Solved cold cases in Louisiana
1 documented case.
Amber Lynn Jenkins Garcia
Amber Lynn Jenkins Garcia, a 20-year-old woman described by police as a daughter and a mother, was found dead on October 8, 1998, in a wooded area behind Youngs Park on Youngs Road in Morgan City, Louisiana. Her killing went cold despite an initial investigation. At the beginning of 2024, Morgan City Police Department detectives resubmitted evidence collected from the scene to the Acadiana Criminalistics Lab, where advances in DNA analysis linked the evidence to John Willis Pittman Jr. Pittman was already incarcerated at Elayn Hunt Correctional Center, serving a 40-year sentence after pleading guilty to manslaughter in the December 25, 1998 death of a second Morgan City woman, Jennifer Vedol. On October 30, 2024, investigators obtained an arrest warrant and Pittman was booked on November 6, 2024 on a charge of second-degree murder in Garcia's death, more than 26 years after the homicide. The case remains pending in the 16th Judicial District Court.