Dennis Michael Siau

Background

Dennis Michael Siau was born on December 29, 1946, in Vallejo, California, to George and Dolly Acklin Siau. He had two brothers, William “Bill” Clinton Siau and Mark Clifford Siau.

Michael was a U.S. Army veteran of the Vietnam era who served with the infantry in Korea. He married Gerry Jane Partyka in October 1970. At the time of his death, he lived at 603 Megellan Pass near Cotile Lake in Boyce, Louisiana.

In 1981, Michael owned Wizard’s, an unusual roadside shop along Louisiana Highway 1 just north of Boyce. The store sold plants, cassette tapes, groceries, and other merchandise and reflected Michael’s interest in magic and superstition. He decorated the shop with unusual objects and signs and hoped eventually to develop a mall in the area.

Michael lived with a disabling condition affecting his arms, shoulders, and back. Despite significant pain and limited movement in one arm, he continued operating his business.

Michael also expressed himself publicly through The Town Talk for many years. While serving in Korea in 1965, he submitted a poem describing the hardships and isolation experienced by soldiers there. His later letters addressed environmental concerns and individual rights. In 1983, he opposed proposals to store chemical and nuclear waste in Louisiana salt domes, and only a few months before his death, he questioned laws and policies he believed threatened individual privacy and freedom.

Michael was interred at Alexandria National Cemetery in Pineville, Louisiana.

Case Summary

During the early morning hours of 09/26/1985, Michael’s truck broke down near Rapides Avenue and MacArthur Drive in Alexandria. He was later seen at approximately 2:00 am near the intersection of England Drive and MacArthur Drive, where he was attempting to find friends who could help him get the truck started. What happened to Michael afterward remains unknown.

At approximately 7:45 am, a jogger discovered the body of a man in a ditch along Plantation Drive near Hot Wells Road, west of Alexandria, and the Rapides Parish Sheriff’s Office was notified. Michael had been severely beaten and was partially nude. He had no identification on him, and his trousers were found nearby with nothing in the pockets.

Investigators initially had little information with which to establish the man’s identity. They released a description to the public and asked anyone who might recognize him to contact the Sheriff’s Office. On 09/27/1985, investigators had identified him as Dennis Michael Siau.

Investigators also determined that several distinctive pieces of jewelry Michael was known to wear were missing. They believed the jewelry may have been taken by his killer or killers and released descriptions in hopes that someone might recognize an item. The missing property included a large silver bracelet containing three turquoise stones, a silver ring with eagle emblems, a gold ring fashioned from a cufflink, a pear-shaped gold nugget attached to a gold chain, a yellow-gold Seiko wristwatch, and a rectangular belt buckle containing a turquoise stone. Investigators asked local pawn shops and jewelers to watch for the missing items and urged anyone who had seen Michael during the early morning hours of 09/26 to come forward.

An autopsy conducted in Bossier City found that Michael had suffered a severe beating and a broken neck. His death was ruled a homicide.

In July 1989, nearly four years after his death, the case was featured through Crime Stoppers in another effort to generate information. Investigators reported that they still had no leads identifying the person or persons responsible. The most recent public appeal for information was made by Crime Stoppers on 05/29/2015.

Suspects/Persons of Interest

No suspects or persons of interest have been publicly identified.

Timeline

Limited Information – Can You Help?

If you have additional details, records, photos, or other related materials about Dennis Michael Siau or his case, please consider sharing them.

Research Notes

• Sources variously refer to him as Michael Siau and Dennis Siau.
• This profile will be updated as pending public records requests are received.

Sources

• Rapides Parish Sheriff’s Office, Cold Cases, accessed August 5, 2020
• Crime Stoppers of Cenla, Michael Siau case post, May 29, 2015
• Social Security Administration, Social Security Death Index
• The Town Talk, “Korea,” September 28, 1965
• The Town Talk, “Twin City Men in Service,” December 16, 1965
• Baxter Bulletin, “On Korean Duty,” May 5, 1966
• The Town Talk, “Vagrancy Charged 3 Youths With the ‘Hippie’ Look Here,” November 15, 1967
• The Town Talk, “‘Hippie’ House Here Ransacked,” November 23, 1967
• The Town Talk, Marriage Licenses, November 11, 1970
• The Town Talk, “Roadside View-Looking for Wizard’s? How Can You Miss It?,” June 21, 1981
• The Town Talk, “Sportsman’s Paradise,” November 26, 1982
• The Town Talk, “Salt Domes Unsuitable for Waste Storage,” May 9, 1983
• The Town Talk, “Readers Write: Do-Gooder Laws,” July 10, 1985
• The Town Talk, “Sheriff’s Office Identifies Dead Man,” September 28, 1985
• The Town Talk, “No Cause of Death,” October 1, 1985
• The Town Talk, Dennis M. Siau funeral notice, October 1, 1985
• The Town Talk, Today’s Funerals, October 2, 1985
• The Town Talk, “Information Sought in Death,” October 7, 1985
• The Town Talk, “Police Seek Killers Who Stole Jewelry From Murder Victim,” January 13, 1986
• The Town Talk, “Metro-Crime Stoppers,” July 17, 1989
• The Town Talk, “Web Site Helps RPSO With Unsolved Crimes,” January 24, 2005

rev 08/29/26