The Alvin Latham murder case ended in acquittal on September 16, 2002, when a Plaquemines Parish jury voted 10–2 to clear the Louisiana deckhand of second-degree murder in the death of his shrimp-boat captain, Raymond “Tinky” Leiker. Prosecutors said Latham stabbed and beat Leiker during a fight over a life jacket as their boat sank in a Gulf of Mexico storm in July 2000. Latham had confessed on videotape, then recanted, and his defense convinced jurors the confession was unreliable.
The Storm That Sank the Bandit
On the night of July 16, 2000, a 30-foot shrimp boat called the Bandit was swamped by heavy seas roughly 30 to 35 miles southeast of New Orleans in Breton Sound.1UPI. Survivor of Stormy Sea Accused of Murder Only two men were aboard: Captain Raymond Leiker, 34, and his deckhand, Alvin Latham, 46. The vessel had known mechanical problems, including a faulty fuel pump, broken nets, and an overheating engine, and its radio was not working. The Bandit sank and was never recovered, taking virtually all physical evidence with it.2The Intelligencer. Lifejacket Trial Gets Underway
Latham survived by treading water for more than 13 hours until a fishing boat picked him up.3Los Angeles Times. Survivor of Stormy Sea Accused of Murder He told authorities and reporters that he and Leiker had prayed together on deck as the boat went under, and that the captain had drowned after his foot became tangled in a trawling net. Officials initially treated the incident as an accident. “Until we found the body, there was no indication that anything illegal had gone on out there,” said John Marie of the Plaquemines Parish Sheriff’s Office.4The Guardian. Fisherman Charged With Killing Captain in Life Jacket Fight
How an Accident Became a Murder Charge
Leiker’s body was recovered on July 21, five days after the sinking. The autopsy told a different story from the one Latham had given: five stab wounds on the arms, blunt-force trauma to the head, and a skull fracture.3Los Angeles Times. Survivor of Stormy Sea Accused of Murder The Plaquemines Parish coroner concluded that Leiker had died from the skull fracture and lack of oxygen rather than drowning, and that his lungs contained no water.5Star-News Online. Fight Over Life Preserver May Land Man in Prison The autopsy report also noted that impact from a boat propeller contributed to the death.6The Intelligencer. Deckhand Acquitted in Captain Death
Confronted with those findings, Latham changed his account. In a lengthy videotaped interrogation, he admitted stabbing Leiker and striking him on the head and arms with an iron pipe as the boat went under. According to that confession, a wave swept Leiker overboard; when he tried to climb back aboard, Latham beat him with the pipe until he fell back into the water and disappeared. On July 24, 2000, Latham was charged with second-degree murder and held on $200,000 bail.3Los Angeles Times. Survivor of Stormy Sea Accused of Murder A conviction carried an automatic sentence of life in prison without parole.
Why the Confession Was Disputed
The videotaped interrogation ran several hours and became the most contested evidence in the case. Defense attorney Peter Barbee argued that the confession had been coerced. A psychology expert testified at trial that Latham had an IQ of 72, just above the threshold for intellectual disability.6The Intelligencer. Deckhand Acquitted in Captain Death Barbee characterized the questioning as intense and said Latham had been bullied into a false confession.7The Intelligencer. Deckhand Says Captain Raped Him A review of the tape suggested Latham had repeatedly guessed at details until police accepted his answers.8Victims of the State. Alvin Latham
One passage of the tape illustrated the point sharply. Six days after Leiker’s death, detectives began asking Latham whether Leiker had sexually assaulted him during the trip, suggesting that a “sexual bondage game” might have occurred. Asked repeatedly whether Leiker had raped him, Latham answered “Yeah.” Lt. Chris Pelas told Latham during the session that Leiker had done “something” to him that left him “scared, panicking” and wanting to get back at the captain. A sheriff’s captain later testified that no physical evidence supported the sexual assault allegation. Prosecutor David Hufft told the jury the state was “not saying rape was a motive,” preferring to focus on the life-jacket struggle. Barbee did not present the rape claim as self-defense. He used it to show how suggestible Latham was under questioning, reinforcing his argument that the whole confession was unreliable.7The Intelligencer. Deckhand Says Captain Raped Him
The Prosecution’s Physical Case Was Thin
The state’s theory was that Latham killed Leiker during a struggle for the only life jacket aboard. The boat’s owner contradicted that premise, telling investigators the Bandit actually carried three life jackets.1UPI. Survivor of Stormy Sea Accused of Murder Latham himself was not wearing a life jacket when he was rescued.
Beyond the autopsy, there was little physical evidence to work with. The Bandit was never recovered, and the alleged weapons, a knife and an iron pipe, were lost at sea with the boat.2The Intelligencer. Lifejacket Trial Gets Underway Barbee offered jurors an alternative explanation for the injuries: Leiker’s skull fracture and arm wounds could have come from being struck by the propeller of a passing boat while he was in the water, and the cuts on his arms could have come from a broken window on the sinking shrimp boat.5Star-News Online. Fight Over Life Preserver May Land Man in Prison The boat owner who found Leiker’s body reportedly agreed the injuries looked consistent with a vessel strike.
The Verdict
Trial began the week of September 9, 2002, before District Judge William Roe.5Star-News Online. Fight Over Life Preserver May Land Man in Prison Jurors watched the entire videotaped interrogation. After roughly six hours of deliberation on Monday, September 16, 2002, they voted 10–2 to acquit Latham of second-degree murder.6The Intelligencer. Deckhand Acquitted in Captain Death Under Louisiana law at the time, non-capital felony verdicts did not have to be unanimous.
The outcome turned on the confession. Jurors who watched hours of tape saw a man with limited intellectual capacity being pressed by detectives, and the defense argument that he had guessed at details to satisfy his questioners appears to have landed. Combined with the contradicted claim that only one life jacket was aboard and the plausible alternative account of a propeller strike, the state’s case did not clear reasonable doubt. Latham was 48 at the time of his acquittal; little public information about his life afterward has emerged.