Lafourche Parish Man arrested for 1977 murder

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The Lafourche Parish Sheriff's Office has arrested a 78-year-old Cut Off man In the cold case murder of a Golden Meadow woman in 1977. Chester Vegas Sr., 78, of Cut Off, has been charged with second-degree murder in the shooting that killed his wife at the time, Diane Vegas, who was 32 at the time of her death. “We hope this arrest can begin to bring some closure to the Vegas family who have been living with questions about Diane’s death for nearly 44 years,” said Sheriff Craig Webre. “New information combined with the initial investigation helped us build probable cause for the arrest.” On October 10, 1977, deputies were called to a restaurant called The Chicken House at 1908 North Bayou Drive in Golden Meadow. They discovered the body of Diane Vegas inside the restaurant with a single gunshot wound to the back.

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Chester Vegas was considered a suspect until the investigation went cold. In October 2020, detectives re-opened the case and got new information that led to establishing probable cause for Vegas' arrest. A warrant was obtained on June 11, 2021. Detectives made contact with Vegas on Friday, June 11, and he was placed under arrest. He was booked into the Lafourche Parish Correctional Complex in Thibodaux on one count of Second Degree Murder. He was released Friday night after posting $50,000 bail. We covered that case in 1977. See our original story from that incident below:

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