When Donna Arceneaux’s naked body was found in a small Louisiana town in 2017, the local sheriff's office soon told the public it was a suicide despite a coroner's report that ruled it a homicide.
Now more than eight years since the 40-year-old mother of three was shot to death, the new sheriff in town is crediting a podcast by one of Arceneaux’s family members for uncovering the truth about the cold case and helping secure an arrest.
"Freeze Frame," an eight-episode podcast released in 2024, looks in-depth at Arceneaux's life, the possible suspects in her murder and why the case went cold. It's just the latest example of how regular people like internet sleuths, a college criminology class and a former reality TV producer-turned-podcaster can crack dormant cases wide open.
"I would not even know about this case if it weren't for the podcast," Washington Parish Sheriff Jason Smith told USA TODAY. "The podcast sparked an interest and when I started looking at it, I thought, 'We can solve this. This is doable.'"
Last month, just over a year after the last episode of the podcast aired, the sheriff's office arrested Arceneaux’s former boyfriend, Scott Jordan. A grand jury indicted him on a charge of second-degree murder on Jan. 14.
