Can You Help Solve This 22-Year Old Shreveport Murder Mystery?
The woman you see above is Hazel Leota Head. She has been on the run for the past 22 years, accused of a heinous murder in Benton, Louisiana.
The year was 1998, and widower Charles Barker (a retired truck driver) had found a new love. Her name was Deianna Ray, and she seemed to bring a light to Charles' life he had not known since his wife of 11 years died. As Charles and his adult children would soon learn, Deianna was more in love with the large insurance settlement Mr. Barker had received after his wife passed away.
As time went by, Charles and his children would often talk about the issues he has having with Deianna. It seemed like the relationship was doomed, then the phone calls stopped. After a week without contact from their father (which was unusual), Charles' daughter asked a family friend to check in him. That's when he was found slumped over the over the bar in the kitchen with a gunshot wound to the back of his head. Investigators would determine that he had been dead for 5 days.
Detectives found the murder weapon (the victim's own .25 caliber handgun) on a table in the master bedroom. They determined that the gun had been wiped clean of fingerprints. They also found Mr. Barker's personal safe had been cleaned out to the tune of $45,000 and his Lincoln Town Car was missing.
Law enforcement immediately set out to search for Deianna Ray, who they identified as the chief suspect in their murder investigation. They found the Lincoln at the Shreveport Regional Airport with a number of clues linking her to the crime including her clothes and DNA evidence that would reveal that Deianna was actually Hazel Leota Head.
According to the FBI, Hazel has used 15 or more aliases during her life - and has married at least 10 times! Investigators say she is a grifter who finds a man (or mark in this case) to shack up with. She eventually drains their bank accounts and moves on, but in this and one other known case - she can be a very dangerous woman. In 1991 she was arrested for burning down her ex-boyfriend's mobile home!
Today, Hazel Head would be around 71 years old. According to the official report from the FBI, she has blonde hair, green eyes, stands 5'2" and weighs 120-150 pounds. She also has a scar near her right eye and a gap between her front teeth. She is wanted by the FBI for murder, arson, failure to appear, and flight to avoid prosecution.
There is a reward of up to $5,000 for information that leads to her arrest. If you have any information, you can submit it at tips.fbi.gov or by calling 1-800-CALL-FBI.