Man linked To 1990 Killing Pleads Guilty After Case Goes Cold

GONZALES, La. (AP) — A 50-year-old man linked almost three years ago by DNA evidence to the 1990 abduction and killing of his uncle's ex-wife has pleaded guilty to manslaughter and second-degree kidnapping charges.

The Advocate reports (http://bit.ly/1S9jUFj ) Kenneth Lavigne, of St. Amant, admitted Friday to kidnapping 38-year-old Jeanie Lavigne from her Ascension Parish home Dec. 16, 1990.

Lavigne, then 25, took the woman to the Summerfield area, sexually abused her and killed her in the course of committing a battery against her with a knife. Three hunters found her partially nude body, with her throat slashed, in the woods near La. 431 and the Amite River on Dec. 17, 1990.

Lavigne was arrested for first-degree murder, aggravated rape and kidnapping. He pleaded guilty to the reduced charges Friday.

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Information from: The Advocate, http://theadvocate.com