16th Judicial District Attorney Releases Press Release On Victor White

Earlier in the day, KPEL News was told the 16th Judicial District Attorney would not act until the FBI finished their investigation into the death of Victor White III. Now, in a press release obtained from the DA's Office, we have more information about their current stance.

Below is the official press release from the 16th Judicial District Attorney's Office:

The 16th Judicial District Attorney acknowledges the receipt of the investigative file prepared by the Louisiana State Police in connection with their investigation of the death of Victor White, III.  The file was submitted on Friday, September 5, 2014.

 

Prior to the receipt of the Louisiana State Police investigation, the family of Victor White, III requested that the federal government conduct its own investigation into the matter, and the United States Attorney for the Western District of Louisiana and the Federal Bureau of Investigation have agreed to do so.

 

The 16th Judicial District Attorney's Office respects the request of the White family for federal authorities to investigate this matter, and we look forward to those federal authorities working jointly and cooperatively with the Louisiana State Police.  Of course, in the end, we all have the same objective:  discovering the facts and truth.  With that in mind, we will honor the White family's decision and allow the federal investigation to be conducted before we make any final decisions.  We, too, want to have the benefit of their investigative efforts to assist us in our decision making process.

 

To that end, we have reached out to the White family, through their attorney, Ms. Carol Powell-Lexing, to advise them of how and when we intend to proceed.  Certainly, we will provide the Federal Bureau of Investigation with copies of the entire investigative file submitted to us by the Louisiana State Police.  Additionally, we fully expect the Louisiana State Police to be open and cooperative as well with the federal investigation.

 

We welcome the involvement of the federal authorities.  We acknowledge our very important responsibility to seek the truth, and we know that the input of the federal authorities and the Louisiana State Police will provide us with a comprehensive investigation upon which to base our decision.  We will not comment on the facts or evidence in the matter, and, indeed, we have an obligation not to make public commentary on the facts and evidence while the matter is pending.