Balfa speaks

By: TONY MARKS
Editor

From his prison cell at the Louisiana State Penitentiary, John Balfa, the individual convicted of the kidnapping and murder of an Evangeline Parish businessman, wrote a letter to the Ville Platte Gazette that sheds light on possible new evidence. The letter comes to The Gazette weeks before an appeal hearing is set before the honorable Judge Chuck West of the 13th Judicial District Court.
“My name is John Brady Balfa, and, since 1984, I’ve been seeking to correct the injustice done to me in the wrongful conviction of the murder, abduction, and armed robbery of Aubrey LaHaye,” the letter begins.
LaHaye’s body was found bound with a rope and in Bayou Nezpique. The body was discovered 10 days after the alleged kidnapper demanded $500 thousand, and, according to reports, disappeared.
Balfa’s letter continued, “Through the years, I’ve requested my files from each newly elected district attorney, and each time they held evidence. District Attorney William Pucheu prosecuted this case, and he withheld crucial evidence to both the Grand Jury who indicted me, and the trial jury who convicted me. Through the succession of both District Attorney Brent Coreil and Trent Brignac, I’ve requested my files, and both withheld crucial evidence. It wasn’t until I requested and received my FBI files that I discovered this crucial withheld evidence. For almost 40 years, the FBI, Evangeline Parish district attorneys, and Dr. Wayne LaHaye (the victim’s son) knew of this withheld evidence and said nothing.”
“This crucial withheld evidence consists of a fingerprint, blond hair, and perjury committed by Emily LaHaye (the victim’s wife). The victim’s body was discovered in a bayou 10 days after his abduction. Four tire rims were tied to the body, and this fingerprint was discovered on one of the rims. A blond hair was discovered on the rope used to secure the tire rims to the victim’s body. During my trial, Emily LaHaye identified me as the person who abducted her husband. My attorney asked her if she had ever identified anyone else, and she answered no. The FBI files show that a month after the crime was committed, she identified another person through photo and physical lineup as the person who abducted her husband. After discovering this withheld evidence in my FBI files, my attorney requested and was granted permission to have the physical evidence tested for DNA. My attorney was later informed by the Evangeline Parish Clerk of Court that the evidence had been destroyed. There are no documents to show who requested the destruction of the evidence, or why this physical evidence was destroyed. Crucial evidence was withheld, and crucial evidence was destroyed.”
“My attorney filed a writ of appeal of actual innocence with the District Court in Evangeline Parish. Under Judge Gary Ortego, my appeal was accepted, and he also granted our request for DNA testing. Under Judge Gary Ortego, there was fairness, and our requests were granted in a timely manner. When Judge Gary Ortego was elected to the Court of Appeals in Lake Charles, my appeal was assigned to District Judge Chuck West. Judge Chuck West has had my appeal since August of 2022, and he finally granted me a hearing in February of 2024. Evangeline Parish is a small parish, and it wouldn’t seem that the court is so overburdened with cases that it would take 18 months to hear my appeal.”
“The purpose of this letter is to bring public awareness to the injustice I received almost 40 years ago. District Attorneys William Pucheu, Brent Coreil, and Trent Brignac intentionally withheld evidence that would have cleared me of the murder, abduction, and robbery of Aubrey LaHaye. Accountability and transparency should not only be expected, but demanded from our elected public officials. I deserve better. The people of Evangeline Parish deserve better.”