The Louisiana man accused of shooting a state trooper to death after a traffic stop on Sunday may have also killed a second man, officials said at a Monday afternoon news conference.
The victim, who police did not identify, was found Monday morning at a home in Lake Charles, La., where the suspect, Kevin Daigle, 54, is believed to have lived.
Calcasieu Parish Sheriff Tony Mancuso said it was unclear what the relationship between the two men was, but the victim was the registered owner of the truck that Daigle was driving when the state trooper, Steven Vincent, 43, approached Daigle on Sunday afternoon.
The discovery of the man’s body came after Daigle's boss told police that he hadn’t arrived for work on Monday, and after police conducted interviews with the suspect.
Daigle “led them to believe there was an altercation,” Mancuso said, though he did not provide additional details.
“We are investigating this as a homicide,” Mancuso said.
Daigle, who was charged Monday with the murder a police officer, is accused of firing a sawed-off shotgun at Vincent’s head on Sunday afternoon after the trooper approached Daigle’s truck, which was stuck in a roadside ditch.
Authorities said that drivers who saw the shooting stopped, wrestled the shotgun away from Daigle and used Vincent’s handcuffs to restrain him.
One of those good Samaritans, Charlie Bercier, called it "the longest 10 minutes of our lives."
"I’m so sorry I wish I could have been there a little earlier, he told NBC News. "I wish I could have done more."
Mancuso described a video that showed the interaction between Daigle and Vincent — and the subsequent shooting — as "pretty horrific."
“The trooper was polite,” Mancuso said. “He did everything right. This didn’t make any sense.”
Vincent, who died Monday morning, was a 13-year state police veteran. He is survived by a wife and son.
Daigle, whose arrest record includes charges of theft, battery, DWI and arson, according to NBC affiliate KPLC, was accused of battery of a police officer in 2003.
Mancuso said it was still unclear why he allegedly killed Vincent.