A murder-for-hire plot resulted in the tragic deaths of two women last month. The women were trying to protect a rape survivor who had a “hit” put on her that was organized by a family member.
Brittany Cormier, 34, and Hope Nettleton, 37, were shot in the attack in Montegut, in southern Louisiana, but neither of them was the planned victim, according to the Terrebonne Parish Sheriff’s Office.
Two women who wanted to protect a rape survivor from violence were killed by a hitman who wanted to kill the survivor.
Brittany Cormier’s brother, Beaux Cormier, was conspiring to kill his niece, who was set to testify against him for allegedly raping her, Sheriff Tim Soignet said in a Monday press conference. Beaux Cormier was already a convicted sex offender and he was arrested on suspicion of raping his niece in March 2020.
Beaux Cormier stands accused of paying two of his friends, Andrew Eskine, 25, and Dalvin Wilson, 22, to conduct the murder.
On January 13, Wilson drove to Brittany Cormier’s house, where he allegedly asked the rape victim to identify herself. Instead, Brittany lied, saying she was the victim. Wilson then shot her, the sheriff alleges.
“Brittany Cormier [told] the shooter she’s the rape victim, accepting her fate to save the life of the actual victim,” Soignet said.
Nettleton, a neighbor who was at Brittany’s home during the incident, was also killed while trying to fight off the shooter, authorities said. Both women died at the scene. However, the rape survivor is alive, police disclosed.
Samantha LeMaire, a close confidant of Brittany’s, told the Acadiana Advocate she did not know much about Brittany’s relationship with Beaux, as her friend hardly ever spoke of her brother. According to the local news outlet, Brittany’s children hid in a closet while their mother was being killed.
“She would do anything for her kids,” LeMaire said of her late friend. “But to this extent? I would have never thought it would ever have come down to this.”
The police further explained that it was not the hitmen’s first attempt at murdering Beaux’s niece. On an earlier occasion, the two had driven over two hours from their Louisiana towns to watch the house, then tried to carry out the murder in November but failed.
On the day of the attack, Wilson went alone. Eskine was out of town for work, but he is still facing charges because he allegedly helped plan the attack and lent Wilson his car, Buzzfeed News reports.
All three men have been charged with two counts of first-degree murder and are each being held in jail on a $2 million bond. Terrebonne Parish District Attorney Joseph L. Waitz Jr. said in the press conference that the death penalty “is absolutely on the table.”
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This is a horrific incident that is so malicious, if true, would be an example of real-life being much worse than what we often see in movies.