A Jefferson Parish neighborhood spent about a week watching detectives dig behind a vacant Marrero house. That slow, unsettling search ended Friday when deputies arrested a local man after human remains were discovered in the backyard.
Detectives took 32-year-old Dustin Billot into custody on April 24 near the 1200 block of Gaudet Drive, and he is being held at the Jefferson Parish Correctional Center in Gretna. Authorities have not yet publicly identified the remains, which are now under examination by the parish coroner.
Investigation details at Gaudet Drive
Billot was booked on charges of second-degree murder, obstruction of justice and unlawful disposal of human remains. Jail records list his bail at $575,000, according to NOLA.com. Neighbors told reporters the house behind which the remains were found has been vacant since 2024. They said deputies spent roughly a week combing through and digging up the backyard before Billot was arrested.
Residents described seeing a blue tent marked "special investigations bureau" and a grid of orange flags popping up across the rear of the lot while investigators processed the scene. For people living nearby, their block essentially turned into an active crime scene, with the backyard at the center of it.
Neighbors say the property was a persistent problem
Neighbor Mandy Haley said the house had been a headache long before deputies showed up with shovels. “I frequently tried to report the disorder and unsafe conditions to the parish,” she told NOLA.com, describing months of foul smells and swarms of flies drifting over from the property.
Another neighbor, Johnathan Falcon, said he bought heavy-duty disposable traps and filled them with what he estimated to be tens of thousands of flies in an attempt to control infestations that began in summer 2023. Locals also told reporters the vacant house drew repeated complaints, and that some former occupants had been seen taking water from nearby yards.
Not an isolated type of case in the region
Backyard disposals have surfaced in metro New Orleans crime coverage before. In June 2025, authorities arrested a man who allegedly told police he had buried his girlfriend in a St. Roch backyard, FOX8 reported. Cases like these often hinge on patient digging, detailed coroner work and neighbor tips that help detectives piece together what happened.
What comes next
The Jefferson Parish coroner's office will examine the remains, and investigators say the charges against Billot could be updated after identification and autopsy results are complete. Billot remains in custody pending court hearings, and authorities are asking anyone with information related to the case to contact the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office.
