Terrifying Louisiana Docuseries ‘Butchers of the Bayou’
"Butchers of the Bayou" streaming on Hulu details the horrors of a decade where Louisianians lived in terror as not one, but two serial killers hunted the neighborhoods and bayous of South Louisiana.
Butchers Of The Bayou Docuseries
From 1991 to 2001, there were 63 unsolved murders of women stretching from Baton Rouge, to Zachary, and Acadiana.
What authorities didn't know at the time is that they weren't just dealing with one serial killer...they were dealing with two.
"Butchers on the Bayou", currently streaming on Hulu, actually came out in 2022, but has recently begun trending on the streaming platform as the four part true crime mini-series tells the tragic, gruesome tales of Louisiana serial killers Sean Vincent Gillis and Derrick Todd Lee.
From abacusmediarights.com -
"From 1991 to 2001 there were 63 unsolved murders of women in Baton Rouge, many coming from different backgrounds and ethnicities and involving different causes of death.
Any attempt to sift through potential suspects led them astray because not only were they focusing on a wrong profile, but they did not consider they were dealing with more than one serial killer at the time…"
Although most of us in South Louisiana know quite a bit about serial killer Derrick Todd Lee and his victims, "Butchers of the Bayou" reveals quite a bit of information most of us aren't aware of.
Lee was responsible for the murders of at least seven women between 1998 and 2003
His crimes instilled fear in the Baton Rouge community and throughout South Louisiana, as he became known as the "Baton Rouge Serial Killer.
Lee's murders were merciless and brutal. His reign of terror finally ended in May of 2003 when he was arrested and subsequently charged with multiple counts of murder.
Once Lee was arrested, a sense of calm and security returned to the Baton Rouge and South Louisiana areas.
That sense of calm and security was quickly shattered when the news of more women's murders began to be reported.
Authorities then realized they hadn't been trying to solve to murders of innocent victims at the hands of one serial killer, but two serial killers in the Baton Rouge area...and one of them was still at large.
Sean Vincent Gillis 'The Southside Strangler'
In "Butchers of the Bayou" we also learn about Sean Vincent Gillis, the other serial killer operating in the Baton Rouge, Louisiana area at the same time as Lee.
It's not believed that Lee and Gillis knew each other, but it is believed the two knew of each other and seemed to be competing to "outdo each other in terms of their depravity and sexual deviance" according to A&E.
Clearly, Derrick Todd Lee's murders were horrifyingly brutal crimes, but Gillis seemed to take things to a terrifyingly new level of disturbing perversion.
Gillis was active as a serial killer between 1994 and 2003, and he was known for his brutal and heinous crimes.
His modus operandi included strangulation and stabbing, and he often engaged in acts of necrophilia and dismemberment after the murders.
Gillis' crimes went undetected for several years, but in 2003, he was finally arrested and charged with multiple counts of murder.
Long-time KATC fans will notice a familiar face, Avery Davidson, starting with the second episode.
"Butchers of the Bayou" is currently streaming on Hulu.