Former Ouachita deputy pleads guilty to murder

MONROE, La. (KNOE) - Blake Bardwell, a former Ouachita Parish Sheriff’s deputy has been sentenced for the 2021 murder of his wife and child.

Bardwell was indicted in Jan. 2022 by an Ouachita Parish Grand Jury for the murder of his wife and 8-month-old daughter and on Sept. 12, 2022, pled guilty to two counts of second-degree murder, according to a press release from District Attorney Steve Tew.

Bardwell has received two life sentences for the homicides.

Judge Scott Leehy was over the case and Assistant District Attorney Kalee Moore prosecuted on behalf of the state.