Murder in the Bayou

"Murder In the Bayou" (2019 release; 5 episodes of about 55 min. each) is a documentary TV series about the mysterious murders of a number of women in a small Louisiana town called Jennings. As Episode 1 "A Body In the Canal" opens, it is May 20, 2005, and a guy fishing in one of the local canals finds the body of a woman, later identified as Loretta, age 28, and mother to 2 young kids. Then we go to June 17, 2005 when, believe it or not, another body is recovered from another nearby canal, this time a woman named Ernestine, age 30. Who could've done this? Meanwhile we are introduced to the Jennings Daily News reporter who covered these stories for the local newspaper... At this point we are less than 15 min. into Episode 1 but to tell you more of the plot would spoil your viewing experience, you'll just have to see for yourself how it all plays out.

Couple of comments: this documentary series is produced and directed by veteran documentarian Matthew Galkin. Here he adapts for the screen the non-fiction book of the same name by Ethan Brown (who appears extensively in the second half of this TV series). I didn't know much about these cases when I started watching this, and I really don't want to give away any thing that might spoil your viewing experience. So let me just say that this series is like an onion: you peel away, only to discover that there is more than meets the eye. And then you peel away some more, and before you know it, by the time we are in Episode 4, we find ourselves miles away from what we could or might have anticipated. Some might say that the series is moving too slowly, and it's true that this series probably didn't need the full 275 min., but I didn't mind the slow pace at all. Galkin does a good job giving us a true sense of what this small community was like (with a stark difference between the well-off north part of town and the trashy south part of town, both sides neatly separated by railroad tracks. The other thing that is so striking is how this small town was overrun by drugs, literally from all sides.

Bottom line: I found this to be a compelling true crime documentary series, with some twists that will blow you away, I mean, you can't make this stuff up! Kudos to both Galkin and Brown for their painstaking work on this. This series premiered on Showtime in the Fall, 2019, and I caught it recently on SHO On Demand. If you like true crime documentaries, I'd readily suggest you check this out and draw your own conclusion.

This was a Showtime network presentation, I found it available as a 5-part series on a set of DVDs from my public library.

I grew up not far from Jennings, as college students we drove through Jennings on weekends to get to the night spots in Lake Arthur. Four of us even spent part of a night in the Jennings jail for mischief in 1965. So I have a natural curiosity for these yet unsolved murders over a 4-year time period 40 years later in the Jennings area. The area seems to have seriously gone downhill over the past 40+ years.

While the subject is always interesting 4.5 hours is a long time to spend watching more and more of what is basically the same result. So I watched the first and the last episodes completely. The gist is the Jennings locals, particularly family and friends of the eight victims, are frustrated by what they judge is lack of interest and lack of effort by law enforcement, including the FBI. Conversely law enforcement think they are doing everything they can to solve the crimes.

There definitely is a "power of the pen" at work here, the way the journalist put together the material for his book and ultimately the documentary. While he can't declare this without facing libel, he strongly suggests that more than one person in law enforcement are responsible for the murders, after each victim came to know too much and put the men in danger. The victims in general were young street ladies who were involved in the local drug and prostitution activities, and certain statements indicate certain law enforcement men were in on the action.

Overall a very interesting, if perhaps a bit too long, presentation of a yet unsolved crime spree. If nothing else it puts a face of reality on how difficult it is to investigate and solve crimes like these, it seldom works out quickly and neatly as we see on fictional movie and TV murder cases in small communities.

To the person who says he will avoid Jennings when traveling by highway east or west, I say don't worry, I-10 only passes on the extreme north boundary of Jennings, you'll not really see Jennings unless you head south on highway 26.

This no question was a tragedy. Very sad for every family involved. But my review is on the documentary alone. It was good but crikey it was way too long and too repetitive. How many times can you tell us the exact same thing? We get it and got it the first 3 times you told us. They could have done this in 2, maybe 3 at most episodes. 5 hours was way too long for this thing and it could have easily been done in half the time. Is it worth watching??? Yes it's worth watching if you like the slow burn documentary. But by the time it's over you will be saying the same thing as me. Good but too stinking long...

I loved this series. True crime is my jam, and I'm a bit of a snob when it comes to it. Everyone thinks they have a story, and sadly most stories are a Dateline Exclusive at best. This story had me hooked from the first episode and after a bit of additional research seems to have told all angles adequately. I'm not sure who is responsible for the death of the 8 women, but that's not the point. The point is some shady stuff went down and no one is investigating it. I will definitely continue to follow this story. You won't be disappointed for investing 5 hours of your life on this series, but you'll definitely be irritated by the lack of energy spent looking for the killer(s). Shady, y'all

This documentary is so sad. I was affected by it right off the bat. The hurt and pain that the family of these girls feel hits you right away. The sadness is followed by anger. How could this continue to happen in this small town!? Why isn't anyone doing anything!? If you are just looking for an easy watching crime story, this is not it. It's uncomfortable. It's raw. It's a look into the divide between the rich and poor at its most tragic point. I didn't enjoy it, but I felt I had to hear the stories of these women.