This is Crime House.

Most of us grow up knowing that there's always someone we can call when things go wrong.

Maybe it's a parent, a best friend, or in more extreme situations, the police. But in the mid-2000s, that

sense of safety was practically foreign to those living in the small town of Jennings, Louisiana.

Local law enforcement had been mired in scandal for years, and it only got worse when women

started turning up dead. As the number of victims slowly grew, so did the sense of paranoia, until the people of Jennings were forced to ask themselves if their waking nightmare was actually the result of a deadly cover-up.

The human mind is powerful.

It shapes how we think, feel, love, and hate.

But sometimes it drives people to commit the unthinkable.

This is serial killers and murderous minds, a crimehouse original. I'm Vanessa Richardson.

And I'm forensic psychologist, Dr. Tristan Engels. Every Monday and Thursday, we uncover the darkest minds in history, analyzing what makes a killer.

Crime House is made possible by you. Please rate, review, and follow serial killers and

murderous minds. To enhance your listening experience with ad-free early access to each two-part

series, subscribe to Crime House Plus on Apple Podcasts.

Before we get started, be advised. This episode contains descriptions of drug use,

incest, and sexual violence against women. So please listen with care.

Today, we begin our deep dive into one of the most notorious serial murder cases the Deep

South has ever seen.

The Jeff Davis Eight, a string of brutal killings targeting vulnerable women in Louisiana.

Their deaths were intertwined with a level of law enforcement corruption so staggering,

it became nearly impossible to separate the crimes from the system that was meant

to stop them.

...