A Bossier Parish jury unanimously convicted 22-year-old Taylor Jackson Kerley man charged in fatal attempted robbery and murdering 18-year-old Johnathan Bothwell in Haughton, Louisiana, after a five-year trial.
Man Charged in Fatal Attempted Robbery of 18-Year-Old in Bossier Parish (Photo: Google)
Man Charged in Fatal Attempted Robbery of 18-Year-Old
The Bossier Parish Sheriff’s Office responded to a gunshot in Dogwood South early on November 29, 2019. Deputies found Bothwell dead in his house after a man charged in fatal attempted robbery.
Kerley and a juvenile accomplice planned to rob Bothwell, according to the 2024 trial. Detectives and murder scene investigators described a horrific series of events. Kerley, then 18, painstakingly planned the act, even removing his license plate before entering the community to avoid arrest.
Digital evidence, including Snapchat chats between Kerley and the victim, helped establish the motivation and identify Kerley as the cold-blooded killer. The prosecution produced firearm and DNA specialists from the North Louisiana Act Lab, who confirmed the terrible act.
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Marta Pertuz Confronts Horrifying Memories on the Witness Stand
Marta Pertuz, Bothwell’s mother, boldly revealed the most horrific events throughout the trial. Pertuz heard the gunshot, left the restroom, and saw Kerley. Kerley beat Pertuz with a mason jar to flee, breaking numerous teeth.
Pertuz pointed at Kerley in court, describing him as the man who had brutally shot her son and attacked her. After reviewing the overwhelming evidence, the jury unanimously convicted Kerley of second-degree murder, violence, and obstruction of justice.
After the trial, a man charged in fatal attempted robbery, Taylor Jackson Kerley faces a mandatory life sentence for second-degree murder. A community devastated by the events of that awful November night in 2019 will find closure with the sentence on May 6.
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