'Hancock County Husband Questioned in Wife's Death' 11.13.07

Hancock County Husband Questioned In Wife's Death
WLOX
Posted: Nov 13, 2007 04:49 PM CST

Hancock County investigators are busy tracking down leads and asking questions about the murder of Brandi Laurent.
She's the 29-year-old mother of two, whose body was found over the weekend after she'd been missing for more than three months.
The official cause of death hasn't been released yet. But sources tell WLOX News that Brandi Laurent was strangled to death.
Investigators have questioned several people about the killing, including the victim's husband, Leo Laurent.
Brandi Laurent's body was discovered Saturday, in a shallow grave about a mile away from her trailer home. The grave was located along some woods, just a short distance from Road 528 in the Fenton community.
In late August, her husband Leo Laurent told WLOX News his wife disappeared the late night hours of August third. He blamed her disappearance on drug use.
Friends of the murdered woman disputed that explanation, saying Brandi would never abandon her two children.
The friends, who call themselves "Brandi's Army," kept her missing person case high profile on the Internet, and worked tirelessly to find their good friend.
We talked with Sheriff Steve Garber late Tuesday afternoon about the ongoing investigation.
"It is definitely a murder. We're treating it as a murder. And that's why we're not giving out much information. It's a very hot, ongoing investigation," said Sheriff Garber, "We're working with the Mississippi Highway Patrol, the Mississippi Crime Lab, Dr. McGeary, the Hancock County coroner. We're all working around the clock actually on this case right now and our number one goal is to bring someone to justice."
The sheriff confirmed that the victim's husband is a person of interest in the investigation.
"Well, in the investigation he is a person of interest. I will say he's a person of interest. You know, we're not just looking in one area, we're looking around and it's an open investigation and we're checking every lead that we have right now. And we're doing a lot of things and a lot of investigation is going on with this around the clock," said Sheriff Garber.
Brandi's husband, Leo Laurent, sent WLOX News an e-mail after our story Monday night, saying he wanted to make a statement. We tried to contact him Tuesday, but he has not yet returned our phone messages or e-mail.
By Steve Phillips

http://www.wlox.com/global/story.asp?s=7355278
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