Lafourche Parish Sheriff Craig Webre announced two people have been arrested and charged with the murder of a Golden Meadow woman in 1986. Russell Lee and Judith “Judy” Weiser have been charged with the murder of 22-year-old Paula Boudreaux back in August of 1986.
Boudreaux was last seen at her parents’ Golden Meadow home on August 3, 1986. On August 6, her family reported her missing to the Golden Meadow Police Department. In January 1989, skeletal remains were found in Slidell, La., which could not be properly identified at the time. In 2022, the St. Tammany Parish Coroner’s Office submitted details to the LSU Forensic Anthropology and Computer Enhancement Services (FACES) Laboratory to try to help in identifying the remains. After rendering a possible image of the person’s face, an anonymous tipster submitted Boudreaux’s name in an attempt to identify the remains. In coordination, Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Office investigators then collected DNA evidence from one of Boudreaux’s surviving relatives which was then submitted for analysis. In January 2023, the St. Tammany Coroner’s Office identified the remains as Boudreaux.
From that point, detectives re-opened the old case to attempt to pick up the investigation. They followed up with surviving friends and family members and those with knowledge about Boudreaux’s disappearance, and they reviewed all case notes from previous investigators. Lee and Weiser were immediately developed as persons of interest as detectives learned Lee was in relationships with both Boudreaux and Weiser at the time of Boudreaux’s murder. Investigators found Lee had amassed a violent criminal history since 1986, including aggravated charges of kidnapping, assault, battery, burglary, and arson among many others. They also found statements and evidence implicating both in the incident. Investigators concluded that Lee and Weiser allegedly killed Boudreaux, dismembered her body, and dumped the remains in Slidell. They obtained arrest warrants for both.
LPSO detectives traveled to Missouri and Tennessee this week to assist with the arrest of both individuals. On July 9, 2024, with the help of the Mountain Grove Police Department, Lee was taken into custody in Missouri. Then on July 10, 2024, Weiser was taken into custody in Tennessee with the assistance of the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office. Both Lee and Weiser were charged with second degree murder and obstruction of justice. They will be transported and booked into the Lafourche Parish Correctional Complex. Bail is set at $1.1 million each.