Death Penalty Sought In Officer’s Shooting

St. Mary Parish prosecutors will seek the death penalty against a Charenton man indicted for killing a neighbor and a Chitimacha Tribal Police officer.

Yesterday 48-year-old Wilbert Thibodeaux changed his plea to not guilty by reason of insanity in the deaths of neighbor 78-year-old Eddie Lyons and Sgt. Rick Riggenbach in January of this year.

Thibodeaux was indicted on March 19 on two counts of first-degree murder and initially pleaded not guilty.

Thibodeaux was also charged with wounding two St. Mary Parish Sheriff's Office deputies and also setting Lyons' mobile home on fire.

District Judge Keith Comeaux gave the public defender's office until Oct. 1 to file a motion for a sanity hearing.