On the evening of April 8, 1973, Deputy Marshal Jessie I. Neal, Sr., age 46, was killed in the line of duty in Farmerville, Louisiana. He and Deputy Marshal Ned Wiley were responding to a reported domestic disturbance at the D’Arbonne Village public housing complex when a man at the residence ambushed them, shooting both deputies in the chest at close range with a shotgun.

After the initial shooting, the assailant beat Neal with a pistol while Neal was still inside his patrol car; a third officer arrived and fired at the suspect, who fled and was arrested about three hours later hiding in a mobile home on Circle Drive. The suspect, then about 45, was convicted on two counts of murder and given two life sentences; later developments in his case are noted but came years after the killing. Neal was a military veteran and was survived by his wife, a son, and a daughter.

Is there anyone with memories of Farmerville in 1973 who can add details about the response that night or the people involved?