterious Internet posting appeared on the woman's My-Space page, allegedly written by the victim and claiming she had left the state with another man. Leo Laurent then made Internet postings of his own, proclaiming his innocence.

Other Internet sites took up the case, attracting hundreds of postings from people around the country. At one point, Leo Laurent went on an interview spree with local media, criticizing sheriff's investigators and their handling of the case.

Later, Laurent staged an attack on his own life, claiming he had been fired upon by two men on the beach in Waveland. He later pleaded guilty to filing a false police report in that case.

During an initial court appearance in the murder case, one investigator testified that Laurent had given at least seven different versions of circumstances surrounding his wife's disappearance and death. But it was not until after he was jailed for missing court in an unrelated Pearl River County embezzlement case that he was arrested for murder in Hancock County.
http://www6.lexisnexis.com/publisher/EndUser?Action=UserDisplayFullDocument&orgId=574&topicId=100020825&docId=l:914343632&start=3

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http://www.sunherald.com/local/story/1504375.html

Laurent attorney asks for change of venue

BAY ST. LOUIS -- The attorney for Leo Laurent has filed a court motion asking that Laurent’s trial for the 2007 murder of his wife be moved outside Hancock County, because extensive news coverage of the case makes it impossible to find an impartial jury.

The motion for change of venue was filed by defense attorney Brian Alexander. While the motion itself is three pages long, it is attached to more than 30 pages of supporting documentation.

Laurent, 31, is charged with killing his wife, 29-year-old Brandi Hawkins Laurent, in August 2007. Her body was found three months later by horseback searchers in a remote field outside Kiln.

The Laurent case received widespread news coverage and has been highly publicized on Internet Web sites. Alexander’s motion claims the Sun Herald and other local media “have assumed facts as true which are in dispute and which cast the defendant in a negative light.”

Coverage of the case has made it “impossible” to find unbiased jurors for trial, the court filing said. Motions in the case are scheduled to be heard before a trial scheduled for early next year.

Wednesday, Jul. 29, 2009