Union Parish Sheriff’s DepartmentDeltra Henderson
An 18-year-old woman who was set to attend college in the fall is dead after an escaped inmate in Homer, Louisiana held her hostage and stabbed her to death.
Deltra Henderson, 39, escaped from David Wade Correctional Center on Thursday and went on the run, authorities said. According to police, Henderson fled from the prison, kidnapped Amanda Leigh Carney, stole her vehicle and had a shootout with police. Some time after stealing her vehicle, Henderson fatally stabbed Carney, police said.
Carnye is the stepdaughter of an assistant warden at the prison and daughter of a woman who works there, too.
Henderson barricaded himself inside of a home on the prison property and was shot and killed by police after a shootout started as authorities closed in.
Here’s what you need to know about Henderson and the incident:
1. Police Said Henderson Stole & Crashed 2 Vechicles Before Starting a Shootout
Union Parish Sheriff’s DepartmentDeltra Henderson
Authorities went on a manhunt for Henderson around 2 p.m. on July 27 when they noticed he’d gone missing from the prison. After escaping, police said Henderson kidnapped Carney and stole her vehicle. Report say Carney was on her way to work when she was abducted.
Henderson fled in Carney’s vehicle but ended up crashing in a wooded area not far from the prison. Carney’s dead body was later found in the area with stab wounds. Additional details of her murder haven’t yet been made available by authorities.
After ditching Carney’s vehicle in the woods, police said Henderson had another confrontation with a different area resident, stealing the person’s vehicle and crashing it, too. He ditched the second vehicle and ran to a nearby property that was on prison grounds — the Warden J.O. Whittington Firing Range — and located a gun.
Police ended up tracking Henderson to the home, and a standoff ensued between him and police. He barricaded himself inside of the home as police responded to the scene in large numbers.
Officers said in a statement that they hoped to take Henderson “peacefully,” but he began firing at officers, who returned fire and killed him.
2. Henderson Was Serving a Sentence for Drug & Robbery Convictions & Had a ‘Good’ Jail Record
Court documents indicate that Henderson was serving a prison sentence for three separate convictions: distribution of cocaine, attempted armed robbery and aggravated burglary. He was scheduled to serve his sentence prison until 2031, but was set for a “good time” release date of March 28, 2025.
Henderson began his sentence May 4, 2001, at Elayne Hunt Correctional Center in southern Louisiana and was transferred to the state prison shortly after his conviction. There, he spent 16 years and was a “trusty,” meaning he displayed the ability to get along with other inmates and correctional officers. In order to earn the status, you have to have a good jail record and keep up on your hygiene.
3. Henderson Was the Gunman in a Botched Burglary
Two of his convictions came from when he was identified as the gunman in an armed robbery and burglary in Farmerville, Louisiana on September 8, 1999. The attempt ended up being botched, and a woman he knew since they were children was shot in the face, leaving her permanently disfigured while her daughter was shot on her body and was paralyzed from the waist down.
According to the case documents, Henderson and four other men entered the home of Steve and Darlene Goldsby late in the evening September 8, 1999. Their daughter Athena was in the room while her brother Willie Heard were asleep in another room of the house. The family was awoken by the group of men.
Darlene’s testimony in court said that she awoke when she heard their bedroom door being pushed open. The bedroom was dark, but she could see the silhouette of the intruders standing in the doorway.
Once they were noticed, the man, later identified as Henderson, fired shots toward the bed. One of them struck Darlene in her face and another hit Athena on her side. Steve had awoken to the gunfire and pulled his wife to the floor with him. Athena was unable to move.
“Come on out, I know you’re over there,” Steve testified as hearing one of the men say before he warned the family “not to try anything funny.” “Come on out, come out. I got this nine, I got this nine.”
Darlene was able to recognize the voice of the man as that of Henderson, a man she said she knew since she was a child.
Steve grabbed a gun of his own from under the bed and loaded it, firing outside of his bedroom window to get his neighbors’ attention. After the gunfire, the group of men fled.
The family immediately alerted authorities, and Henderson was arrested and charged with aggravated burglary and attempted armed robbery.
Henderson admitted to the crimes and informed authorities of the identities of the other men. One of them was his cousin, Robert Loyd.
Loyd testified in court and said that he was outside of his home with Henderson when a vehicle with the other three men pulled up to speak with Henderson. The men hatched a plan to rob the Goldsbys.
Later in the evening, the group drove Henderson’s car and parked it two blocks down from the Goldsbys, around where he used to live.
One of the men had a shotgun while Henderson and another man had handguns and Loyd was unarmed. Loyd ended up waiting in the car for “20 or 30 minutes” and heard several gunshots. A few minutes later, three of the men returned to the car while still carrying their guns. Henderson wasn’t with them, and the men didn’t see Henderson again until the next morning, Loyd testified.
In an interview with authorities, one of the men who was part of the robbery said he climbed through a window in the Goldsby home in Heard’s bedroom and opened the front door for the other two men. The men had different positions inside the home, but they fled once they heard gunfire. As they were on their way back from the scene, the man “discarded the shotgun in a trash dumpster,” but it was never recovered.
4. Carney’s Stepfather & Mother Worked at the Prison
FacebookAmanda Leigh Carney
Carney was the stepdaughter of James Arnold and the daughter of Andrea Bell, both who work at the prison. She graduate in May from Summerfield High School and was set to go to Southern Arkansas University in the fall, where she was going to major in nursing.
Over the summer, Carney worked as a cashier at Brookshire’s Food & Pharmacy in Homer. Her manager Hal Norman described Carney as being a joy to work with.
“She did a great job and we’re all saddened to hear about her loss,” Norman said to The Shreveport Times. “She was a sweet girl.”
FacebookAmanda Leigh Carney
It’s unclear how long Carney’s stepfather and mother have worked at the prison or if they had any direct interactions with Henderson.
5. A Vigil Is Being Planned in Memory of Carney
Just getting back from the scene in Claiborne Parish where an escaped inmate and a teenage hostage are dead following his escape earlier.
Summerfield Principal Shane Lee told KTBS 3 News that he will set a date and a time for a vigil and remembrance to be held for Carney at the school. It’ll likely be held after her funeral service, he said, adding that counselors will “absolutely” be available for students at the school, which starts up August 9.
“There’s no words to express the sorrow in our hearts today,” said Lee. “We lost one of our own. A young lady that we cherish. A lady that excelled in academics, athletics, and was a true role model to fellow classmates. Please be in prayer for the Summerfield School community, her family, and Claiborne Parish.”
The same applies to employees at the prison, who’ve also been offered counseling to deal with the tragic incident. Department of Public Safety and Corrections James M. Le Blanc said a team of grief counselors are at the prison along with the department’s Critical Incident Stress Management team to offer services to those that are reeling.
“Our hearts hurt today as we grieve, and mourn the loss of one of our own,” Le Blanc said. “This is a dark day for the Department of Public Safety and Corrections. Our thoughts and prayers are with the family of this young lady, David Wade staff, and all those affected by this tragedy.”
