Woman Admits Role In 2011 Death Of Mother

ST. MARTINVILLE, La. (AP) — A Breaux Bridge woman has admitted being one of two people who strangled her elderly mother in 2011, drove her body to Lake Martin and left it for others to find.

The Advocate reports (http://bit.ly/1uyYrpO ) 51-year-old Heller Marie Dupuis pleaded guilty Tuesday to manslaughter in the killing of 83-year-old Jessie B. Messex, whose body police found with the rope still around her neck.

Dupuis acknowledged to state District Judge Lori Landry that she and an accomplice, her 33-year-old daughter, Toni Marie Dupuis, carried out the crime. She didn't say why they killed Messex, who was recovering from a stroke.

Dupuis faces up to 40 years in prison. Sentencing was set for March 13.

Toni Dupuis has agreed to plead guilty to manslaughter, but a court date hasn't been scheduled.

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