BOSSIER CITY, La. — The two men found dead Monday morning in a burning apartment in Bossier City suffered numerous stab wounds to various parts of their body, Bossier City police said Thursday in a news release.
It’s the first acknowledgment from police about the manner of death, which KTBS reported on Monday.
In addition to the stab wounds, the victims, Craig Stewart, 35, and Christopher Dillard, 26, had large lacerations on their bodies, police said.
One was found in the bedroom, and the other in the living room.
The deaths bring to three the total number of homicides this year in Bossier City.
Demarquez Quintavious Walpool, 24, of Shreveport is being held in the Bossier Maximum-Security Facility in Plain Dealing on a $1.5 million bond. He’s charged with two counts of first-degree murder.
Bossier City firefighters found the two men’s bodies early Monday morning when responding to a report of smoke coming from an upstairs apartment in the 1600 block of Joey Lane.
After the fire was extinguished, the area was secured and the police department was notified. According to Bossier City Fire Chief Brad Zagone, firefighters are specially trained on how to respond to a fire while preserving the integrity of a crime scene.
Walpool was arrested within 12 hours of the fire call.
“I am so proud of our entire team including our detectives who were able to identify a suspect and make an arrest in these murders,” Bossier City Chief of Police Chris Estes said in the release. “We want to thank our partners in the Bossier City Fire Department, as well as our entire BCPD team including the Violent Crimes Unit, our patrol officers, our Special Operations Services, our Property Crimes Division, and the U.S. Marshal’s Fugitive Task Force with helping us get this dangerous man off the streets of Bossier City. I would also like to thank the public and the citizens of Bossier City for their help in responding to and investigating this crime.”
Walpool’s has prior arrests in 2015 for simple burglary. He was one of four men charged with nine counts of simple burglary and possession of marijuana. Separate victims are named in formal charges for the burglaries that were spread over a couple of days in August 2015.
Walpool pleaded guilty in February 2016 to one count of simple burglary. He was sentenced to six years; however, the sentence was suspended and he was placed on active probation for five years. But then in May 2018, Walpool’s probation was revoked and he was ordered to serve his original six-year sentence with credit for time already served behind bars.
