Rhiannon Callais features editor
For Connie Gaudet’s family, the memories come easily: bike rides down the street, games played outside until dark and four sisters growing up side by side.
Gaudet was murdered by her husband Dale in 1984 at 23 years old. Her sisters say it left a gap in their lives, one they still live with 42 years later.
Gaudet was one of four girls, the second oldest, raised in Raceland, Louisiana, a town of about six thousand in the 1980 US Census. It’s a place locals call “down the bayou.”
“All of the sisters were involved in everything we did,” says Karen Kreamer, Gaudet’s oldest sister, born just 16 months before her. “I can’t remember a bad memory growing up”
“...Connie could make a bad day good”
Gaudet was remembered as quiet, kind and someone who made people feel safe.
“She would do anything for anyone. She was always happy,” says Cindy LeJeune, Gaudet’s youngest sister. “My dad used to say Connie could make a bad day good.”
Her warmth transferred to motherhood.
Gaudet married her high school sweetheart at 18. She had two daughters who became the center of her life. Melissa was 4 years old and Stacy was 2 years old at the time of her death.
“She worshiped the ground her children walked on,” says Gwen Poirrier, the second youngest sister, 3 years younger than Gaudet.
Her daughters rarely wanted to be away from her. Poirrier recalled trying to help by keeping one of the girls overnight.
“She cried until we had to call Connie to come get her,” she says. “She didn’t want to be away from her mom.”
On Feb. 19, 1984, Gaudet disappeared from her home in Lockport. Gaudet’s mother received a letter later saying she ran away, but her family never believed it.
“There’s no way she would have left those babies,” Kreamer says.
Poirrier agrees. “If she had left, she would have taken her kids.”
For eight years, they lived without answers.
“We were just dumbfounded; we were angry and sad,” LeJeune says. “There was no closure.”
In 1991, new homeowners discovered her remains buried beneath a rose bush confirming what her family had believed all along. She never left. She was murdered by her husband, who was convicted of second-degree murder and is serving a life sentence.
Today, that absence still lingers. As a mother, sister and friend, Gaudet is deeply missed, and her loss continues to affect those closest to her.
Kreamer imagines what she would say if she could talk to her again.
“Of course I would tell her I miss her, and I love her.”
“...I miss her, and I love her”
Case Files
A Best Friend's Scrapbook
Julia Filce, Connie Gaudet’s best friend, kept several detailed scrapbooks about her disappearance and the eventual conviction of her killer.
This is a compilation of those books into one with just a few highlights.
Connie Gaudet
timeline
Married
Connie Guidry and Dale Gaudet marry.
Last Seen
Connie was last seen at 12:15 a.m. by relatives in Lockport.
Reported Missing
Connie Gaudet is reported missing in Lockport, Louisiana.
Bones Found
Workers installing a septic tank in Gaudet's former Lockport home find bones in the garden under bed of rose bushes.
Bones Identified
Using dental records, Louisiana State University dentistry professor identifies bones as Connie Gaudet.
Memorial Service
A service is at St. Mary Nativity Church in Raceland, Louisiana.
Death Ruled Homicide
LSU Forensic Laborator reports blunt force trauma to body.
Indicted
A Lafourche grand jury charges Dale Gaudet with second-degree murder.
Plea
Dale pleads not guilty.
Trial Begins
The murder trial of Dale Gaudet begins in Thibodaux, Louisiana, with assistant District Attorney Camille Morvant, defense attorney Jim Alcock and Judge Sidney Ordoyne Jr.
Found Guilty
After deliberating for 2.5 hours, a jury unanimously convcited Dale Gaudet of second degree murder of wife, Connie Gaudet
Appeal
Dale appeals verdict.
Sentence
District Judge Sidney Ordoyne imposed the mandatory sentence of life in prison without release.