LAPLACE, La. (AP) - DNA testing has confirmed that a body found under Interstate 55 in LaPlace is that of a 21-year-old man reported missing in late November.
But, authorities still have not determined how Kerry Keating died.
Keating’s sister, Jessica, tells the New Orleans Advocate (https://bit.ly/2kPFmVH ) she received the DNA test results confirming it was her brother on Feb. 2.
Keating went missing Nov. 28. Jessica Keating says he apparently called a nephew before he disappeared, saying he was being chased by someone out to kill him. Another clue is that he used a credit card to make a purchase at a Walmart store in Kenner.
Later that day, Keating’s truck was found abandoned on the side of I-55, with a broken rear axle; his phone and wallet were still inside.
With the help of cadaver dogs, drones and sonar technology, a team of searchers on Jan. 7 spotted what proved to be Keating’s body in swampy waters under I-55. A tree branch had trapped the body under water.
Jessica Keating suspects her brother’s body may been dumped near his truck but St. John the Baptist Parish Sheriff Mike Tregre said Keating had no visible signs of trauma and his clothes were intact. She acknowledges that her brother had previously struggled with drug abuse, but she said he had cleaned himself up and was employed as a sheet metal mechanic’s assistant.
Toxicology test results are pending.
Still, until something conclusive turns up, Tregre said his office was treating the case as a homicide. The family is expected to meet with Tregre and others involved with the case to discuss the next phase of the investigation.
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Information from: The New Orleans Advocate, https://www.neworleansadvocate.com
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