Sabine murder victim’s body exhumed after 35 years
By VICKIE WELBORN
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MANY, Louisiana (KTBS) — The body of a Many woman stabbed to death 35 years ago as she worked as a clerk at a local convenience store was exhumed Tuesday in the hopes of finding new information that could lead to her killer.
The brutal death of Rachel Sonnier Leach on June 8, 1986 has gone unsolved and haunted active and retired law enforcement officers who through the decades have been involved in the investigation.
It’s one of several Sabine Parish cold cases that are getting yet another fresh look. The Leach homicide has been revisited many times over the years, but never reached the point of an arrest.
“We’ve been working on this a long time,” said District Attorney Don Burkett, whose office is leading the investigation.
He declined further comment until more is known and can be publicly shared.
“We’re working hard to solve this case and all of our other cold cases,” Sabine Parish sheriff’s Chief Deputy Brad Walker said.
Leach was just 20 years old when she was stabbed on a Sunday evening at a convenience store on Highway 6. She was eight months pregnant.
She was buried at Beulah Baptist Church Cemetery.
That’s where Sabine Parish coroner Dr. Mark Holder and Dr. James Traylor, a forensic pathologist at Ochsner LSU Health in Shreveport, coordinated the exhumation and recovery of possible forensic evidence.
The Louisiana Attorney General’s Office and Many Police Department also are involved in the Leach investigation.
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