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Oxygen will cover the story of Robert LeCompte's murder in its upcoming Murdered by Morning episode on Saturday, June 11, 2022.
Upon returning home on 25 December 2009, Jorell Young confessed to his then-girlfriend Darkus Baker that he had committed a sin in the early hours of the same morning at the Drama Club. Baker said in her testimony that Young had admitted to murdering his former roommate at a nightclub in Houma.
Robert LeCompte, a 39-year-old gay bartender, was stabbed 13 times before he succumbed to his injuries in the Drama Club. Young was convicted and charged with the murder. He was ultimately sentenced to life in prison.
New Orleans resident Darkus Baker informed the authorities that Young had left in her car on Christmas Eve. He reportedly said that he was going shopping. However, he returned home the following day and admitted to murdering Robert LeCompte by stabbing him continuously with a screwdriver.
Exploring the killer's whereabouts and other details related to Robert LeCompte's brutal murder
Robert LeCompte's body was discovered at The Drama Club, which is located on the North Hollywood Road and is known for mostly serving LGBTQ+ guests. The victim worked there as a manager and bartender.
After seeing LeCompte's blood-soaked body in the middle of Drama Club's splotchy dancefloor, the police realised the case was going to be challenging. Despite stab wounds indicating a hate crime, it was later revealed that the murder was the consequence of an attempted robbery.
Jason Dagate, Terrebonne Parish Assistant District Attorney, stated:
"It was challenging because it was going to be a whodunit."
The investigation ultimately led the authorities to arrest Jorell Young, and he was convicted of the murder of Robert LeCompte. The accused was sentenced to a mandatory life term with no chance of release for his crime. He remains behind bars even now.
Even though Young was the initial suspect in the murder investigation, progress was slow because of lack of evidence. it was only after Darkus Baker, Young's ex-girlfriend, provided material proof and revealed Young's confession about murdering Robert LeCompte that the case was pushed forward. The accused's mother Nellie Young and his sister Cateria Young were detained in the courthouse on $100,000 bonds and charged with insinuating, obstructing, or threatening a witness (Baker).
According to reports from the trial, Nellie told Baker:
"I will cut you up in little pieces and make [your baby] eat you."
The trial revealed that Young stabbed LeCompte 13 times with a screwdriver with the motive of robbing him. The club's owner claimed that over $3,000 in cash was stolen from the venue. Young was sentenced for the first-degree murder of Robert LeCompte, but he was spared the death sentence after discussions with the victim's family.
Assistant District Attorney Mark Rhodes commented:
"In a capital case it can take 15 years to bring somebody to justice. Those are always very difficult decisions."
Randall Chesnut, the victim's long-time friend, housemate, and owner of the Drama Club, said regretfully:
"This club has always been part of the gay community since it opened, and we have always stood up for the rights of gay people here. I do feel we have been kind of abandoned, for whatever reason I can’t understand. But my intention is to stick by the community for better or worse, and not close down so that people are left with the backstreet dumps they went to for years."
He added:
"Closure and justice being done is one thing. How you feel is different. I know it goes for his family as well. Justice is served but the feeling of loss is something different for anyone who cared for this man. I know that loss will be with me for the rest of my life."
Murdered by Morning's upcoming episode will premiere on Saturday, June 11, exclusively on Oxygen.
