Dismembered Torso Positively ID'd as Jaren Lockhart as body parts are washed ashore.Terry Speaks convicted of murdering Bourbon Street dancer Jaren Lockhart.

June 08, 2012 09:10 AM EDT
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Twenty-two-year-old Jaren Lockhart vanished Tuesday night in the New Orleans area. There aren't many sources out about this strange disappearance, but this is the second missing persons case in Louisiana to hit media headlines in 20 days. The other being the disappearance of Michaela "Mickey" Shunick, who vanished from Lafayette almost a month ago. In case you're curious, Lafayette is just a little over two hours from New Orleans. Hopefully these two cases are not connected, and thankfully the odds aren't that wide.

Sources aren't clarifying on who reported the 22-year-old woman missing, but it's being reported that her boyfriend was the last person to see her. This immediately doesn't settle well considering the statistics. In a vast majority of cases like these, if the last person to see a missing or slain person is a lover or scorned lover, the odds are stacked against the potential that someone else could be responsible.

Jaren's boyfriend claims that she was last seen getting into a cab to head to work—which is the 300 block of Bourbon Street. The highly trafficked area is a hot spot of activity so the possibility of her being literally abducted is in fact rather high, but it is also a possibility that she took off on her own. With there not being hardly a lick of information about this case it's hard to speculate. Hopefully more information comes out soon.

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There truly is nothing on this case when I googled it.

Posted: Jun 08, 2012 6:18 PM CDT
Updated: Jun 08, 2012 10:14 PM CDT
By Michelle Lady

Possible I.D. on found torso

While DNA tests results will not be complete for at least five or six days, the Hancock County coroner will say preliminary information from the autopsy suggests it may be Jaren Lockhart, 22, of New Orleans.

Jaren Lockhart, 22, has been missing since Tuesday. She was last seen by her boyfriend leaving a house on Tulane Avenue around 8pm.

HANCOCK COUNTY, MS (WLOX) -
Hancock County investigators are getting closer to identifying the torso that washed ashore in Bay St. Louis late Thursday.

While DNA tests results will not be complete for at least five or six days, the Hancock County coroner will say preliminary information from the autopsy suggests it may be Jaren Lockhart, 22.

Lockhart was last seen by her boyfriend leaving her New Orleans home on Tuesday, two days before a woman's torso was spotted by a construction crew on the beach near Bay Oaks Drive. That fits within the timeframe investigators are considering.

"Preliminary indications stated maybe two to three days in the water," Chief Deputy Don Bass said.

Officials said the torso had three piercings and other body markings, which helped them zero in on Lockhart. Also, the tide is moving from west to east furthering investigators' belief the body could have floated from New Orleans.

"Strong range and the range would have moved the tides around four knots, so it could have moved that particular torso very far in 24 to 36 hours," Lead Investigator Glenn Grannan said.

But Hancock County Sheriff Ricky Adam said they are treating the case as if it happened in Hancock County until they find evidence otherwise.

"We are putting a lot of man hours on this," Adam said. "We have investigators right now in New Orleans."

"Given the fact the body was dismembered and decapitated, we were actually looking for those parts. If the torso was put on the beach by the tide, we were hoping that maybe some other parts were also taken up and put on the beach by the tide," Grannan said.

An autopsy is complete, but the coroner said it is hard to determine the cause of death because of the condition of the body.

"Being dismembered, of course, there are a lot of wounds," Bass said.

While investigators are slow to release many more details, they are confident of one thing.

"This is a homicide and we are pursing a perpetrator," Grannan said.

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Posted: Jun 9, 2012 12:59 PM
Source: WLOX/Picture from NOPD
Updated: Jun 9, 2012 1:01 PM

As more body parts wash up on South Mississippi's beaches, officials now say they are 100 percent positive the torso found in Bay St. Louis Thursday belongs to Jaren Lockhart of New Orleans. The 22-year-old has been missing since Tuesday.

According to Harrison County Coroner Gary Hargrove, a calf washed ashore around 6am Saturday morning on the Beach in Pass Christian in front of Emerald Avenue.
About an hour and a half later a thigh was found in front of Holiday Drive in Pass Christian. Just before 8am a head was found at Picture Point in Long Beach. A fourth body part was discovered around 11am in Pass Christian.

Thursday evening just before 6pm, a torso was found on the beach in Bay St. Louis.

Officials had said it would be next week before DNA results would give a positive identification. But the pathologist in the case said Saturday that the victim is Lockhart. Officials wouldn't say if that determination would made based on DNA or identification of body parts.

Authorities are along the beach looking for more body parts. All the remains found in Harrison County Saturday have been turned over to Hancock County investigators.

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It is so sad to read that her body parts are washing up to the shore one by one.

It sure is. And, the bf was the last one to see her. Go figure.

I've said it before and I'll say it again: Ever since the horrific Zahra Baker case, more and more people are dismembering the victims. Guess we have Evila to thank for that.

NEW ORLEANS -- A gruesome discovery along the Mississippi Gulf Coast may be connected to the case of a missing New Orleans woman. Jaren Lockhart was last seen on Tuesday and her family wants her home.
Lockhart says his sister Jaren has disappeared before, eventually turning up at a friend's house. But this time around it appears to be a very different story.
The New Orleans Police Department says the 22-year-old was last seen leaving a motel in the 2400 block of Tulane Avenue. Her boyfriend told police she had taken a cab to the 300 block of Bourbon where she works as dancer.
"I talked to investigators earlier today. I basically gave them a description of my sister. She had both her nipples pierced and her belly button and I told them she did have two sparrow tattoos on her stomach and she has a skull tattoo with a pink bow on its head on her ribs," said Lockhart.
The Hancock County Sheriff's Office says the torso of a white female was found in Bay Saint Louis on Thursday. Coincidentally it also had several body piercings and tattoos.
"She was dismembered and decapitated. Apparently, the body washed ashore from an unknown location," said Chief Deputy Don Bass with the Hancock County Sheriff's Office.
Hancock County Coroner Jim Faulk wouldn't say much else about the torso, other than that preliminary information shows it may belong to a woman who went missing from new orleans this week.
Investigators say the west to east current could have carried the remains from New Orleans to Bay Saint Louis in a two-day period.
Eyewitness News asked Lockhart if his family had heard from authorities about the identity of that torso. This was his response:
"No, confirmation that that's my sister. I hope its not."
Despite the gruesome discovery across the stateline, Jaren's family is remaining optimistic. They hope the 22-year-old will be reunited with her family and 3-year-old baby girl. They are also asking anyone who many know something about her disappearance to step forward.
"Please come out and tell us something. Let us know anything. That way we can try and find her. We love her very much. We want her to know that we love her very much and we want her home," said Lockhart.
The New Orleans Police Department says investigators from the Hancock County Sheriff's Office are in town to meet with local investigators. The Coroner says there won't be a positive identification of the remains until DNA test results come back. That could happen by Tuesday.
"I seen it on the news and on facebook and all over the internet and thats when it reality hit me, my sister is really missing," said Lance Lockhart, during a telephone interview on Friday night.

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So, she was a dancer. OK..not trying to judge here but anyone could have done something to her.

Tattoos help Mississippi deputies identify dismembered remains of Jaren Lockhart

Published: Saturday, June 09, 2012, 7:45 PM

After finding a decapitated head lying on the beach Saturday morning in Harrison County, Mississippi officials were able to positively confirm the identity of the female torso that washed up Thursday in neighboring Hancock County as belonging to 22-year-old Jaren Lockhart of New Orleans. Also found on Saturday were three pieces of Lockhart's legs, said Don Bass, chief deputy for the Hancock County Sheriff's Office.

Jaren Lockhart was last seen at her home in the 2400 block of Tulane Avenue on Tuesday.

According to New Orleans police, Lockhart was last seen by her boyfriend Tuesday about 8 p.m. at a Mid-City motel where the couple was living. He told police she was headed to a Bourbon Street club where she worked.

Before Lockhart's head was discovered, investigators were awaiting DNA evidence on the torso found earlier in Bay St. Louis for a positive identification. The torso had a stab wound to the back, Bass said -- probably the cause of death, though that has not been confirmed, he said.

Although the head had been in the water for an estimated three days, Bass said, it was easily identified as Lockhart's, in part because of tattoos on her neck.

Before Lockhart's head, along with some clothing, was found by police in Long Beach at midday Saturday, two pieces of leg were found in different locations Saturday morning in Pass Christian, also in Harrison County. The first piece was spotted by a fisher, who notified police and set in motion an extensive search on land and in the water, stretching across the two counties.

A third piece of leg was discovered later in the day floating in the water in the harbor at Pass Christian.

Altogether, Bass said, investigators have "one full leg and one half leg," minus the feet. (OMG, How Horrible!!)

The torso was discovered Thursday evening by workers pumping sand onto the beach in Bay St. Louis near South Beach Boulevard and Bay Oaks Drive.

The events that led to Lockhart's death, dismemberment and disposal, Bass said, are "inconceivable."

Based on Thursday's and Friday's high winds and high tides, he said, it appeared likely that the body parts floated in from somewhere to the west of Bay St. Louis.

Chip Price, the night clerk at the Capri Motel at 2424 Tulane Ave., said the couple had been staying at the motel for two or three months, and would pay $50 in cash each day.
About 7 p.m. every night, Price said, he would call a cab for Lockhart, who he said was working as a dancer in the French Quarter. Price, whose shift ends at midnight, said the couple kept to themselves, and the only thing he remembered about the boyfriend was that he spent his time hanging out with Lockhart. Police have not released the boyfriend's name.

An employee at Temptations strip club at 327 Bourbon said Lockhart worked the night shift from 8 p.m. to 3 a.m.

The day her boyfriend reported Lockhart missing, Price said, he explained he could no longer pay for his room and moved his belongings to an acquaintance's room at the same motel. Price said he hasn't seen the boyfriend since then.

In a news release Thursday afternoon, police said Lockhart's boyfriend reported that he became concerned when he was unable to reach her and contacted police.

Price said he was shocked to learn of Lockhart's gruesome fate. The motel is home to many offshore and French Quarter workers, he said, and does not get many tourists.
Bass said the Hancock County Sheriff's Office is in charge of the homicide investigation. Until investigators can find evidence to prove otherwise, he said, they have to assume that the murder happened where the first piece of the body, the torso, was discovered.

Detectives are working with police in New Orleans to try to find a motive and a suspect, Bass said.

The search for body parts will continue on the Mississippi coast, Bass said, depending on the tides and weather conditions. Pathologists and coroners in both counties are working together to piece together Lockhart's body, he said.

With more than 20 miles of beach in the two counties, Bass said, there is a lot of ground to cover. He said he was thankful that most of the body parts were found by search teams rather than children playing on the beach.

Mississippi authorities are determined to find a suspect in Lockhart's murder, Bass said.

"Whoever did this is going to make mistakes," he said. Some tips will lead to dead ends, he said, while others might prove valuable. "We will take all we can get. We are going to solve this."

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Wonder why they won't release the name of the bf. Did he take a poly? Did he pass? So many questions..and why would he move to another room in the same motel? Did the move include his now deceased and dismembered girlfriend?

What is it with all this dismemberment lately?! Can't even imagine how somebody could start to do that!

I couldn't play the video that LM posted but I did see it when I clicked on the link. She had a 3 yo daughter.

lisette wrote:What is it with all this dismemberment lately?! Can't even imagine how somebody could start to do that!

The Zahra Baker dismemberment started a trend.

Note: The title of this thread actually read: "Videos May Hold Clues in Strip Club Dancer's Death". I found that to be outrageous and unprofessional and a huge slight to this poor woman.
By KEVIN McGILL Associated Press
NEW ORLEANS June 10, 2012 (AP)
A Mississippi sheriff's investigator hopes surveillance video from Bourbon Street in New Orleans will provide clues about the death of a strip club dancer whose dismembered body washed ashore on the Gulf Coast.

Hancock County Chief Investigator Glen Grannon said Sunday that 22-year-old Jaren Lockhart reported for work Tuesday night and left early Wednesday. Her torso was found late Thursday in Bay St. Louis. Other body parts, including her head and parts of her legs, were found later.

It remained unclear where Lockhart was killed and dismembered and where the body parts were put in the water. Grannon said experts on tides would be consulted Monday to help determine where the body parts were likely dumped.

Lockhart had been living at a New Orleans motel. New Orleans police said she had been reported missing last week by her boyfriend, who said he became concerned because he was unable to contact her after she left for work Tuesday night.

"We know she made it to work and left in the early morning hours," Grannan said. He said there is some surveillance video showing her leaving the club. He would not go into detail about who she left with. Investigators have been working with New Orleans police and interviewing people who knew or might have seen Lockhart. He said they also planned to check video from other nearby businesses.

Lockhart had been a resident of the Capri Motel, a $50-a-day motel frequented by Gulf oil workers between offshore stints and by French Quarter bar employees.

Grannan said Lockhart had a small child but he doesn't think she had custody of the girl.

New Orleans police put out a news release seeking information on the missing woman on Thursday. That same day, a female torso with a stab wound was found in Bay St. Louis by workers pumping sand onto the beach to rebuild it.

Early Saturday, a fisherman found part of a lower leg in nearby Pass Christian. Authorities searched beaches in Harrison County, finding an upper leg portion nearby and a woman's head to the west in Long Beach. A fourth body part was later found in Pass Christian.

Grannan said DNA tests were pending but authorities are certain the body parts are Lockhart's, based on known physical descriptions including extensive tattoos.

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wrap said Note: The title of this thread actually read: "Videos May Hold Clues in Strip Club Dancer's Death". I found that to be outrageous and unprofessional and a huge slight to this poor woman.

Our thread is not titled that way. I think you meant that the "title of the article" I agree that is outrageous and unprofessional.

That's what I meant. Thanks for picking up on that.

Published: Tuesday, June 12, 2012, 6:21 PM Updated: Tuesday, June 12, 2012, 6:31 PM
By Kari Dequine, Times Picayune
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Hancock County, Miss., investigators released a surveillance video today that showed the couple authorities are seeking to identify and contact in connection the murder and dismemberment of 22-year-old Jaren Lockhart. The man and the woman seen leaving the Bourbon Street club with Lockhart are "persons of interest" in the case, said Chief investigator Glenn Grannan. The woman in the video may be in danger, Grannan said. Police are concerned for the safety of both people in the video, he said.

Police would like to talk to these two people who were seen leaving a Bourbon Street night club with Jaren Lockhart the night she disappeared.

The couple in the video are believed to be the last known people to have seen Lockhart alive, Grannan said. And authorities want to talk to them.

The video shows the couple entering the Temptations club at 327 Bourbon St. at 1:47 a.m. on Wednesday. They then leave with Lockhart at 2:05 a.m. Co-workers said Lockhart normally worked an 8 p.m. to 3 a.m. shift.

Additional video footage gathered from neighboring businesses shows that Lockhart was walking with the couple, Grannan said, and enough surveillance was obtained to follow the trio for three or four blocks. Additional footage has not yet been released.

No one has been ruled out as a suspect in Lockhart's brutal murder, Grannan said. He added that Lockhart's fiancé, who reported her missing to New Orleans police on Thursday, is fully cooperating with police.

In talking to people on the street who frequent the 300 block of Bourbon Street, Grannan said that the two unidentified people in the video were known to some, but not in a threatening way. The man, Grannan said, may have worked as a doorman at a nearby club. Others Grannan said, suggested that the woman may have been a street performer.

And after interviewing Lockhart's coworkers and regulars in the area, Grannan said he had the impression Lockhart was a "princess."
"They know we are looking for them," Grannan said. "They haven't contacted us yet."

Because the first piece of Lockhart's body, her torso, washed up in Hancock County, officials there will remain in charge of the homicide investigation. If evidence suggest she was killed elsewhere, Grannan said, they will transition to an assisting role.

Every law enforcement agency involved, said Hancock County Sheriff Ricky Adam, has been "extremely helpful." The effort to find Lockhart's killer stretches across multiple counties and parishes in two states; the U.S. Marshals service is also involved. Also assisting are tidal experts at University of Mississippi, who are helping to determine where and when the body entered the water. Still missing are Lockhart's arms, hands, feet, and a portion of one leg. Nothing was found on Tuesday, Grannan said.

Adam said his office are fielding "a lot" of calls from citizens offering tips.

"In 39 years on the job," said chief deputy Don Bass, "it's the most horrific thing I've seen."

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Published: Tuesday, June 12, 2012, 6:57 AM Updated: Tuesday, June 12, 2012, 4:49 PM
By Kari Dequine, Times Picayune
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When they were in high school, Katrina Lucas Friedman and Jaren Lockhart would often stay up late at night writing poetry. "She was smart, and very creative," Friedman said. "She loved art and loved to write." It was through her drawings and poetry, Friedman said, that Lockhart expressed her feelings.

Lockhart, 22, was killed last week. Her dismembered body washed up on beaches in two Mississippi counties Thursday and Saturday. She had last been seen in New Orleans early Wednesday morning, according to the chief deputy for the Hancock County Sheriff's Office, Don Bass.

Surveillance camera footage shows Lockhart leaving a Bourbon Street club after a shift as a dancer, Bass said. Hancock County investigators, who are in charge of the homicide investigation, received the footage Monday afternoon, Bass said. Enough was captured by cameras to show Lockhart leaving the club Wednesday, possibly with an unidentified couple.

Lockhart's fiancé reported her missing after he could not reach her. The two had been staying at a motel on Tulane Avenue in Mid-City. The couple had been together for nearly eight years, Friedman said, since meeting when Lockhart was still in high school. The two have a 3-year-old daughter.

Often stayed in Hammond
Friedman said Lockhart frequently traveled between New Orleans and Hammond, where she had a home with her fiancé and had attended Hammond High School.

Friedman described Lockhart as "a good mom who wanted to give her daughter everything she could." Friedman assured that the 3-year-old was being care for by people who loved her.

Friedman said she wanted people to know that Lockhart was more than a stripper, as she had been characterized in media reports.

"There was a lot to her," said friend Courtney Bretillo. "She had been a lot of places."

Friedman, who kept in touch with Lockhart after high school, said Lockhart loved New Orleans and had worked as a bartender and shot girl. Friedman last spoke with her about two months ago, and said that she was unaware Lockhart was working as a dancer.

After getting her GED, Friedman said, Lockhart went to cosmetology school. She loved music, makeup, and her hair, said Bretillo, who also attended Hammond High School with Lockhart and Friedman. She was always changing her hairstyle, Bretillo said. "You never knew what color her hair was going to be."

Stripper murder 'persons of interest' : video

Police would like to talk to this man and this woman, seen entering a Bourbon Street night club, in connection with the death of dancer Jaren Lockhart.

Bretillo, looking at a card Lockhart had sent in which she thanked Bretillo for being a friend, said: "She was grateful for what she had. She was appreciative."

She was "always smiling bigger than anyone else in the picture." She was lively, outgoing, and the life of the party, Bretillo said.
Friedman agreed: "She was very fun to be around."

Hancock County Coroner Jim Faulk said he was still waiting for a "complete picture," including the potential discovery of more of Lockhart's body, to make a final statement on time and cause of death. A stab wound on Lockhart's chest, Bass said, probably was the cause of death.

On Monday, Bass said, clothing that washed up in Long Beach on Saturday was identified as belonging to Lockhart. Faulk said five pieces of Lockhart's body were found in different locations along the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Lockhart's piercing and tattoos played a large part in identifying her, Bass said.

The search was suspended on Sunday because of bad weather, Bass said.

No more clues
On Monday, Bass said he combed beaches on foot but nothing more turned up.

"She did not deserve what she got," Faulk said. "I don't care who she was, she did not deserve this." (WTH?? Even if she was a hooker that was a ridiculous statement to make!)

Faulk said he is hoping investigators will come up with a suspect soon. It appears someone went to "great lengths" to conceal the crime, he said.

In the Hancock County Sheriff's Office, Bass said, solving Lockhart's murder is a priority. Investigators are going in "ten different directions," he said. The video surveillance provides some hope, Bass said. "We don't like this. We will find out what happened."

Posted on Facebook
Fighting tears, Friedman read aloud a passage Lockhart recently posted on her Facebook page.

"I am working every day toward my legacy. It has error but each mistake has been priceless to the journey. I wouldn't exchange my past experiences for the world. They are what have shaped me. Every trial, every struggle, every heartbreak, every broken dream, every crushed hope, every loss, has helped me grow mentally and spiritually. Were it not for my crazy messed-up life I would not have all the life experiences that I have. I would be naive. I would be unprepared to face the world. But I have become strong, independent, and more determined than I ever would have been with a perfect life. It is the hardship I have faced and the pain I have been subjected to over the years that makes me strive harder to beat the odds and break free from the chains society says I am bound by. I will never fall into the same footsteps. I am my own person. I am not the product of anyone else's doing. If you think you can judge me think again. Because I am nothing you have ever seen before. I am me."

I LOVE what she wrote!

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Updated: Jun 13, 2012 4:16 PM CDT
Written by: Liz Reyes

New Orleans, LA --The family of a New Orleans woman who was murdered and dismembered says it wants to remember 23-year-old Jaren Lockhart as a young woman who always had a smile on her face and a deep love for her now three-year-old daughter. Lockhart's gruesome murder shocked the Gulf Coast when remains of her dismembered body began washing up on a Bay St. Louis beach in Mississippi last week Thursday.

"It's been killing me for the lat few days. Everybody says be strong. But its hard to be strong," said Lockhart's mother, Donna. "It's like somebody ripped my heart out of my body."

"I'm numb, just dead on the inside," said father, Pete Singer.

For her brother Lance who she affectionately nicknamed Bubba, what's most haunting for him is that he couldn't be there for the little sister he says he protected all his life.

"You know what is running through my head; that's what's running through my head. Bubba help me and I ain't there," said Lance.

He says he last heard from her two weeks ago when she reached out to him in Tangipahoa Parish from New Orleans asking him to come and get her. But days passed and he had trouble reaching her again. Then he learned the disturbing news from his mother that his sister was missing and then later learned that she was dead.

"I feared she was going to die just because she was living in New Orleans," said Donna.

While they would have rather she didn't work at a gentlemen's club in New Orleans, they also admit that dancing at the Temptations Club was a job she did out of necessity to help support her and her little girl. The little girl had been living with the child's grand-parents.

"She needed money to stay afloat. She was going through hard times," says her friend Kristina Suzzanne Murphy. They say it is also hurtful to see the degrading comments people are posting about her because of what she did to make a living. "They didn't live with her. They don't know who she was. How are you going to talk about someone and not know who they are," said Lance. "She was more than a stripper, she was a wonderful mother and she was a great friend," said her aunt Alice Swain.

They say working in a gentlemen's club on Bourbon Street is not something she aspired to do long term. They say she had plans to go back to school and get a degree in cosmetology. Her loved ones are also adamant that most likely she knew her killer. "That's the way we raised her. You won't get in a car with a stranger. You don't go with a stranger. I don't think it was a stranger that did this," said Pete. They also say it was in her nature to fight if she was caught up in a struggle its why they believe her remains may hold many D.N.A clues about her killer.

"They say they found her head. Check her teeth; my sister doesn't play. When you're fighting with her, she will try to bite the biggest hole out of you she can; that's how she was," said Lance.

It's a case they know will also depend on help from the public. Its why they're pleading for anyone with information to come forward."I want peace for my grandbaby and justice for my grandbaby," said Donna.

The family has set up a memorial fund for Jaren Lockhart. You can make donations at any Whitney or Hancock bank in Louisiana and Mississippi.

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There is a riveting, must-see video of the family talking that I cannot embed at the above link.

UPDATED 3:44 PM CDT Jun 13, 2012

HANCOCK COUNTY, Miss. - The man and woman sought in the surveillance video from the night Jaren Lockhart disappeared from New Orleans were identified by authorities Wednesday morning.

New Orleans police released surveillance video that shows two people they are looking for in connection with the case of a Mid-City woman who was gruesomely killed last week.

Jaren Lockhart was reported missing on June 6. Her torso washed ashore on a beach in Bay St. Louis, Miss., and other parts of her severed body washed up days later. Authorities in Hancock County, Miss., are looking for her killer. This timeline follows the events of the investigation.

Lockhart went missing last week. Days later, her severed body parts washed ashore on a beach in Bay St. Louis, Miss.

The man and woman arrested are a boyfriend and girlfriend from Kenner, police said. They were taken into police custody Tuesday about 10 p.m. and are being held in Tangipahoa Parish. Police said their stories weren't "adding up" and named them as suspects in the Lockhart investigation.

Police said the arrested woman is Margaret Sanchez, 28.

Officers said the man has used many aliases across the country. He was arrested under the name of Terry Speaks. He is 39 years old.

Speaks was booked on charges of resisting an officer, resisting an officer by flight, aggravated assault and three warrants in other jurisdictions.

WDSU went to the town of Loranger, where Sanchez lived for a while and went to school. Not too many residents said they remembered her but she was registered with at least two websites -- one for modeling work and another that arranges dates for younger women and older men.

Sanchez indicated on the sites that she was unemployed and made little to no income.

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must-see video I cannot embed!

I can't put my finger on it, but this case has really gotten to me. That YT video make me cry.

Couple Arrested in Jaren Lockhart Murder

Jaren Lockhart Breaking Update: A man and woman are now in police custody regarding the murder and dismemberment of the missing New Orleans stripper. The woman is 28-year old Margaret Sanchez, but the man has not been identified yet as he goes by many aliases all over the country. This is a disturbing turn of events that leaves a sinking feeling of confusion over the entire case. Nonetheless, it's good news that the two are in custody and being questioned -- justice must be served for Jaren's murder and these two might bring investigators closer to that.

Do you think this case is nearing its end? The disappearance of Jaren Lockhart was quickly resolved when her dismembered torso, head and other assorted body parts wound up in Mississippi. However, the mystery is still unraveling as the story continues. The couple was taken into custody in Hancock County, Mississippi, so does that mean they transported Jaren to the state with them before disposing of her remains?

The police say that the boyfriend-girlfriend duo are from Kenner, Louisiana so it's probably safe to say they were on the run when taken into custody. Do you think Margaret Sanchez and her boyfriend had anything to do with this young woman's murder?

It's almost reminiscent of the Karla Homolka case. Karla and her ex-husband Paul Bernardo went on a serial rape and murder spree that began with Karla's 15-year old sister. This isn't saying that Sanchez and her unidentified boyfriend are responsible or even participating in a situation related to Karla Homolka and Paul Bernardo, but it just seems eerily familiar -- and equally disturbing.

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NEW ORLEANS -- Two people being held in Louisiana are suspects in the death of a Bourbon Street stripper (FGS!! She was a person, a mother and that's how they define her? I hate the media sometimes!) whose body parts washed ashore on the Mississippi Gulf Coast.

The Hancock County, Miss., Sheriff's Department says Margaret Sanchez and Terry Christopher Speaks, both aged 28, face charges unrelated to 22-year-old Jaren Lockhart's death. However, chief investigator Glenn Grannan says they are being questioned as suspects. Unrelated? Then why are they being questioned about Jaren? And, other media said the dude's name wasn't being released due to alias's? Again, the media drives me nuts sometimes!

U.S. Attorney Jim Letten said Speaks was in federal custody Wednesday after U.S. Marshals arrested him on a North Carolina warrant accusing him of failing to register as a sex offender. Great, he's also a sex offender. But they brought both of them in and they were caught on video w/Jaren.

A brief indictment said he was accused in Surry County, N.C., but does not describe the sex offense.

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Kenner home searched for possible clues in murder of N.O. woman

wwltv.com
Posted on June 13, 2012 at 5:12 PM
Updated today at 5:21 PM

KENNER, La. – Several law enforcement agencies spent the bulk of the day Wednesday searching the Kenner home of 28-year-old Margaret Sanchez and taking out potential evidence.

Sanchez and her companion, 39-year-old Terry Speaks are considered ‘persons of interest’ in the killing of New Orleans woman Jaren Lockhart, whose body parts were found washed up on Mississippi beaches last week.
The pair was arrested overnight in Tangipahoa Parish on unrelated charges. Sanchez had an extradition hearing in Amite, while Speaks was in federal court in New Orleans on charges that he violated terms of his status as a registered sex offender.

One neighbor of Sanchez’s said he and his wife recognized her image immediately when it was broadcast on television Tuesday night after Hancock County officials released a videotape they say showed Sanchez and Speaks leaving a New Orleans nightclub with Lockhart.

Among the agencies on the scene were: the Hancock County Sheriff’s Office, Kenner Police, U.S. Marshal’s Office and the FBI/New Orleans Violent Crime Task Force.

Several items from inside the home were boxed up and taken out.

Neighbors said Sanchez and Speaks lived in the home but that Speaks and Sanchez have only been together for a few months.

The neighbors told Eyewitness News that Sanchez was a street performer in the French Quarter. An online profile page also said she was a cocktail waitress and a model.

Neighbors also said the couple mostly kept to themselves.

“Him I don’t really know about him,” said one neighbor. “He doesn’t wave, say hi, or say bye or anything. Her, well she’s… I would have never expected that.”

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Dismembered woman's family: "You just go numb"

Posted: Jun 13, 2012 10:32 PM CDT
Updated: Jun 13, 2012 10:45 PM CDT
By Kiran Chawla
TANGIPAHOA, LA (WAFB) -
Investigators have two people in custody, who they believe to know something about the murder of a New Orleans dancer, Jaren Lockhart.

A minor traffic stop in Tangipahoa is what landed the two people, who were last seen with Lockhart, in jail. When deputies ran their license for that stop, they found warrants out for their arrest.

Now, Lockhart's family wants answers. Who would kill Lockhart and dump her dismembered body?

"It's been killing me the last few days," said Lockhart's mother Donna.

A mother shaken to her core and a father is numb after living through the unthinkable for any parent: their daughter's gruesome death. Lockhart's dismembered body started washing ashore late last week on several Mississippi beaches.

"Everybody says be strong, but it's hard to be strong," said Donna.

"It's like someone just ripped your heart out of your body you know. You just go numb. You go dead on the inside," said Lockhart's father Pete Singer.

Her brother Lance, who Lockhart lovingly called "Bubba," said the worst part for him is he couldn't be there to protect his little sister like he's done all his life.

"Someone bothered her, she would always say, 'Bubba, come help me.' You want to know what's running through my head? That's running through my head. 'Bubba, help me,' and I ain't there," said Lance.

The last time Lance heard from Lockhart was two weeks ago. She worked as a dancer at Temptations on Bourbon Street. The last known time the 22-year-old was seen alive was on surveillance video walking out of Temptations last Wednesday. Detectives are relying on two people in the video for answers: Terry Speaks and Margaret Sanchez.

Both were found in Tangipahoa Parish Tuesday night, pulled over by deputies for a minor traffic violation.

"They checked her ID, found out who she was and identified her. The male suspect or person of interest, who was with her, then bolted and ran," said Hancock County Sheriff Ricky Adam.

U.S. Marshal's agents found Speaks in the woods. Both were taken to the Tangipahoa Parish Jail. Wednesday afternoon, Speaks was taken to federal court in New Orleans for violating the rules of registering as a sex offender. The 39-year-old was convicted in North Carolina in 2003 on three counts of indecent liberty with a minor.

Meanwhile, Sanchez, 28, was taken to an Amite court for a hearing, where she did not sign her extradition.

"She was shaking crying, bent over, something about she couldn't sign her extradition. (She) wanted to call her dad, and they wouldn't let her do it. She was just staying stooped the whole time with her face in her knees sitting in a chair," said Scott Bruneau, who was in that courtroom.

In Kenner at the couple's home, multiple agencies collected evidence, and several items from the home were boxed up and bagged.

Family members said working at the gentlemen's club was a necessity to support her and her little 3-year-old daughter.

"She was more than a stripper. She was a wonderful mother, and she was a great friend," said Lockhart's aunt Alice Swain.

Neither Speaks, nor Sanchez have been charged in Lockhart's murder at this time.

Meanwhile, federal agents plan to hold speaks at the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff's office until Friday. At that time, he'll have another federal hearing to determine if he'll make bond.

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must see video at above link.

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Woman in Lockhart investigation fighting extradition
Margaret Sanchez appears in Tangipahoa Parish court

UPDATED 11:21 AM CDT Jun 14, 2012

NEW ORLEANS - The woman arrested on unrelated charges in the investigation of the disappearance and gruesome killing of a Mid-City woman appeared in court on Thursday.

As the FBI and Kenner police search the home of two suspects in the slaying of Jaren Lockhart, neighbors talk with WDSU about the pair, saying they were odd and that they were night owls who kept to themselves.

The man and woman sought in the surveillance video from the night Jaren Lockhart disappeared from New Orleans were identified by authorities Wednesday morning.

Jaren Lockhart was reported missing on June 6. Her torso washed ashore on a beach in Bay St. Louis, Miss., and other parts of her severed body washed up days later. Authorities in Hancock County, Miss., are looking for her killer. This timeline follows the events of the investigation.

Margaret Sanchez was arrested on unrelated charges Tuesday night after she and Terry Speaks were pulled over in a traffic stop for not using a turn signal, police said.

Sanchez returned to court after it ruled on Wednesday that she was in no condition to speak for herself. On Wednesday, Sanchez was in tears as she stood before a judge, telling them that all she wanted to do was call her father.

The hearing was over about 10 a.m. Sanchez was represented by a public defender in Tangipahoa Parish. She did not waive extradition, meaning she is fighting to not go to Mississippi where investigators want to interview her.

Speaks is being held in the St. Tammany Parish Jail on a federal charge. St. Tammany Parish Jail detains federal inmates for the U.S. Marshals Service.

Jaren Lockhart was reported missing last week. Days later her torso washed ashore on a beach in Bay St. Louis, Miss. Other severed body parts washed ashore along the Mississippi coast on Saturday, including her head.

Sanchez and Speaks were seen in a surveillance video from the strip club where Lockhart worked on Bourbon Street. The two were seen leaving with Lockhart in the early hours of Wednesday morning.

Sanchez and Speaks are being called "suspects" by investigators, but no charges in the Lockhart investigation have been filed against them.

On Wednesday, investigators searched a Kenner home where Speaks and Sanchez lived. Investigators searched the home and the nearby field collecting bags of evidence with the assistance of cadaver dogs. Investigators haven't disclosed what they collected at the home.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Hancock County Sheriff's Office at 228-466-6900 or the New Orleans Police Department at 504-821-2222.

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check out the video at above link of the suspect. OMG!

Posted: Jun 14, 2012 10:15 PM CDT
Updated: Jun 15, 2012 8:56 AM CDT
By Elizabeth Vowell

As the investigation into Jaren Lockhart's gruesome death continues, supporters are remembering the victim. Thursday a group gathered on the beach in Bay St. Louis for a vigil to honor Jaren, and all victims of violent crimes.

BAY ST. LOUIS, MS (WLOX) -
On the same beach where her broken body was discovered, a solemn cross with roses now stands for Jaren Lockhart.

"We just wanted to do something to so our respect and support for her family," said Megan Morvant who organized a candle light vigil for Jaren.

Jaren's remains washed up in Bay St. Louis shortly after she went missing in New Orleans. Many of the people who gathered on the beach for the vigil didn't know Jaren personally, but they knew the sting of loss.

"It hit home. I felt like I was going through all of it again," said Morvant.

Morvant recently lost her cousin, Hillary Moulder, who was a coworker and friend of Jaren Lockhart. Both of the girls danced in New Orleans.

"Regardless of whether you knew her or not, it's something that's devastating," said Morvant.

Feeling a connection to Jaren and her family, Hillary's family organized the memorial.

"We're here for the justice for Jaren Lockhart, and to remember my daughter Hillary Jane Moulder. And yes, they danced on Bourbon Street, and they were there to make a living for their daughters and themselves," expressed Moulder's mother, Diana Sharp. "Do not ever judge someone in this world for the living they choose to make in this world."

"Jaren was a good person. She never did no body wrong. If you needed a place to stay she'd give you a place to stay. She would give you clothes off her back if you didn't have no clothes to wear," said a friend of Jaren, Elizabeth Kaehey.

Kaehey said she met Jaren shortly after moving to Louisiana. Both women had young girls and they would often let them play together. She said she couldn't believe the news of Jaren's death.

"I thought it was a joke," said Kaehey. "I thought, ‘That can't be Jaren.' But it was."

Jaren and Hillary both left behind young daughters. At the vigil, Hillary's six year old daughter prayed for peace under Jaren's cross, saying how much she loved her mother and missed her.

Through these two girls, families are connected and all are hoping justice will be brought for Jaren.

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video and interviews of friends at above link. A MUST SEE!! Please put it in full frame.

Suspect in Jaren Lockhart's death will be sent to NC
Posted: Jun 15, 2012 10:55 AM by AP
Updated: Jun 15, 2012 11:05 AM
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NEW ORLEANS (AP) - A suspect in the death of 22-year-old Jaren Lockhart whose body parts washed ashore in Mississippi last week has been ordered to be transferred to North Carolina, where he faces charges in an unrelated case.

It wasn't immediately clear Friday whether authorities in Mississippi or Louisiana will attempt to delay the transfer of 39-year-old Terry Christopher Speaks.

Mississippi investigators have identified Speaks and 28-year-old Margaret Sanchez as suspects in the death of Lockhart, a Bourbon Street strip club dancer. Neither has been charged in the case.

Speaks appeared before a federal magistrate in New Orleans on Friday following his arrest this week on a North Carolina warrant accusing him of failing to register as a sex offender.

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Persons of interest are named suspects in Jaren Lockhart case

Published: Thursday, June 14, 2012, 9:05 PM Updated: Friday, June 15, 2012, 6:33 AM
By Mary Kilpatrick, The Times-Picayune

A man and woman initially described as "persons of interest" in the recent stabbing death and dismemberment of 22-year-old exotic dancer Jaren Lockhart are now being considered suspects, investigators in Hancock County, Miss., confirmed Thursday. Meanwhile, WWL-TV reported Thursday that Hancock County authorities are looking into surveillance video that may show Lockhart with the couple -- Terry Speaks and Margaret Sanchez -- in Mississippi after they were seen leaving Bourbon Street together the night of Lockhart's disappearance. Speaks and Sanchez were taken into custody Wednesday on unrelated charges after authorities received a tip that they were at a place of business near Loranger in Tangipahoa Parish.

Both had apparently dyed their hair -- his a reddish color, hers blue -- after they were captured on a surveillance camera in the French Quarter the night Lockhart disappeared.

Tangipahoa sheriff's deputies followed the couple's car as they drove away from the business in Loranger, and pulled them over in a routine traffic stop.

Speaks presented the officer with false identification and then ran across a field and into woods beside the road, where officers apprehended him, authorities said.
Sanchez also presented an invalid ID, but remained inside the car and was cooperative.

Speaks faces a federal charge of failing to register as a sex offender, a charge that originated in Surry County, N.C., in February, according to court documents filed Wednesday in federal court. A detention hearing is set for today, and Speaks is due to be arraigned June 22. Details were not available about the original sex offense that required Speaks to register.

Law enforcement work a scene at the home of Margaret Sanchez in the 2000 block of Connecticut Street in Kenner Wednesday, June 13, 2012. Sanchez is a person of interest in the death of Jaren Lockhart. Lockhart was last seen by her boyfriend June 5, about 8 p.m. at a Mid-City motel where the couple was living. Parts of her dismembered body washed ashore in Mississippi days later.

Court documents show Speaks, 39, was last employed at My Bar, 635 Bourbon St., where neighbors say he worked as a bouncer. Speaks indicated on the documents that his employment ended in April, and that he earned $600 per month there.

Meanwhile, Sanchez, 28, of Kenner, was booked with resisting an officer, said Glenn Grannan of the Hancock County Sheriff's Office, chief investigator on the case.
Lockhart, who was a Bourbon Street dancer, went missing last week. Two days later, her dismembered torso washed ashore in Bay St. Louis, Miss. Two days after that, Lockhart's head was found in Long Beach. Two pieces of her leg were found the same day in different locations in Pass Christian.

Hancock County officials said she had been stabbed in the chest.

FBI agents and Kenner police on Wednesday descended upon the Kenner home Speaks and Sanchez shared to execute a search warrant in the investigation into Lockhart's death.

The two are believed to be the last people known to have seen her alive.

Lockhart's fiance last saw her June 5 at the Tulane Avenue motel where they stayed. She worked her shift as a dancer at Temptations in the 300 block of Bourbon Street that night. Her fiance reported her missing when she never returned from that shift.

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By Kevin Mcgill
The Associated Press
Friday, June 15, 20120 Comments

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — An investigator trying to solve the death and dismemberment of a French Quarter stripper says he's not worried that one suspect, now in federal hands, may soon be transferred to North Carolina.

Hancock County Mississippi investigator Glenn Grannon said Friday the federal charge against Terry Christopher Speaks, 39, won't affect the investigation into the death of 22-year-old Jaren Lockhart.

"He'll just get an extra plane ride, that's all," Grannon said in a telephone interview.

Lockhart's body parts washed ashore in Mississippi last week and the resulting investigation involves law enforcement on that state's Gulf Coast as well as in New Orleans and its suburbs.

Speaks and Margaret Sanchez, 28, of Kenner were arrested earlier this week in Tangipahoa Parish on charges unrelated to Lockhart's death. They have been named suspects but neither has been charged in her death.

While Sanchez has been held in Tangipahoa, north of Lake Pontchartrain, Speaks was in federal court in New Orleans. In a hearing before a magistrate, he declined to fight his detention or a pending transfer to North Carolina, where he faces a federal charge of failing to register as a sex offender.

Grannon said he knows of no effort planned to keep Speaks in the New Orleans or Mississippi area.

Speaks is listed as a fugitive from probation in North Carolina state corrections records and he was arrested in Louisiana on a fugitive warrant from that state, as well as other charges.

Pam Walker, spokeswoman for the N.C. Department of Public Safety, said she wouldn't be surprised if her agency's extradition hold on Speaks is withdrawn if more serious charges are filed against him in Louisiana.

Meanwhile, the investigation into Lockhart's death continued.

Video from the Temptations strip club where Lockhart worked linked Sanchez and Speaks to the case and Grannon said Friday that investigators are looking at other videos from business along U.S. Highway 90, which runs along the coast, in a search for any other clues.

"We're covering everything we can. We're looking at cameras at convenience stores," he said.

In addition, WWL-TV reports (http://bit.ly/LZub1o) Lockhart's friends and family came together on a Mississippi beach Thursday night. During the vigil held in Bay St. Louis, a cross marked the spot near where Lockhart's torso was found.

People came together to write notes, light candles and share happy thoughts of Lockhart.

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Murder suspect has lengthy criminal history

Posted: Jun 15, 2012 5:47 PM CDT
Updated: Jun 15, 2012 6:31 PM CDT

SOUTH MISSISSIPPI (WLOX) -
One of the primary suspects in Jaren Lockhart's murder will be extradited to North Carolina. Friday, a federal judge ruled 39-year-old Terry Speaks will be sent to Surry County to face unrelated charges.

Hancock County investigators have not charged Speaks with any crime related to Lockhart's murder, but he already has a long criminal history. He was convicted nine years ago in Surry County, North Carolina for indecent liberties with a minor

Hancock County Lead Investigator Glenn Grannan said, "I know it was statutory rape and I know he is a registered sex offender."

He served two years in prison, but because it was a crime against a juvenile, he must notify authorities three days prior to moving anywhere, so the sex offender registry can be updated.

"That was condition of his parole and since then he has been charged with failing to register since he moved to Kenner, Louisiana," Grannan said.

According to Surry County Sheriff's Department, this was not his first time Speaks skipped town. He has been charged two other times for failing to register.

Surry County Sheriff Graham Atkinson said the last listed address for Speaks was in Mount Airy, North Carolina but he moved from there last September. They believed he was in Pennsylvania, but it turns out he was in Louisiana where he was arrested Tuesday.

Investigators say it was difficult for authorities to locate Speaks because he was living under another name, even trying to assume that identity the day he was arrested.

"In the process of an inquiry, the male suspect repeatedly gave false information," Grannan said.

Speaks claimed to be Leslie Allan Rice, a man who is from Speaks's hometown. Investigators have spoken to the real Rice who said he had no idea someone was using his name.

Investigators believe Speaks even had an ID with Rice's name, which Sgt. Donnie Dobbs with the Biloxi Police Department says is extremely easy to obtain.

Dobbs said, "All I need to do is generate a fraudulent birth certificate, contact a credit agency, and get a credit card. Then I've got two forms of identification, I take it to the licensing bureau and I get an ID and I become you."

If Speaks was ever arrested and booked under Rice's name that could haunt him forever.

Dobbs said, "It's going to stay on his record forever and he is going to have to explain it every time they apply for a job, anytime they do a background check on an individual, any type of security clearance or anything."

Speaks also has several misdemeanors on his record for anything from larceny to assault.

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Updated: Jun 14, 2012 7:26 PM CDT
Written by: Sabrina Wilson

New Orleans, La. -- A Bourbon Street dancer who says she was approached by the suspects in the murder of 22-year-old Jaren Lockhart, on the same night Lockhart disappeared, has contacted authorities.

Dancer Sheila Nand had worked previously with 39-year-old Terry Speaks. Speaks and 28-year-old Margaret Sanchez are suspects in Lockhart's death, but are currently being held in jail on unrelated charges.

Stiletto's, an establishment on Bourbon Street, is right next door to the Temptations Gentleman's Club where Lockhart worked. Nand said she was approached by the pair while working at Stiletto's, and became alarmed when she saw news reports.

"I freak out like, oh my gosh, those are the people that approached me," Nand said.

Nand said Sanchez made her a generous offer inside the club.

"She asked me if I wanted to go home with her and her boyfriend, and I said I don't work outside of the club, and got off stage and they were still there," Nand said.

Nand said she was offered $700.

"That's the fishy thing about it is when she approached me on the stage, she asked me if I wanted to go home with her and her boyfriend as a third party as a 'gift' to him, you know," Nand continued.

Nand said there were other red flags.

"She changed the story on me and said, do I want to go to a private party with her, you know, and it would be safe and it's only to take a short amount of time, there was a bouncer which would be her boyfriend there and it was all good," Nand stated.

A manager at Stiletto's, who didn't want to go on camera, did confirm that Speaks did work there for less than a year. He said Speaks seemed like a nice guy and he had been gone from the business for about two months.

"He always portrayed himself as a really sweet guy, very shy," said Nand.

Hancock County Deputy Don Bass said they are checking out Nand's story about encountering the suspects in the French Quarter.

FOX 8 legal analyst Joe Raspanti said the case offers a tangle of jurisdiction issues.

"They gotta figure out where this young lady was killed, that's the main thing," Raspanti stated.

Another question Raspanti said must be answered is whether the victim was kidnapped from New Orleans.

"Where ever the murder occurred, you can bet that that's where the prosecution is going to start and finish," he said.

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Jaren Lockhart murder: Suspects could be thrill killers

New Orleans : LA : USA | Jun 15, 2012 at 11:40 PM PDT BY ChelseaHoffman

The couple arrested in the murder of Jaren Lockhart could be thrill killers, and that is an absolutely unsettling point to consider. It's extremely rare for couples to engage in such horrendous crimes together, but there are notorious couples in history that have done just that. Terry Speaks and Margaret Sanchez are possibly among such notorious killers as Karla Homolka and Paul Bernardo and maybe even Bonnie and Clyde. Though Homolka, Bernardo, Bonnie and Clyde weren't known to dismember exotic dancers. (I am SO tired of Jaren's identity being deemed an "exotic dancer ONY." She has a 3 year old daughter who one day w/be reading all this and I highly doubt either she or her family appreciate the media attempting to boost their publications by tainting her memory this way!!)

It was reported several hours ago in this Gather News article that another stripper was approached the night Jaren Lockhart vanished. She claimed that Margaret Sanchez offered her $700.00 to go home with her and Terry Speaks, who has an extensive criminal record involving sex with minors and other offenses. This indicates that the two were on the prowl that night in search of a victim. Do you think they were?

Terry Speaks has been extradited to North Carolina where he is wanted on sex offense charges, but Margaret Sanchez remains in New Orleans where she is not waiving extradition. She is also refusing to speak about what may have happened between her, Speaks and the slain woman.

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Mississippi investigators use sonar to search for clues in Lockhart murder

Updated: Jun 15, 2012 5:33 PM CDT
Written by: Meg Gatto

Investigators in Hancock County, Mississippi use sonar to help them in the investigation of Jaren Lockhart's murder.

The search took place near the Long Beach pier, with divers looking for a possible murder weapon and even bodily remains Friday. They did not report finding any new evidence.

In the meantime, one of the suspects, 39-year-old Terry Speaks went before a federal judge Friday morning for failing to register as a sex offender in another state.

Speaks appeared before a judge in federal court in New Orleans to say he wants all legal proceedings on his federal charge, of failing to register as a sex offender, to happen in Surry County, North Carolina.

"He waived his right both to a detention hearing and to a hearing on removal, which is really the issue because he's currently in the Eastern District of Louisiana," said Loyola law professor Stephen Singer.

U.S. Marshals are responsible for transporting Speaks to North Carolina but as Singer explains, that may not be happening anytime soon.

"It's likely in a case like this, where you have multiple jurisdictions looking at the case and investigating far more serious charges than sex offender registration... my guess is it's likely he'll stay in Louisiana in the Eastern District for some period of time, to give a chance to the local prosecutors both in Mississippi and Louisiana to do further investigation," Singer explained.

Hancock County, Mississippi investigators say Speaks and 28-year-old Margaret Sanchez are suspects in the death of Jaren Lockhart. They were the last two people to see Lockhart alive, homicide detectives say.

Sanchez is being held in Tangipahoa Parish on a resisting arrest charge, but her public defender says Hancock County has also placed a hold on her, meaning she cannot post bond to get out of jail.

"In order to lodge a hold, they would actually have to get some sort of warrant for arrest. They could, I suppose, potentially get a material witness bond," Singer said.

But Sanchez's public defender, Allen Harvey, tells FOX 8 he doesn't know of any arrest warrant issued or anything signed by a judge that would keep her in jail. So, Harvey filed a petition Thursday with a judge in Tangipahoa Parish, stating that the hold is illegal.

At this point No charges have been filed against Sanchez or Speaks in Mississippi or having anything to do with Jaren Lockhart.

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Posted: Sunday, 17 June 2012 1:20PM

Hunting knife sought in Jaren Lockhart's death

Don Ames Reporting

Mississippi authorities now believe a Bourbon Street exotic dancer whose body parts washed up on the Gulf Coast was stabbed in the chest with a hunting knife before she was decapitated and dismembered.

Hancock County sheriff's officials say a hunting knife has not been found, but forensic examination of a wound to 22-year-old Jaren Lockhart's chest indicates that is the type of weapon used in her stabbing.

Volunteers have been searching a field Terry Speaks ran through before he was caught last week Tangipahoa Parish, La.

"Right now, we're continuing the investigation. Numerous agencies are cooperating and working together to run down all the leads we're getting," said Hancock County Chief Deputy Don Bass

39-year-old Speaks and 28-year-old Margaret Sanchez were arrested in a traffic stop Tuesday night in Loranger. They were taken into custody on unrelated charges, but are now suspects in Lockhart's murder.

Bass says the FBI is continuing its analysis of items removed from their car and the Kenner home where the couple lived.

"They've finished processing the residence, to my understanding, and they're still in the process of processing the vehicle. We haven't got an update on either one yet. I'm sure they're going to take all their items and all their information and go through it," Bass said.

Speaks is being held without bond while waiting for federal marshals to arrange his transport to North Carolina, where he was wanted on a federal charge of failing to register as a sex offender and leaving that state. He will likely remain held in Louisiana a couple of weeks. Sanchez remains in custody on misdemeanor charges resulting from the traffic stop.

Lockhart, 22, was a dancer at Temptations, a gentlemen's club on Bourbon Street in New Orleans. She was last seen leaving the club with Speaks and his girlfriend June 6. The next night, her torso was discovered on the beach in Bay St. Louis. Other body parts later surfaced on nearby beaches.

Bass says they continue to question others who knew the victim.

"We're interviewing some potential witnesses, people that may have information, people that worked with her...just different things like that. Any leads that we get, any calls that we get, we follow up on."

Bass said he doubts any new developments will come in the case over the weekend.

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Suspect in Jaren Lockhart murder moved to mental clinic

wwltv.com
Posted on June 18, 2012 at 3:00 PM
Updated today at 4:35 PM

WWLTV.com

HAMMOND, La. -- Margaret Sanchez, a suspect in the murder of Jaren Lockhart, has been moved to Rosenblum Mental Health Center in Hammond for a psychiatric evaluation, according to the Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff’s Office.

Sanchez had been in the Tangiphoa Parish Jail. Sanchez and Terry Speaks are suspects in the murder of Lockhart, whose dismembered body was found along beaches in Mississippi.

Sanchez and Speaks had been in custody in the Tangipahoa Parish Jail on charges unrelated to the killing of Jaren Lockhart. Neither has been charged with Lockhart's murder.

Speaks is now in federal custody for failing to properly register as a sex offender after committing a sex crime in North Carolina. He was convicted of three counts of indecent liberty with a minor in 2003.

Authorities said they were able to capture the Speaks and Sanchez in Tangipohoa Parish because tips started pouring in after a surveillance video went out, showing the couple going into Temptations strip club on Bourbon Street, where Lockhart worked.

Authorities believe the three knew each other and all worked in the French Quarter.

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Wonder why the moved her??

Margaret Sanchez charged with harboring a sex offender
Published: Monday, June 18, 2012, 6:18 PM
Updated: Monday, June 18, 2012, 6:20 PM
By Kari Dequine, Times Picayune

Margaret Sanchez, 28, who has been named along with Terry Speaks as a suspect in the gruesome murder and dismemberment of Jaren Lockhart, was charged on Monday evening with harboring a sex offender, said Tangipahoa Parish spokeswoman Dawn Panepinto.

Sanchez was being held in a Tangipahoa Parish Prison on a charge of resisting arrest following her apprehension on Wednesday, June 13 near Loranger.

Speaks, 39, was also taken into custody and is awaiting extradition to North Carolina where he is wanted on charges of failing to register as a sex offender.

Lockhart, 22, was last seen leaving the club where she worked on Bourbon Street with Sanchez and Speaks early on the morning of June 6.

Dismembered body parts identified as belonging to Lockhart began washing up on Mississippi beaches on June 7.

Sanchez remains in custody at the Tangipahoa Parish Prison, Panepinto said. This article has been on the net for only 10 min. So, is she in a mental facility of in the clink? Color me confused!

Hancock County officials remain in charge of the homicide investigation.

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Jaren Lockhart Case: Is Margaret Sanchez Legally Insane?

June 18, 2012 06:10 PM EDT

One of the suspects in the slaying of Jaren Lockhart has been sent to a mental hospital where she will undergo evaluation. Twenty-eight-year-old Margaret Sanchez was apprehended with sex offender Terry Speaks in connection to the murder and dismemberment of Jaren Lockhart, and it appears that she has not been cooperative in the investigation. While Terry Speaks is being extradited to North Carolina where he is wanted for committing sex crimes with children, officials are going to soon see whether or not she's going to crack under pressure. She seems weak, so who knows?

Margaret Sanchez is being transferred to a mental hospital for evaluation, but to be honest it doesn't seem like she's insane at all. Indeed it does take a level of mental disturbance to carry out the murder and dismemberment of another human being, but it doesn't mean she is legally insane. In fact, she and Terry Speaks went through the plotting of changing their appearances to avoid apprehension. This in and of itself indicates properly working thought processes.

Also, Jaren Lockhart wasn't the only stripper the couple approached on the night the young woman vanished. A stripper from a club next to the one that employed Lockhart claimed that Sanchez approached her and offered her $700 to leave with her and Terry Speaks for some adult fun. Something was being planned that night. Would a legally insane person really plot something so gruesome and then take measures to avoid being caught? It's not necessarily likely, now is it?

Police believe that Jaren knew Speaks and Sanchez and that all of them worked in the French Quarter. Research has indicated that this could be truth judging by the appearance of Sanchez and the fact that she was involved, apparently, in the adult industry in the area like the victim. Both of them seemed to enjoy the same shades of hair colors and both of them had interest in the same lifestyle. This is Margaret Sanchez's Model Mayhem profile. Have you noticed a theme with victims and suspects of homicide in the Southern United States and the Model Mayhem website? Many missing and slain women have been a part of it. It's quite strange.

Wonder where the writer gets her research?

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Good idea. I was already a member of "Gather" so I sent her a PM letting her know I am tired of the media tainting Jaren w/the 'exotic dancer' title and respectfully disagree with her on her comparison's to Sanchez. Purple hair be damned. Many young gals color their hair all kinds of offbeat shades these days. And, they looked nothing alike. Sanchez looks like a drug addict. I also got the distinct impression that Jaren wasn't happy about dancing. I think she was trying to support her daughter. I could be wrong, but then again..I could be right.

I did invite Chelsea to join us. I do enjoy reading her comments.

Thanks for the suggestion!

Jaren Lockhart Update: Dismemberment Weapon Sought

June 18, 2012 10:21 AM EDT
The murder of Jaren Lockhart is in full investigation mode as officials are seeking the weapon (or weapons) used to murder and dismember the New Orleans stripper. This case is disturbing and certainly a heartbreaking example of the tragedy that can befall a young, promising and beautiful person. Will there be justice at the conclusion of this investigation?

Not long after the stabbed and dismembered torso of Jaren Lockhart washed ashore in Mississippi, Margaret Sanchez and Terry Christopher Speaks were apprehended. Surveillance footage put the two with the missing stripper in Mississippi shortly before her remains washed ashore, however, they were arrested back in Louisiana. Terry Christopher Speaks is being extradited to North Carolina where he is a registered sex offender who absconded. On the other hand, Margaret Sanchez isn't being extradited and isn't apparently cooperating with the investigation.

Officials are seeking a hunting knife believed to have been used to murder and dismember the 22-year-old mother. Forensic evidence led investigators to the conclusion that a hunting knife was used to stab, decapitate and dismember Jaren, but it's not known if the suspects have mentioned any knives or other weapons used in the crime.

So where could they look? Well, it's probably a no-brainer that the suspects disposed of the knife, distancing themselves as far away from it as possible -- but where? Did they toss it into the ocean like they did the remains of Jaren Lockhart? Did they give the knife away to someone they knew? Did they toss it in a dumpster somewhere in Mississippi? Perhaps they pawned it -- although that possibility is unlikely. Investigators certainly have their work cut out for them in this search.

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What was their motive? Did she accompany them back to their home/room/dump? Her bf had moved into another hotel room with other people. WHY? How long had she been dancing? Was her daughter living with her parents? So many questions!

wltv.com
Posted on June 20, 2012 at 2:51 PM
Updated today at 2:51 PM

Evidence in the murder of a Bourbon Street dancer was moved to FBI headquarters in Quantico, Va., according to a Hancock County official, while a suspect in the death of Jaren Lockhart is now being held on a $1 million bond.

Sheriff Don Bass confirmed that evidence from the murder was sent to federal investigators in Virginia. Two suspects Margaret Sanchez and Terry Speaks remain in custody.

Our Biloxi, Miss., affiliate says a judge raised the bond for Sanchez one day after officials charged her with harboring a sex offender, Speaks.

Speaks awaits extradition to North Carolina, where he will face charges for failing to register as a sex offender.

Neither of the suspects is charged in connection with killing of Lockhart, whose dismembered body washed ashore in Mississippi two weeks ago.

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by Chelsea Hoffman

Jaren Lockhart Case: Margaret Sanchez Faces New Charges, Higher Bond

June 20, 2012 03:20 PM EDT

One of the suspects in the Jaren Lockhart murder has been slapped with some new charges and her bond risen to $1 million. Margaret Sanchez is now charged with harboring and abetting an absconded sex offender -- which pretty much makes her among the lowest lifeforms including those who assault children, such as her boyfriend Terry Christopher Speaks.

Margaret Sanchez still hasn't been charged with the murder of Jaren Lockhart, nor has Terry Speaks. Perhaps this is because police are still seeking the murder weapon -- presumably a hunting knife used to stab and dismember the New Orleans dancer. Speaks is still awaiting extradition to North Carolina where he absconded from as a child sex predator, convicted of at least three counts. Certainly it seems that Margaret Sanchez is a winner who knows how to pick 'em, and now her life is probably forever ruined. She knows that. It's probably the reason why she is reportedly not saying anything, but instead begging to call her father. What's he going to be able to do about this mess she's put herself into? Not a damn thing.
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It's highly likely that these people are to blame for the disappearance and murder of a woman who was only working in the adult industry to better the life of her young daughter. It's also highly likely that they plotted at least part of the events that unfolded as they reportedly approached at least one other dancer the night Jaren vanished.

Here's to hoping there is justice for Jaren and those responsible never see the light of day again. From the looks of Ms. Sanchez, she won't be able to afford that steep bond amount -- unless some rich gentleman comes to her defense. Of course, she's no Casey Anthony so that's unlikely. Maybe she can set up a website like George Zimmerman did and see if she can raise up a bunch of donation money? Good luck with that!

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Chelsea, if you read this, for your change of heart on Jaren. And, thanks for the pic.

Your comment re: CA cracked me up. It wasn't like some good looking dude bailed her murdering ass out. It was a bounty hunter who only did it for his 15 min of fame.

wwltv.com
Posted on June 21, 2012 at 9:57 AM
Updated today at 12:15 PM

The funeral for Jaren Lockhart will take place tonight in Hammond, two weeks after her she first disappeared and was found washed ashore on a Mississippi beach.

Visitation for Jaren Lockhart, 23, will be from 5-7 p.m. with a service at 7 p.m. at the Brandon G. Thompson Funeral Home.

Lockhart’s family has requested that donations be made to Hancock Bank or Whitney Bank to the Jaren Lockhart Memorial Fund to help with funeral expenses.

On Wednesday, the Hancock Co. (Miss.) Sheriff’s Department said evidence in the murder investigation was moved to FBI headquarters in Quantico, Va.

Meanwhile, one of the suspects in her death, Margaret Sanchez, is being held on a $1 million bond. The other suspect, Terry Speaks, was set for extradition back to North Carolina where he is being charged with failing to register as a sex offender.

Lockhart’s torso first washed ashore in Bay St. Louis, Miss., on June 7. A day later, her head and legs were found from Pass Christian, Miss., to Long Beach, Miss.

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Was wondering when they would hold a funeral. I cannot believe there w/be a viewing under the circumstances of how her remains were found.

Hold on Lockhart suspect lifted by judge/Margaret Sanchez' bond set at $251,000

UPDATED 6:14 PM CDT Jun 21, 2012

HAMMOND, La. - The woman held on unrelated charges who is being investigated in the death and disappearance of Jaren Lockhart had her hold lifted by a Tangipahoa judge on Thursday.

Jaren Lockhart was reported missing on June 6. Her torso washed ashore on a beach in Bay St. Louis, Miss., and other parts of her severed body washed up days later. Authorities in Hancock County, Miss., are looking for her killer.

Some of the evidence in the investigation surrounding a Bourbon Street dancer’s disappearance and gruesome death has been taken to FBI headquarters, investigators told WDSU.

Margaret Sanchez and Terry Speaks were arrested last week on unrelated charges, but are being called suspects by investigators in the case.

Speaks and Sanchez were the last known people to have seen Lockhart alive after the three were spotted in surveillance video from the Temptations gentlemen's club where Lockhart worked.

In a hearing in Tangipahoa Parish, Sanchez' hold placed on her out of Mississippi was lifted, meaning she can now bond out of jail.

Her bond was reset on Thursday night from $1 million to $251,000. Officials said a judge thought Sanchez was going to be charged in Lockhart's death, but reduced it when the charge was found to be harboring a sex offender.

Speaks is awaiting extradition to North Carolina on a charge of failing to register as a sex offender.

Lockhart went missing on June 6. Her body parts washed ashore days later on a beach in Mississippi.

Family and friends attended Lockhart's funeral on Thursday in Hammond, La.

No one has been charged in her death.

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