Jeff Doucet

Jeffrey Doucet, who was Jeffrey Doucet?

Jeffrey Doucet was born on February 3, 1959 in Port Arthur, Texas. He was a karate coach during his youth, who taught karate to children and teenagers.

Although not much is known about Jeff Doucet’s past, it was learned that he was sexually abused as a child. Over the years he began to commit child abuse as well, and even he did not know the number of children who would have been his victims. He was once charged, but his records were expunged.

For unknown reasons, Doucet moved from Texas to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and began working as a karate instructor for children. He lived in the same place where he taught classes and although he was not known to have any friends or family, he became very close to his students.

Doucet created a very strong bond with all the children who attended the class, to the point of taking them on trips to the movies and out to lunch. Jody Plauché was one of his students, as were his older brothers, who also attended his classes before him.

The entire Baton Rouge Louisiana community had complete confidence in him, as he had lived in the area for years and had a good reputation among the parents. In fact, all the Plauché siblings had attended his classes and it was very common for the family to invite him to their home for dinner.

From March 1983, Jeffrey became closer to Jody Plauche, who was only 11 years old at the time. During his walks, he would inappropriately fondle Jody and sexually abuse him.

Almost a year later, on February 19, 1984,  25-Year-Old Jeffrey Doucet went to the Plauché home to invite Jody for a walk as he often did. This time, however, it was to kidnap the child.

After he was reported missing and the family received a call from Jody, they were tracked down, proceeded to arrest Jeffrey Daucet and the child was returned to his family.

However, on March 16, 1985, Gary Plauché, Jody’s father, waited at the Baton Rouge Metropolitan Airport for Jeffrey Doucet to return from his transfer from California to Louisiana under police escort after being detained.

Gary, who was wearing a baseball cap and went unnoticed, shot Jeffrey in the head.

The murder was recorded by the entire news crew reporting on the pedophile’s transfer to Louisiana.

The friendly face of an abuser

Jeffrey Doucet had earned the trust of the community where the Plauché family lived in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Since becoming a karate teacher and thanks to the children’s enthusiasm, Doucet had endeared himself to the parents and his own students.

Doucet had been the karate teacher of the Plauché brothers, Jody was the youngest of them all, and although he was fond of sports such as baseball and basketball, he decided to abandon his practices to concentrate solely on his karate lessons with Doucet.

Jeff Doucet, was 25 years old, had a prominent beard during that time and enjoyed spending time with the kids. He used to go to the Plauché’s house for dinner from time to time and Jody even told his school newspaper a year earlier that Doucet was his best friend.

The Plauche family’s nightmare began, however, when Jeffrey decided to pick Jody up at their house for a ride, as they had often done. Jody’s mother had no objection, since it was not the first time and Doucet had always had an impeccable attitude.

Gary Plauche, who no longer lived in the house because he had separated from his wife some time ago, also trusted the karate instructor. After all, he had been the teacher of all his children and they had never had any problems.

What was supposed to be a 15-minute walk ended up being something more far-fetched. Jeffrey Doucet drove by Jody on February 19, 1984, however, he took him to the bus station bound for the west coast.

Jeffrey thus kidnapped Jody and took him to California, via New Mexico and Arizona. Upon arriving in Anaheim, Jeffrey rented a hotel room and while with Jody sexually abused him on several occasions.

After several days of being kidnapped, Jody managed to make a call to his mother and the police were able to trace the call. On February 29, 1984, the police arrived at the hotel and Jeffrey Doucet was arrested. Jody Plauche returned to his family on March 1.

Although Gary Plauche, Jody’s father, had finally recovered his son after days of agony and uncertainty, anger consumed him.

On March 16, 1984, Jeffrey Daucet was flown from Anaheim to Baton Rouge, Gary, while incognito, waited for Jeffrey to arrive at the airport and shot him in the head.

Gary was immediately arrested by the police escorting Jeffrey Doucet. The moment of the murder was caught on camera as reporters covered the news of Doucet’s arrest.

Justice by their own hands

Gary Plauche and the entire family spent terrible days waiting for news about Jody. Since Jeffrey Doucet had taken him for a walk on February 19, there had been no clue as to his whereabouts.

One day Jody’s mother received a call, it was her son. Jody seemed fine and confirmed to her that he was with Jeffrey at a motel. The family immediately reported the call to the police, who were able to trace the call and drove to Anaheim.

On February 29, 1984, they found the motel, arrested Jeffrey Doucet, and Jody Plauche returned to his family. After questioning Jody, he told them that Doucet had long abused him during his karate classes and that he had sexually abused him as well during the time he was kidnapped.

What had happened devastated Gary, who was filled with anger and rage at what this man had done to his son for so long. The rage that overcame Gary led him to make a decision that would change his life forever.

A few days before Doucet’s transfer to Baton Rouge Louisiana, Gary went to the airport to ask one of the attendants what time that flight would be arriving.

With the information of the plane’s landing time, Gary went to the airport wearing dark glasses and a baseball cap to blend in. Gary waited patiently knowing that Jeffrey would arrive under police escort at any time that day.

On March 16, 1984, Jeffrey Doucet arrived at Baton Rouge Metro Airport, handcuffed and escorted by police to be taken to jail. Gary Plauche, who pretended to be on the phone, waited for Doucet to pass and used a gun to shoot him right in the head.

While all this was going on, the news crew was broadcasting live the transfer of Doucet, as the case was very well publicized in the region. The cameras caught the moment when Gary shot him and Doucet fell to the ground.

Immediately the police escorting Jeffrey intercepted Gary, took the gun from him and detained him for later arrest.

Gary had taken justice into his own hands and killed the kidnapper and rapist of his own son.

The murder was recorded by news cameras, although many portals and websites deleted the video, there are pages where it can still be found.

Doucet fell into coma due to head shot and died the following day.

A devoted father

Gary Plauché, also known as Leon Gary Plauche, was born on November 10, 1948 in Baton, Rouge, Louisiana. He served in the United States Air Force for a few years. During that time he received the rank of first sergeant.

After his Army days were over, Gary worked as a cameraman for a regional news station and was also an equipment salesman. He had 4 children, including Jody Plauché, and although he was married for several years to their mother, then he divorced her.

Gary seemed to have a quiet life and certainly always showed a lot of love for his children. However, the day he decided to murder his son’s abuser, his life changed forever.

Investigation Details

Once they were able to recover Jody from his abductor, they interviewed him several times. That’s how they knew that Doucet had abused Jody and other children for weeks during his karate classes.

Jeffrey Doucet confessed when he was arrested that he dyed Jody’s blond hair black to pass it off as his son and that he shaved off his beard so they could not recognize him. By those days, Doucet was also being sought for delivering several forged checks.

During the trip from Baton Rouge to California, Jeffrey stopped by his mother’s house as well.

It was also discovered that Doucet had had several allegations of having relationships with children while he lived in Texas, but that all records were expunged.

Trial

Months after Doucet’s death, Gary Plauché was charged with second-degree murder, however, after a plea agreement, he was convicted of voluntary manslaughter.

The discovery that Doucet had abused Jody since many months before her abduction helped Plauché’s case.

Gary also underwent several psychological tests which determined that he was unable to distinguish between right and wrong, and that it was due to a psychotic state he suffered after he knew what his son had experienced.

Verdict

Leon Gary Plauché was originally sentenced to 7 years in prison, however his sentence was suspended and he was given 5 years probation plus 300 hours of community service, which he completed in 1989.

Gary Plauché died in 2014 after suffering a stroke in 2011 and shortly before the day of his death. He was 69 years old.

Gary never regretted murdering his son’s abuser, and said he would do it again.

The video of Gary Plauche killing Jeffrey Doucet has been aired on several television programs and documentaries.

Frequently asked questions

Who is Jeffrey Doucet?

Jeffrey Doucet was a karate instructor accused of pedophilia and child abuse, assaulted by the father of one of the abused children.

What gun did Gary Plauche use?

A 38 caliber revolver.

Where is Jody Plauche now?

Jody Plauche worked for some years in his brother’s company and wrote an autobiographical book about what he experienced called “Why Gary, Why?”.

As of the date this article was written, Jody Plauche was 49 years old.