Louisiana Family Still Has No Justice After His Father Was Murdered

(KPEL News) - Kevin Foote was only seven years old when, on a Friday, his aunt and uncle were waiting for him in the front office of his school to take him home because his father had been brutally slain that very morning.

In 2018, when Foote was the Sports Editor for the Lafayette Daily Advertiser, he and the then News Director of the paper, Kristen Ackelson, worked for a year and a half to compile information on the who, what, where, when, why, and how of the awful circumstances that resulted in his father being shot twice in the head.

Foote continues his family's search for answers today.

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The body of Russell Foote, the 28-year-old Director of the American Red Cross in Lafayette, was found slumped over the front seat of the family station wagon in the middle of the two-lane West Congress. (At the time, it was Route 1)

Foote had been making his way to his office when someone shot and killed him that morning, sometime between 8:00 and 8:30, according to officials.

READ MORE: THE JENNINGS 8: HOW EIGHT WOMEN WERE MURDERED IN LOUISIANA AND WHY POLICE MAY HAVE COVERED IT UP

They surmise that Foote would likely have only pulled over for, and lowered his window slightly for someone who knew.

Kevin says the murder haunted his mother, along with him and his siblings, for decades. She often wondered out loud to her boys and other family members why the process to continue the case really fell by the wayside.

In 2017, Ackelson and Foote started asking questions. The series was in several parts, and you can visit the Daily Advertiser's website to get Kevin's account of some of the information they were able to compile while interviewing people and asking questions. Our interview is below.

In his own words, Foote tells the tale of how terrifying that time was in his life, and how his family has also wondered over the years whether or not the case would be solved.

This story was originally written in 2018 with the help of Kevin Foote. I spoke to him recently, and I asked him if I could share the story again, and he agreed. It has also been shared on other platforms recently.