The Murder of Paul Jandreau

Written By Kiley Baumgartner

For this case, I watched an episode of Killer Bods. It’s season 1 episode 1, titled ‘Blood, Sweat and Tears.’

A retired Navy chief is reported missing by his co-workers.

Paul Jandreau had lived in Moyock, North Carolina for many years, and built a beautiful home in an area called Brumsey Landing. He had two daughters, and had been married several times.

Before retiring from the Navy, Paul earned the ranking of Grand Master Chief. At the time of his disappearance, Paul was working at BAE systems, a company that works on and services Navy ships.

Paul also loved his vehicles and keeping them in pristine condition. He was known as a stand up guy, and had many close friends and family members.

Paul Jandreau

A New Relationship

In the summer of 2002, Paul met a woman named Lateisha at the gym. Lateisha was 29, a competitive bodybuilder, and worked in Human Resources at a children’s hospital in Norfolk, Virginia. Lateisha was described as very shy, but Paul really wanted to get to know her. He proposed that they become work out partners, and the relationship seemed to blossom.

Paul had been married when he first met Lateisha, but he was just waiting for his divorce to be finalized. Paul and Lateisha were an unlikely pair, and the complete opposites of each other. Paul was outgoing, and Lateisha was quiet and shy.

After a few months of dating, Paul asked Lateisha to move in with him. In May 2003, Paul’s divorce was finalized, and a month later, he married Lateisha. They were described as happy and affectionate with one another.

In 2009, Lateisha started working for Blackwater Airlines, and continued to train for her bodybuilding competitions. She had won or placed in the top for several competitions. Paul would travel to the competitions with her, and brag about her accomplishments to his friends.

Lateisha at a bodybuilding competition

The Disappearance

It seemed like things were going really well for the Jandreau’s, but looks can be deceiving.

On June 30, 2010, Paul didn’t show up for work. He usually came into work around 5:30am, and had been working on an important presentation. Around 7:45am, Paul’s co-workers reported him missing.

A deputy from the Currituck County Sheriff’s Office drove out to the Jandreau home to perform a welfare check. There were multiple cars spotted in the driveway, but no one answered the door.

Paul’s co-workers contacted Lateisha to see if she knew where he was. Lateisha said she didn’t, and left work to meet with the deputy.

Lateisha also allowed the deputy into the house. She explained that she and Paul slept in separate bedrooms due to the noise of Paul’s C-PAP machine. But, when she entered Paul’s bedroom, the machine was gone.

Lateisha explained that they had an open relationship, and were both seeing other people. Lateisha said Paul could have just left on his own to stay with one of these other women.

Mistaken Identity

Paul’s co-workers were out looking for him and handed out missing persons flyers. It was clear that everyone respected and loved Paul.

On July 1, the police were notified that Paul’s phone had pinged off a tower in Elizabeth City, about 30 minutes from his house. Elizabeth City is a harbor town with several hotels, motels and restaurants.

The police canvassed nearby hotels, and learned that Paul may have been spotted at a Hampton Inn. The manager of the hotel was shown Paul’s photo, and said she saw him the night before and that morning. She said that Paul was acting odd. However, this turned out to be a dead end. Paul hadn’t registered at the hotel and he wasn’t seen on any surveillance cameras.

Later that same day, a construction worker found Paul’s phone in the parking lot of an elementary school in Elizabeth City. The construction worker had called Paul’s brother, who said that his brother was missing. The construction worker turned Paul’s phone into the Elizabeth City PD.

The police continued to canvass the area near the elementary school. A utility worker also claimed to have spotted Paul walking down the street. However, the police were sure that it was a case of mistaken identity, which they would later be right about.

Very Odd Behavior

On July 1, the police received a 911 call from one of Paul and Lateisha’s neighbors. They had spotted Lateisha and an unknown man moving furniture from the house. The man was later identified as Lateisha’s brother.

When the police arrived, they told Lateisha to move the furniture back into the house. She complied, and said she was getting some new furniture and taking the old stuff to put in storage.

Lateisha and Paul’s neighbors had also noticed that Lateisha was putting things on the windows to keep people from looking in. Lateisha had used wrapping paper and frosting spray to cover up the windows.

The neighbors and co-workers told the police that things in the Jandreau’s marriage had taken a dark turn. After trying to have a baby, Lateisha had gotten pregnant with twins after going through several rounds of IVF. Lateisha ended up losing the babies about 21 weeks into the pregnancy.

Lateisha had also said they were separating, and both seeing other people. Paul’s co-workers said Paul had filed for divorce and wanted Lateisha out of the house.

Two weeks before he disappeared, Paul had filed a report that someone had keyed his car. Paul kept his beloved Dodge Charger in pristine condition. The police learned that it had most likely been Lateisha because the car had been kept in the garage. Lateisha had mentioned this to the police, but never admitted to doing it.

The Call is Coming From Inside the House

On July 2, Lateisha agreed to turn over Paul’s personal computer. But, when the police went to the Jandreau’s house, she wasn’t there. The note on the door said, “Went to Riversedge. Call me on my cell. Thx.” However, Lateisha didn’t answer her phone.

Lateisha ended up calling 911 to report that people were outside her house when she wasn’t home. She told the dispatcher that she was in Chesapeake, Virginia. The dispatcher was able to trace the phone call from the Brumsey Landing home. Lateisha was inside the house, and her behavior had become very odd.

The Brumsey Landing home

Just after midnight on July 3, the police returned to the house with a search warrant. Lateisha didn’t answer the door. The police found the garage door unlocked, but it was barricaded with heavy garbage. They were eventually able to make entry, and found Lateisha hiding in a closet, covered by clothes.

Lateisha was read her rights, and claimed she had been hiding because she was afraid that people thought she did something to Paul. She kept her head in her hands, and wouldn’t make eye contact.

The Tote

While Lateisha was being questioned, other detectives were searching the house. In the master bedroom, where Paul slept, the police found blood splatter, a bullet hole in the wall, and a bullet skid mark under a rug that had been glued to the floor.

In the garage, the police discovered a blue tote. A shower curtain was taped over the top of the tote. After removing the shower curtain, the police were hit with the smell of decomposition. Paul’s body was recovered under several layers of plastic, tape and kitty litter.

Lateisha was confronted about what they had found. Lateisha asked if Paul was found in Elizabeth City, and the police said he was found closer than that.

Lateisha then spun a story about how she had hired several men in Elizabeth City to beat Paul up. She said she met random men on the street in Elizabeth City, and said that Paul was mistreating her. The police knew she was full of shit, and arrested her.

A New Story

After spending about a day in jail, Lateisha said she wanted to talk. She now said she killed Paul in self defense.

Lateisha said Paul attacked her on the morning of July 30, 2010. She said he came into her room with a gun, and said he wanted her out of the house by the time he came home from work. Lateisha said she grabbed her gun, a .45mm, walked to Paul’s bedroom, and “just kept shooting.” She said they struggled after he was shot several times.

The police recovered Lateisha’s gun from her car at the house. The gun was registered to one of Lateisha’s boyfriends, a retired Air Force general. She had stolen the gun from him. It turns out that Lateisha had used a lot of older and wealthier men to get what she wanted.

Lateisha had been sued by another boyfriend. The police found a copy of the lawsuit at the house. The man claimed he had been taken advantage of by Lateisha. Lateisha had asked for money, and claimed that she was pregnant with his twins. The man spoke to Paul about it, and Paul filed for divorce.

A receipt was also found in the house for the purchase of the tote. Lateisha was seen on surveillance footage at Lowe’s buying the tote.

The Conviction

In September 2012, Lateisha testified at her trial. She maintained her story that she had shot Paul in self defense. However, the evidence didn’t match with her story.

Paul had died from multiple gun shot wounds and severe blunt force trauma. There was a bullet hole found in the master bedroom door. It’s believed that Paul had the door closed, and that he had been ambushed by Lateisha. Lateisha shot him several times and hit him in the head with the gun.

The jury deliberated for an hour and 40 minutes. On September 28, 2012, Lateisha was found guilty of first degree murder and larceny of a firearm. She was sentenced to life without parole.

Lateisha’s appeal was denied in 2014.

It’s believed that she killed Paul because she didn’t want to give up the lifestyle he had given her. She was a master manipulator, and used Paul, and several other men.

Lateisha Jandreau

Kiley Baumgartner
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