Chester Vegas Louisiana man arrested in 1977 Golden Meadow cold case murder of wife, Diane Vegas. Lafourche Parish man breakthrough came after two individuals stepped forward.
A 78 year old man who Louisiana investigators say fatally shot his wife, 44 years ago in a cold case murder in 1977, was arrested last week.
Chester Vegas is facing a second-degree murder charge for killing his wife Diane Vegas, Lafourche Parish Sheriff Craig Webre announced on Saturday.
‘We hope this arrest can bring some closure to the Vegas family who have been living with questions about Diane’s death for nearly 44 years,’ Webre said in a statement.
‘New information combined with the initial investigation helped us build probable cause for the arrest.’
It wasn’t clear what new information broke the case.
Previous secret confession and retraction of witness alibi
When Diane Vegas was found shot dead with a single bullet to the back, in The Chicken House restaurant in Golden Meadow on Oct. 10, 1977, cops eyed her husband as a suspect, only for the man to never be charged.
The cold case was reopened in October 2020 and Vegas was arrested last Friday, the sheriff said. The decision to reopen the case followed after someone informed investigators that Vegas had allegedly secretly confessed years ago to killing his wife.
An unidentified person who had originally provided an alibi for Vegas also recently recanted their statement claiming to have known his whereabouts at the time of Diane’s killing the Daily Comet reported.
Upon being booked Friday, Vegas was released after posting $50,000 bail later that day, according to the sheriff’s office.
Not immediately clear is what led to the alleged shooting and why authorities declined to press further investigations in 1977.
