The Beauregard Parish Sheriff's Office Featured in 'Murder at the Motel' on A&E

The Beauregard Parish Sheriff's Office was featured on the A&E show “Murder at the Motel.” The episode tells the story of the murder (ou-ta-go) of twenty-eight-year-old Sonya Ortego at the Dees Motel by Jackie Pruitt on March 24, 2016. Deputy Chief Jared Morton describes the scene.

“One of our patrol officers entered the room and located victim Sonya Ortego, unclothed, lying on the floor of her own motel room. Blood all over the room, on the walls.

Pruitt was passing through town for a court date the next day and rented a room for the night. Morton says the motive for the killing remains unknown.

We never know exactly what happened, but I can tell you he spent a night there. They didn't know each other at all. »

Officers found Pruitt at the courthouse where they questioned him and obtained a search warrant for his car and found the victim's cell phone covered in blood. Morton noticed blood on his vehicle and scratches on his body. He was arrested and the DNA obtained matched that of the victim.

“It was common here to always sit in your room with the door open. She likes to only observe activity and passing vehicles. It would be large with the other occupants of the hotel.

Pruitt was convicted of first-degree murder in 2017.

You can watch “Murder at the Motel” on A&E or stream online now.