NEW ORLEANS — The Louisiana State Police charged four men with aggravated rape and second-degree murder in early 2025 in connection with the 1982 killing of Roxanne Sharp near Covington, Louisiana. Perry Wayne Taylor, Darrell Dean Spell, Carlos Cooper and Billy Williams Jr. were named in the charges.

Sharp's body was discovered on February 12, 1982, in a wooded area near the St. Tammany Parish fairgrounds in Covington. Police initially attributed the killing to serial killer Henry Lucas, but Lucas later retracted his claim and evidence disproved his connection to the case.

Taylor and Cooper were already serving time in prison on unrelated charges at the time they were linked to Sharp's killing. Williams was arrested and jailed in Covington, while Spell was apprehended at his home in Ohio and was awaiting extradition to Louisiana. Sharp was an acquaintance of the four suspects and was known to frequent the neighborhood where they lived.

The Covington Police Department led the investigation until 2023, after which the Louisiana State Police took over the case. State investigators conducted new interviews with witnesses and possible suspects and resubmitted earlier evidence for DNA testing while gathering additional materials.

"Cold cases don't close themselves. They close because people show up, year after year, and refuse to quit. That is exactly what our agencies did, and today, Roxanne and her family finally have the justice they have waited so long for." Chief of Police Michael Ferrell said.

Investigators also approached a local media company, which agreed to produce a six-part podcast series titled "Who Killed Roxanne Sharp?" that aired in early 2025. The podcast included a tip line for listeners to submit leads. Lt. Heath Miller said the retrospective podcast played a crucial part in obtaining information that investigators needed.

Marc Gremillion, a spokesperson, described the role the series played in advancing the investigation. "It helped our investigators piece together where Roxanne was days before to the time she died, to where we're at now," Gremillion said. "It was a very large help with getting that message out to the public, and then, therefore, those witnesses getting back to us."