Campti, LA – According to Natchitoches Parish Sheriff’s Office (NPSO), Detectives are actively investigating a home invasion homicide near Campti.
On Tuesday evening, March 14, 2023, at approximately 11:06 pm, Deputies responded to reports of an unresponsive male lying on the floor of his residence in the 100 block of Jim Bell Road, north of Campti, La.
Deputies arrived on the scene at approximately 11:12 pm. Deputies made contact with a relative that stated he went to the residence to check on his uncle. Soon afterward, he observed the front door breached and observed his Uncle lying on the floor unresponsive.
Deputies entered the residence, discovering a deceased male lying on the floor, identified as 71-year-old Mark L. Hailey, of Campti, La.
Deputies say while speaking with the relative, they learned Mr. Hailey’s 2015 Ford F-350 pickup truck, maroon in color, was missing from the residence.
Natchitoches Parish Asst. Coroner Steven Clanton pronounced Hailey dead at the scene from apparent blunt and sharp-force trauma. An autopsy was order to determine the matter and cause of death. The case is being investigated as a homicide.
On Wednesday morning, March 15, shortly after 7:30 am received a call of a suspicious vehicle being abandoned on Tauzin Island Road in the Grand Ecore area near Natchitoches.
Deputies responded and discovered the abandoned vehicle as the victim’s 2015 Ford F-350 truck. NPSO Detectives requested assistance from the Red River Parish Sheriff’s Office Crime Scene Unit. Detectives and 3 Red River Sheriff’s Office Crime Scene Technicians processed the vehicle for evidence.
The vehicle was towed and secured at an undisclosed storage facility for further processing. While a team of detectives worked throughout the day interviewing the family and friends of Mr. Hailey in an effort to gather additional facts or other information to assist in the investigation.
Detectives learned Mr. Hailey owned Fat Daddy’s Crawfish in Shreveport and at one time owned Fat Daddy’s Crawfish on Texas Street in Natchitoches.
The investigation remains active and ongoing.
Sheriff Wright stated, “our detectives, in conjunction with assistance from the Red River Parish Sheriff’s Office and Northwest La. Crime Lab is working tirelessly in an effort to identify the person or persons responsible for this senseless crime of violence.”
At this time, no additional information will be released to protect the investigation’s integrity.
If you have any information, please contact the NPSO Criminal Investigations Division at 318-357-7830, or you can also report a tip anonymously by downloading the P3 Tips app on your smartphone or by calling Natchitoches Crime Stoppers at (318) 238-2388. All tips remain confidential, and the caller can receive a cash reward of up to $2,500 for the arrest of an offender.
Crime Stoppers is a private non-profit organization; it is not a law enforcement agency.
Source: NPSO
