KENNER, La. — Both suspects in the 2012 stabbing death and dismemberment of a Bourbon Street strip club dancer are now in Louisiana.
Terry Speaks, 41, arrived at the New Orleans airport Wednesday morning. He said nothing as he was ushered to a police car surrounded by police and media. He had been extradited from New York after completing a federal sentence following his 2012 guilty plea for failing to register as a sex offender in North Carolina — a charge unrelated to Jaren Lockhart’s death.
Earlier, Margaret Sanchez, 30, who was arrested in a New Orleans suburb in May, sat in a Jefferson Parish courtroom for a brief hearing in the case.
Both were indicted in August on charges of second-degree murder, obstruction of justice and conspiracy to obstruct justice. At Wednesday’s hearing in Gretna, state District Judge Steve Grefer set a tentative Jan. 12 trial date. However, Assistant Jefferson Parish District Attorney Doug Freese said the two will be tried separately. He did not say who will be tried first.
Authorities in Hancock County, Mississippi, working with authorities from that state and in Louisiana, began investigating after Lockhart’s torso floated ashore in Bay St. Louis. Other parts of her body drifted onto beaches within 10 miles east in the next few days.
A stab wound to the heart killed her, according to the arrest report.
Police have said surveillance camera footage showed both Speaks and Sanchez leaving with Lockhart on June 6, 2012, from Temptations, the strip club where Lockhart worked. In April, Hancock authorities announced that Kenner police would take the lead in the investigation.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 43 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.