Jerry Dwight Laymon

Background

Jerry Dwight Laymon was born on 07/04/1945 in Burns, Kansas, to Theodore and Ruby Throckmorton Laymon. He was the youngest of five children, with three brothers, Edward, Clinton, and Max, and a sister, Cathern.

He attended Liberal High School in Liberal, Kansas, in 1960 and graduated from Kansas State University in Manhattan in 1968.

On 06/02/1968, he married Sherry Kay Miller in Towanda, Kansas.

He worked as a geophysicist for Mobil Oil Corporation. His career took the couple to California before they relocated to Louisiana around 05/1971. They settled at 2629 Hyman Place in the Algiers section of New Orleans.

In addition to his work with Mobil Oil, he was attending classes at Tulane University.

He was interred at Towanda Cemetery in Towanda, Kansas.

Case Summary

On 11/16/1971, Jerry Laymon was last seen at approximately 4:15 p.m. leaving his office in the Plaza Tower building in New Orleans. He was scheduled to attend a class at Tulane University but never arrived. His disappearance was reported to the New Orleans Police Department.

On 11/24/1971, at approximately 2:30 p.m., Alvin J. Terrio and his two children discovered Jerry’s body alongside a road approximately 300 yards north of Airline Highway in Reserve, Louisiana.

Jerry was found lying face down with a clump of grass clutched in his right hand. St. John the Baptist Parish Coroner Dr. S. J. St. Martin believed this indicated Jerry was still alive when he was left at the location. An examination established that he had been shot twice in the back of the head with .22-caliber bullets.

Jerry’s wallet contained his driver’s license and approximately a dozen credit cards, but no money. Investigators believed robbery may have been the motive and theorized that he had been abducted near the Plaza Tower shortly after leaving work.

His vehicle, a light-green 1967 Ford Mustang with a black vinyl roof and Louisiana license plate 395 B 463, was also missing. Authorities initiated a nationwide search for the car.

The Mustang was subsequently located in Houston, Texas, where it had been abandoned in a shopping center parking lot. Approximately three days after the vehicle was first noticed, shopping center officials arranged for a private towing service to remove it. The vehicle remained in private storage, and the towing operator did not notify police for approximately two months, delaying investigators’ efforts to locate it.

Investigators attempted to reconstruct the vehicle’s movements between New Orleans and Houston. They believed Jerry’s abductors may have traveled through Baton Rouge and Lafayette before continuing west toward Texas.

On 03/12/1972, The Times-Picayune announced a $3,500 reward through its Secret Witness program for information leading to an arrest and conviction in Jerry’s murder.

Suspects/Persons of Interest

Bobby Joyner, 19, was arrested in Bristol, Tennessee, and charged with first-degree murder in connection with Jerry’s death. He was subsequently extradited to Louisiana.

Following further investigation, authorities determined that Joyner had not been in the area where the murder occurred. Joyner was cleared of all charges and released from custody on 12/28/1971.

No other suspects or persons of interest have been publicly identified.

Timeline

11/16/1971: Jerry was last seen leaving work at approximately 4:15 p.m. to attend a class at Tulane University.
11/24/1971: Jerry’s body was discovered near Airline Highway in Reserve, Louisiana.
12/28/1971: Bobby Joyner was cleared of the murder charge and released from custody.
03/12/1972: A $3,500 reward was announced through The Times-Picayune’s Secret Witness program.

Research Notes

• A December 30, 1971, article in the Bristol Herald Courier gives Jerry’s body recovery date as 11/17/1971, conflicting with multiple other accounts identifying 11/24/1971. The same article reports Joyner’s arrest as 11/19/1971, a date that requires additional verification given the documented discovery date.
• This profile will be updated as pending public records requests are received.

Sources

• Liberal High School Yearbook, 1960.
• The Wichita Eagle, “Laymon-Miller,” June 9, 1968.
• Kansas State University Yearbook, 1968.
• Louisiana State Death Certificate
• The Times-Picayune, “Foul Play Eyed in Man’s Death,” November 25, 1971.
• The News-Star, “Coroner Rules in Man’s Death,” November 25, 1971.
• The Times-Picayune, “Auto of Slain Man Is Hunted,” November 26, 1971.
• L’Observateur, “Body of Murder Victim Found in Reserve,” December 2, 1971.
• Bristol Herald Courier, “Louisiana Officers Release Ex-Citizen,” December 30, 1971.
• The Times-Picayune, “‘Secret Witness’ Reward Is $3,500 in Laymon Slaying,” March 12, 1972.