Megan Parra's suspicious death investigated | Forensic Files

a new 48 Hours investigation tells the story of one Louisiana family's nearly decade long search for justice in 2014 a
young mother called Megan perah was found inside her own home shot to death her death was ruled a suicide initially
and the case was closed but peris's family felt that investigation had been rushed so they took matters into their
own hands and reviewed evidence from the case themselves lead National correspondent David begno on assignment
for 48 hours has a preview on June 28th 2014 in the small town of Cottonport Louisiana Missy and Steve
deot fac the unthinkable when they discovered their daughter Megan Pera in her own home with a gunshot wound to the
head I wouldn't know how to tell you I've never felt like that before or since Missy a nurse practitioner tried
to revive her daughter she was breathing just barely though Megan's husband Dustin showed up minutes later slipped
in his wife wife's blood and also tried to save Megan but it was too late she was taken off of life support the next
day her death was ruled a suicide but Steve deot was convinced there was Foul Play I knew something was wrong with
this case from the start I knew she hadn't kill he eventually got his hands on more than 100 images taken at the
shooting scene some of the photos revealed signs of a struggle says D Cody like this wine rack found behind a chair
Megan's sister Betsy jeon says the blood spatter patterns just didn't look right
to them we were on the computer researching and learning about ballistics about blood spatter Steve D
cot says they kept finding more and more evidence they believe proved Megan was murdered but no one would listen the
state shut you down oh yeah Sheriff shut you down right until a crime scene analyst discovered what he believed to
be irrefutable physical evidence on the shorts Dustin was wearing that day evidence that the of oils Parish
district attorney Charlie riddle presented to a grand jury on October 13th 2021 6 minutes after you present it
to the Grand Jury they come back with a charge of second degree murder but it was not an open and shut
case says riddle people thought we were just a grieving family and he just led us for 9
years still leading [Music] us wow wow wow David begau joins us now David good to see you tough story here
why was Megan's death initially anyway declared a suicide well Tony Megan was discovered in her own home she was alone
and the doors were locked so it looked like a suicide at first and the night before she was found shot Megan was in a
car accident she was driving by herself she had gone off the road not far from home and hit a tree Megan said she had
just lost f Focus though it's not clear if she had ever tried to hit the brakes so when Megan was found shot the
original detective on the case thought okay it's a suicide but he did very very little to investigate David cases like
these um usually come up on obstacles what were some of the obstacles in this one well Nate you had state and local
experts who had investigated and actually disagreed with what the family's expert found on Dustin shorts
in fact they were planning on testifying for the fence now you're going to have to watch to find out what the resolution
of the case was the way it ends the way the hour ends is quite stunning did they
find help from anyone any surprises pop up yeah after pushing authorities for years without success Steve called an
old high school friend who happened to be a retired FBI agent he and a second retired FBI agent actually agreed to
help so they convinced the Cottonport Police Chief this is a tiny town in Central Louisiana they convinced him to
deputize them so that they could then investigate in an official capacity they started interviewing Witnesses which was
recorded on body cam by the way you're going to see that in our report and they in they actually interviewed Dustin
Megan's husband wait until you see that interview hey David it's clear that this
family uh just was relentless in their Pursuit and advocating to find out what happened to their daughter how did the
family get those photos that that seem to prove really important well Jer Steve D Cody contacted the
officer who actually took the photos Dave Blanchard and found out that Blanchard had never erased them from his
camera in fact they were in a trunk he was just hiding them there not hiding them but keeping them there and
Blanchard told us he saved them because he felt that something was kind of off a
little suspicious in the case Steve deot asked for the photos but Blanchard said
Hey listen I'm not authorized to give them to you you got to go get him from the district attorney so he asked the da
he demanded the da give them to him and the da gave him the photo and that was a
game changer wow all right David begno David thank you very much you can see David's
full report the suspicious death of Megan perah on 48 hours tomorrow night at 109 Central right here on CBS and on
Paramount Plus

A new "48 Hours" investigation tells the story of one Louisiana family's nearly decade-long search for justice. In 2014, Megan Parra was found shot in her home. Her death was ruled a suicide, but Parra's family had doubts. They eventually took matters into their own hands and started to review evidence from the case for themselves. CBS News' lead national correspondent David Begnaud, on assignment for "48 Hours," shares a preview.

Each weekday morning, "CBS Mornings” co-hosts Gayle King, Tony Dokoupil and Nate Burleson bring you the latest breaking news, smart conversation and in-depth feature reporting. "CBS Mornings" airs weekdays at 7 a.m. on CBS and stream it at 8 a.m. ET on the CBS News app.

For video licensing inquiries, contact: licensing@veritone.com

Brief Summary

A family's nine-year fight for justice reveals evidence suggesting Megan Pera was murdered, not a suicide as initially ruled.

Key points

A Family's Relentless Pursuit. The Deot family embarks on a nearly decade-long quest for justice after Megan's death.
Shocking Evidence Uncovered. A crime scene analyst discovers irrefutable evidence on Dustin's shorts, leading to charges.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

I wouldn't know how to tell you, I've never felt like that before or since.

Missy Deot reflects on the moment she found her daughter.

0:47WatchJan 5, 2024

More from 48 Hours

Solve the Crime

Read a real case one clue at a time, then see how your call held up against the investigators.