'Killing Fields' Reopens A Cold Case

Not only is the true crime genre fascinating to its fans, but the public exposure can make an impact on the cases themselves. After the podcast Serial captivated the nation, Adnan Syed was granted a new hearing. And, almost immediately after Making a Murderer began streaming on Netflix, thousands of viewers were eager to help Steven Avery and Brendan Dassey. Now, the Discovery Channel has its own true crime series that will follow detectives as they reopen a homicide investigation. The murder case in Killing Fields is a disturbing one, but hopefully the renewed efforts and attention will be enough to crack the case and bring the killer to justice.

The murder of Eugenie Boisfontaine, a graduate student at Louisiana State University, didn't seem to get much media attention when it occurred in 1997. According to the Discovery Channel's website, "[Boisfontaine] was last seen near LSU's lakes. Two months later, her body was found nearby in a watery ditch with evidence of blunt force trauma to her head." One thing investigators will focus on is whether she was the victim of a serial killer, or if she was specifically targeted by someone who knew her.

According to Atlanta's CBS46, some theorized that Boisfontaine, 34, was murdered by Derrek Todd Lee, who was convicted of murdering two other women and who authorities believe could be responsible for up to seven murders in south Louisiana, as reported by The Baton Rouge Advocate. However, he was never convicted of additional charges, and no connection to Boisfontaine's death was ever proven. Another man convicted of serial murder, Sean Vincent Gillis, was active in the area around the same time as Lee, as reported by WAFB, so it's likely that both men will be scrutinized during Killing Fields. The Discovery Channel notes that: "the Baton Rouge area had multiple serial killers operating at the same time with two of the their victims living on the same street as Eugenie." According to LSUReveille.com, both of those nearby victims were linked to Lee through DNA.

Between the advancements in DNA analysis since 1997 and the resources provided by the Discovery Channel, the Iberville Parish Sheriff's Office may still be able to crack this case. In fact, the detective who worked the case nearly two decades ago has come out of retirement to re-investigate Boisfontaine's murder, according to Discovery — it's haunted him for years. He thinks about it every day, and still hopes that he can keep the promise he made to Boisfontaine's mother to find her killer.

At this point, not much information is available about Boisfontaine herself. Since we should always remember that murder victims were people with loved ones, passions, and dreams, I hope Killing Fields takes some time to pay tribute to the woman whose life was tragically cut short. And, most importantly, I hope the show can be instrumental in bringing her killer to justice.

Image: Discovery Channel