Patricia Gayle Lasserre 53, Murdered Alabama Dec. 22, 2005
Missing woman found dead The Associated Press December 21, 2005 The search for a missing Autauga County woman has ended on a tragic note. Sheriff Herbie Johnson said state troopers searching by helicopter found the body of 53-year-old Patricia Gayle Lasserre. He said her death is being treated as a homicide and he declined to say how Lasserre died. She had been missing since leaving her job at a Clanton Wal-Mart Sunday night. The sheriff said the victim was found yesterday at about 11 a.m. near her vehicle on Autauga County Road One North, near the Dallas County line. There are no suspects and the Alabama Bureau of Investigation is assisting in the investigation. http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051221/APN/512210683&cachetime=3&template=dateline

Wife was strangled, man says By Marty Roney Montgomery Advertiser Authorities are awaiting an autopsy report before confirming the cause of death of an Autauga County woman found dead three days ago, but her husband said Thursday he was told his wife was strangled. "They (investigators) told us she had been strangled," said Jeffery James Lasserre, the husband of the victim, Patricia Gayle Lasserre, 53. Autauga County Sheriff Herbie Johnson has ruled Patricia Lasserre's death a homicide, the first of 2005 in the county, but has declined to release the cause of death, pending receipt of the autopsy report. "This is rough, this close to the holidays," Lassere said. "She would help anybody. She couldn't stand to see people suffer. She couldn't stand to see people need help. We're all just in shock with everything that has happened. Nobody deserves something like this." Patricia Lasserre's body was found in a wooded area of County Road 1 North, two days after authorities began searching for her. A state trooper pilot flying a helicopter spotted her missing white SUV. She was last seen alive about 8:20 p.m. Sunday at the Wal-Mart in Clanton where she worked, Johnson said. The Lasseres have a Selma rural route address, but live just inside Autauga County near the Dallas County line. The sheriff has not released the details of the crime, citing the ongoing investigation. The Lasserres, who moved to Alabama from Louisiana in 1998, knew each other for 11 years and were married for three years, according to friends. Her body was found beside her 1999 Chevrolet Suburban, which now is impounded at the Autauga County Jail. The part of Autauga County where Lasserre's body was found is sparsely populated, and area residents say they aren't accustomed to worrying about crime. "Somebody may have something taken from the barn or outbuilding occasionally, but it's mostly quiet," said James Mims, who lives near Statesville, an unincorporated community that straddles the county line. "We've had people killed in bad wrecks on (Alabama) 14, but I can't recall the last outright killing we had." http://www.accessmontgomery.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051223/NEWS/512230331/1001