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NEW ORLEANS – U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans announced that, on November 9, 2022, U.S. District Court Judge Jane Triche Milazzo sentenced WILLIAM HARRISON FARRIS (“FARRIS”), age 43, of New Orleans, and KACIE DOUCET (“DOUCET”), age 41, of Larose, Louisiana, for their participation in a scheme to drug and kidnap an 18-year-old Slidell resident, resulting in the teenager’s death. FARRIS was sentenced to serve 87 months in prison, followed by two years of supervised release, along with a $100 mandatory special assessment fee. DOUCET was sentenced to serve 88 months in prison, followed by two years of supervised release, along with a $100 mandatory special assessment fee.

Both defendants previously pleaded guilty to one count of Conspiracy to Distribute Ketamine in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Sections 841(a)(1), 841(b)(1)(E), and 846. According to court records, FARRIS and DOUCET conspired with co-defendant Leilani Aspuria, along with Carlos Mario Cantu-Cox and Christopher Cantu-Cox (who were charged in a separate case), to kidnap the teenage victim and transport him to Texas against his will. The Cantu-Coxes were a married couple based in the Houston area who distributed methamphetamine in New Orleans. At the time of his kidnapping, the victim owed money to the Cantu-Coxes and was deliberately trying to avoid the two men.

FARRIS, who was a drug customer of the Cantu-Coxes and was aware that the Cantu-Coxes were trying to find the victim, knew that DOUCET was connected to the victim on Facebook. At the direction of FARRIS, DOUCET contacted the victim over Facebook on multiple occasions and suggested that they meet for a sexual encounter.

FARRIS and DOUCET were aware that DOUCET’s offer of a sexual encounter with the teenage victim was a ruse, and that the real purpose of picking up the victim was to provide him with a cocktail of powerful drugs and thus render him incapacitated so he could be delivered to the Cantu-Coxes, who were staying at a hotel in downtown New Orleans.  The Cantu-Coxes supplied the drug cocktail, as well as instructions on how to mix the drugs with alcohol so that it could be administered to the victim without him knowing what he was taking.

To accomplish the scheme, FARRIS and DOUCET enlisted the help of Aspuria, the only one of the three with a car. On February 23, 2016, DOUCET and Aspuria picked up the victim from his grandfather’s home in Slidell. DOUCET gave the victim the Cantu-Coxes’ drug cocktail, which the couple referred to as an “elixir.” DOUCET, Aspuria, and the victim then drove around New Orleans for a number of hours, waiting for the victim to pass out. FARRIS, who was not in the car, assisted by serving as the intermediary between DOUCET, who was texting updates of the victim’s condition, and the Cantu-Coxes, who were waiting at the hotel.

At one point, DOUCET and Aspuria drove to the back of the hotel and attempted to deliver the victim to the Cantu-Coxes and FARRIS, who were waiting outside with a wheelchair. The victim was barely awake but not yet unconscious. When the car arrived, FARRIS attempted to pull the victim out of the car, but the victim woke up and became aggressive. DOUCET and Aspuria then drove off with the victim and continued to wait for the victim to pass out.

Later, DOUCET and Aspuria again drove to the hotel with the victim, who at that point was unconscious in the back seat. The Cantu-Coxes produced two needles containing ketamine. Aspuria injected one of the needles into the victim’s body, while DOUCET and FARRIS watched without objection. The victim did not move when he was injected, and no one checked to determine whether the victim was still breathing after the injection.

At that point, the teenager’s body was transferred to the Cantu-Coxes’ car, and the Cantu-Coxes began driving back to Texas. Somewhere near the Louisiana-Texas border, the Cantu-Coxes realized that the victim was no longer breathing.  The Cantu-Coxes continued driving to their home in Pasadena, Texas and parked in their driveway. Because it was still daylight, they left the victim’s body in the car. At nightfall on February 24, 2016, the Cantu-Coxes drove to a bridge over Sims Bayou in the Houston area and put the victim’s body into the bayou. The victim’s body washed to the shore a week later. The Cantu-Coxes later paid FARRIS a quantity of methamphetamine for his efforts in capturing the victim.

On February 5, 2020, Judge Milazzo sentenced Leilani Aspuria to ten years of imprisonment. On June 29, 2021, U.S. District Court Judge Wendy Vitter sentenced Carlos Mario Cantu-Cox and Christopher Cantu-Cox to twenty years of imprisonment.

U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans praised the work of the United States Postal Inspection Service, Louisiana State Police, Houston Police Department, and the Drug Enforcement Administration.  Assistant United States Attorney Brandon S. Long is in charge of the prosecution.