Louisiana Board of Pardons denies appeal of Cheneyville killer slasher after review

The Louisiana Board of Pardons on Wednesday denied the appeal of a Cheneyville man who killed two people and slit the throats of a mom and her two sons back in 1993.

Larry Roy was found guilty in the first-degree murders of Freddie Richard Jr., 33, and his 75-year-old aunt, Rosetta H. Silas, in July 1994. He was formally sentenced to death in August 1994.

Roy had dated and lived with one of the victims, Sally Richard, who was Richard Jr.'s ex-wife. But the couple broke up, and the Richards got back together. The family was sleeping in their Cheneyville home early on May 3, 1993, when Roy broke in and attacked Freddie.

He then used electrical cords to tie Sally Richard and Richards' two sons, ages 8 and 10, and slit their throats. As they bled, they could hear Silas' screams as Roy killed her.

Roy was among more than 50 Louisiana death-row inmates who filed for clemency as Gov. John Bel Edwards prepares to leave office. Rapides Parish District Attorney Phillip Terrell filed an injunction to stop Roy's clemency hearing, and the board conducted an administrative review — a process to decide if he would get a hearing — on Wednesday.

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Terrell and the prosecutor at Roy's trial, Cliff Strider, were present at the review, along with victims Sally Richard, Frederick Richard, Charles Silas and Breyia Compton. Terrell said Strider told board members how horrific the crime was and recounted the trial.

The board voted 3-1 not to proceed with Roy's request.

Cecelia Kappel, the Louisiana Capital Appeals Project executive director, called the reviews "an unjust, unprecedented proceeding," and said Edwards still could order the board to hold hearings for all the inmates before he leaves office.

"Today we heard the undeniable pain of victims' families, but, because of Attorney General Jeff Landry's improper interference, the applicants were not allowed to be present, address the board and public, and, perhaps most importantly, express their remorse and condolences to the families," she stated in a news release Wednesday afternoon. "These one-sided proceedings serve no one and do no justice, although the lives of 55 individuals on death row hang in the balance."

This article originally appeared on Alexandria Town Talk: After review, board denies appeal of Larry Roy in Cheneyville slayings