John Francis Wille

The offence

Nichole Lapatta, an 8-year-old girl from Laplace, Louisiana, was reported missing from her home in early June 1985. Searchers later found her body on June 6. Her body was described as battered, raped, and strangled, and was discarded in nearby woods that had become a makeshift rubbish dump.

Billy Phillips, 25, from Tickfaw, was found floating in the stagnant water of a local canal. Phillips had been stabbed at least 84 times. His hands were severed and his genitals were described as mutilated.

Frank Powe was killed in Florida after being beaten unconscious and then run over. He had been deliberately struck and killed by a hit-and-run driver after thumbing rides near Bagdad, Florida, on July 15. The events were described as occurring after a state trooper cautioned Frank Powe against illegal hitchhiking.

In Milton, Florida, sheriff's deputies were called to mediate a landlord-tenant dispute involving John Wille and his girlfriend. The landlord wanted them out because they had missed several rent payments. After being persuaded by the sight of uniforms, Wille departed, but later crept back and set fire to the landlord's mobile home. The fire killed several pet dogs. Wille was charged with first-degree arson.

John Wille was later described as being linked to murders across multiple locations, including Louisiana and Florida. He was also suspected in the murder of a Houston motorist and in the case of Michael Foulk, a Pensacola cab driver who was abducted and dumped in a ditch near Fairhope, Alabama.

Investigation

A phone call to LaPlace, Louisiana, confirmed the 1980 arson death of 78-year-old Ida Bodreaux. Police realized they had a serial killer on their hands after linking Wille’s travels between Louisiana and Florida with the murders of Nichole Lapatta and Billy Phillips, near LaPlace.

Charting Wille’s travels between Louisiana and Florida, officers connected him with the murders of Nichole Lapatta and Billy Phillips near LaPlace.

Arrest

Wille was arrested and confined to a cell. While in custody, he faced further indictments connected to the Foulk murder and at least two Louisiana cases.

Breaking down in custody, Wille confessed to five of the murders and then recanted everything.

Trial

John Wille was indicted for Frank Powe’s murder in September 1985. He pled guilty to escape the electric chair.

A Louisiana man identified as John Francis Wille, 21, of LaPlace, La., pleaded guilty Friday to the murder of Frank Powe. It was described that officials said Wille had agreed to the plea on the condition that the prosecution not ask for the death penalty. The statement attributed to Santa Rosa County detective Larry Bryant was included as part of the case material:

“Wille agreed to the plea on the condition the prosecution not ask for the death penalty,” said Santa Rosa County detective Larry Bryant.

Sentencing

John Wille was sentenced in Florida to life imprisonment with no parole for the first 25 years after pleading guilty in September 1985, with the sentence described as handed down on December 13, 1985.

The status material also states that Wille was later sentenced to death in Louisiana in 1987.

Appeals

No appeal information was provided in the case material.

Outcome

John Wille received a life imprisonment sentence in Florida in 1985, and he was later condemned to death in Louisiana in 1987.

Aftermath

Agents of the FBI declared that Wille might be linked with twice that many slayings after he confessed to five murders and recanted.

Wille faced further indictments while confined to a cell, including indictments in the Foulk murder and at least two Louisiana cases.

Timeline

• Early June 1985 — Nichole Lapatta, 8, was reported missing from her home in Laplace, Louisiana.
• June 6, 1985 — Nichole Lapatta’s body was found in nearby woods described as a makeshift rubbish dump; the body was described as battered, raped, and strangled.
• 1980 — Ida Bodreaux, 78, died in an arson death confirmed by a phone call to LaPlace, Louisiana.
• July 15, 1985 — Frank Powe was killed in Florida after being deliberately struck and killed by a hit-and-run driver following illegal hitchhiking.
• September 1985 — John Wille was indicted for Frank Powe’s murder.
• December 13, 1985 — John Wille was sentenced to life in prison in Florida.
• 1987 — John Wille was sentenced to death in Louisiana.

Other details

John Wille was described as 21 years old at the time of the plea described as “Friday” in the case material. The case material also described the time of the Florida killing as “last summer.”

The case material included additional descriptors and case attributes, including: “MOTIVE: PC/Sex./Sad. MO: Drifter linked to murders of four men (including one sexually mutilated) and two females (an elderly woman burned in her home; an eight-year-old girl raped/strangled) DISPOSITION: Life term with 25-year minimum in Fla., 1985; later condemned in La.”

The case material also included the name “Michael Newton - An Encyclopedia of Modern Serial Killers - Hunting Humans” alongside the entries “Louisiana Man Sentenced To Life SunSentinel.com December 15, 1985” and “Louisiana Man Sentenced To Life,” but no additional facts beyond those already captured were provided there.