Lockport man sentenced to death for slaying of woman, two daughters

LOCKPORT, LA (WVUE) - A Lockport man was formally sentenced to death by a judge Friday for the stabbing deaths of a woman and her two daughters. 

David Brown was sentenced to death back in November 2016 after being convicted for the triple-homicide. As a formality, there is a two-year waiting period in death penalty cases. The judge in the case was able to officially hand down the death sentence Friday.

Brown,was arrested and charged in 2012 after he stabbed his Jacqueline Gautreaux Nieves, 29; her 6-year-old daughter, Gabriella Nieves and 20-month-old daughter Isabella Nieves.

Investigators believe Brown broke into the Lockport apartment armed with a knife. They suspect he went into one of the bedrooms and sexually assaulted two of the victims before stabbing all three of them several times each, according to former reports.  

According to deputies, Brown set the apartment on fire and left. The woman's husband, Carlos Nieves, Jr., was asleep downstairs the whole time. He eventually woke up and called 911 because the apartment was on fire.

Detectives said they found what they thought was the knife used in the attack on the victims and DNA at the scene that was matched to Brown.

Carlos Nieves Jr. was initially considered a "person of interest" in the crime and was questioned for several hours.  Detectives said he was cooperative, and there was no evidence implicating him in the crime.

Lockport Police Chief Warren Vedros said it was the city's first homicide in about 40 years at the time of the crime.

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