Four men have been arrested in the 1982 rape and killing of 16-year-old Roxanne Sharp, a Covington, Louisiana, cold case that remained unsolved for more than 40 years, Louisiana State Police said.
Sharp’s body was found on Feb. 12, 1982, in a wooded area near the St. Tammany Parish Fairgrounds. Covington police determined at the time that she had been raped and murdered, but investigators were unable to solve the case because of limited physical evidence and little public cooperation, according to state police.
The case moved back into active focus in 2023, when detectives with the Louisiana State Police Covington Field Office took over the investigation. They reviewed the original file, reexamined physical evidence, interviewed witnesses and potential suspects again, and submitted evidence for updated DNA testing.
State police said the investigation gained new traction in 2025 after detectives worked with LSP Public Affairs and local radio host Charles Dowdy of Lake 94.7 to produce the podcast “Who Killed Roxanne.” The podcast brought in information and witness cooperation investigators had not previously received.
Authorities later obtained aggravated rape and second-degree murder arrest warrants for four suspects: Perry Wayne Taylor, 64; Darrell Dean Spell, 64; Carlos Cooper, 64; and Billy Williams Jr., 62. All four are from Covington, state police said.
Williams was arrested April 21 at a Covington residence during an operation involving LSP detectives, Troop L, LSP SWAT and the Covington Police Department. He was booked into the St. Tammany Parish Jail.
Spell was arrested the same day at a residence in Dayton, Ohio, by agents with the Ohio Attorney General’s Bureau of Criminal Investigation. He was booked into the Montgomery County Jail and is awaiting extradition to Louisiana.
On April 22, detectives contacted Taylor and Cooper, who were already incarcerated in the Louisiana Department of Corrections on unrelated charges, according to state police.
District Attorney Collin Sims said the arrests showed the value of persistence, cooperation and modern investigative tools.
“This case is a powerful example of what persistence, collaboration, and advancements in investigative technology can accomplish,” Sims said, according to Louisiana State Police.
Covington Police Chief Michael Ferrell said investigators kept Sharp’s case alive for decades.
“Cold cases don’t close themselves,” Ferrell said, according to state police. “They close because people show up, year after year, and refuse to quit.”
Louisiana State Police thanked the Covington Police Department, the 22nd Judicial District Court District Attorney’s Office, the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation Cold Case Unit, the Louisiana Department of Corrections, the St. Tammany Parish Coroner’s Office, Northshore Media Group and assisting LSP personnel.
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