Jerry Dwight Laymon was found dead Nov 24, 1971 near New Orleans, Louisiana. He had two gunshot wounds to his head. His car was missing as well as the cash from his wallet.
Laymon was a geophysicist who worked for Mobile Oil. He had been transferred by the company from Los Angeles in April 1971. He was last seen on the Tulane University campus where he had been attending classes.
According to the family, we cannot rule out robbery as they point to his missing car, a mustang. Laymon had been missing since Nov 16, 1971. The papers do not indicate whether there was an autopsy or the state of the remains.
We do not know much about the period between Nov 16 – 24, the day that he was found. He might have been dead all the time or, kept somewhere and then we have multiple crime scenes.
According to the papers, when he was found by hunters, about 30 miles north of New Orleans, he had grass in his right hand. This could be an indication that he might have been alive when he was dropped where he was found. It would be interesting to know if the grass in his hand matched the grass of the location where he was found.
Note that another newspaper stated that he had been struck in his head. The newspaper from the next day states however, that he was shot twice in the head.
I have not been able to find anything else online so all the more reason to make this the Case of the Month for April 2022.
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In the series “Case of the Month” I highlight old cold cases. These posts are not an in-depth analysis and of course, more information can be found online and in newspaper archives.
We need to get these cases back in the mainstream media, to get people talking again, and if anything, to make sure that we do not forget the victims. Just because their cases are unsolved does not mean that we can forget about them.
With the advances we made in modern forensic sciences, we may have a chance to find clues that previous remained hidden because we didn’t have the technology. Now that we do, let’s review all these old cases once more.
I encourage you to share this post on your own social media platforms. By sharing these posts, the cases reach new networks, new connections, and new online news feeds. Maybe one day these updates will pop up in the right person’s news feed. This may be someone who can actually help advance the case and that is my goal.
Rest in peace, Jerry Dwight Laymon.