L’Observateur / January 4, 1999

HAHNVILLE – Russell Ellwood will stand trial Feb. 8 in Lafayette for twomurders committed in 1993 in St. Charles Parish. This week’s decision by 29th Judicial District Judge Kirk Granier came two weeks after Granier’s decision denying a motion to quash the grand jury indictment.

Ellwood’s attorney, Maria Chaisson of Destrehan, was not available for comment.

Ellwood, 48, a former New Orleans cab driver, will face trial for the February 1993 murders of Cheryl Lewis, 30, of Bridge City, and Delores Mack, 40, of Metairie, whose bodies were discovered one day apart near Louisiana Highway 3160 at Hahnville.

A change of venue motion by Chaisson was granted because of pre-trial publicity which could possibly prejudice potential jurors in St. CharlesParish. Moving the trial to a new location could have the effect of gettinga jury who has not read months of stories, nor seen much television publicity on the case.

Ellwood is the only suspect to be charged through the work of a multi- jurisdictional task force convened to investigate a string of 26 homicides in the greater New Orleans area from 1991 through 1996.

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