Hurricane recovery workers arrested in woman’s murder, burning of body

DEQUINCY, La. — Hurricane recovery workers from Alabama, Louisiana and Florida are accused in the death of a woman whose body was found after Louisiana firefighters put out a vehicle fire.

Morgan Douglas, 23, of Andalusia, Alabama, was arrested on a charge of second-degree murder, and the other two on a charge of accessory after the fact to murder, the Louisiana State Fire Marshal’s Office said in a news release Wednesday.

Douglas, Dixon Fife, 24, of Lake Charles, and Michael Dean Roberts, 43, of Jacksonville, Florida, also face charges of arson, conspiracy and obstructing justice.

All three remained in the Calcasieu Parish jail on Friday, online records indicated. It was not immediately clear whether they had attorneys who could speak for them.

The Beauregard Parish Coroner’s Office said Friday that the continuing investigation keeps it from releasing the woman’s name.

Her body was found in a vehicle reported burning the morning of Nov. 20 in a wooded area of DeQuincy, the fire marshal’s office said.

The fire marshal’s office said she is believed to have been a 27-year-old from Lake Charles, which is about 20 miles (32 kilometers) southeast of DeQuincy.

The men were roommates doing hurricane recovery work in the Lake Charles area, and Fife had known the woman for several years, the news release said.

It did not specify what sort of relationship they had or a possible motive for the killing.

The Beauregard Parish Sheriff’s Office, Calcasieu Parish Sheriff’s Office and Louisiana State Police participated in the investigation, it said.

The news release said two of the three men admitted their involvement in the victim’s death and disposal of her body.