Print this story |
E-mail story |
iPod friendly | Bookmark this
What is this?
Murder suspect possibly fled town
Published Saturday, October 10, 2009
VIDALIA — Local law enforcement officials believe the man wanted in connection with the brutal murder of Vidalia resident Mike Welch has fled to south Louisiana.
The suspect, Michael Kelly Stevens, 41, is wanted on charges of second-degree murder, and has at least one relative and a former girlfriend living in the area of Gonzales and St. Amant.
Police have also received a report that Welch’s 2006 silver Z-71 extended cab Chevrolet Silverado has been spotted in that area, Vidalia Police Chief Ronnie G. “Tapper” Hendricks said in a statement Friday.
Welch’s truck is missing and police believe Stevens took it when he fled the area. The license plate for the truck is W746162.
Stevens is described as a white male who is 6-foot-1-inch tall, weighing 210 pounds with brown hair and blue eyes.
Welch, 52, was discovered murdered in his Myrtle Street residence Oct. 4. His throat had been cut, and police believe he had been dead for more than one day.
Police recovered a knife at the scene that they believe was used in the commission of the crime.
Stevens, a twice-convicted sex offender, had been living with Welch, and had even used Welch’s 804 Myrtle St., address when he registered as a sex offender in Concordia Parish.
Both of Stevens’ sex-crime convictions involved 5-year-old children, a boy in Houston in 1987 and a girl in Concordia Parish in 2005.
The Concordia Parish Sheriff’s Office is assisting in the investigation and anyone with information about the case should contact Vidalia Investigator Randy Stockman at 318-336-5254 or CPSO Investigator David Hedrick at 318-336-5231.
