State Police confirm Ella Goodie homicide case now in the hands of the Calcasieu DA

CALCASIEU PARISH, La. (KALB) - There has been a major development in the case of a missing woman from Scott, who disappeared while driving a rideshare client from Louisiana to Texas in 2022.

TFC Derek Senegal, the public information officer for Louisiana State Police - Troop D, has confirmed to News Channel 5 that the case involving Ella Goodie, 32, was handed over to the Calcasieu Parish District Attorney’s Office on March 17, 2023, for grand jury consideration.

Goodie was last seen over a year ago on March 9, 2022. The case continues to be investigated as a homicide by Louisiana State Police. To date, Goodie’s body has not been found.

The person who investigators believe to be the last person to see Goodie, the one she was transporting to Texas, is Brandon Francisco, 37 of Mansura. Francisco was arrested in St. Joseph, Missouri last year on March 25. Goodie’s vehicle was found in St. Joseph, Missouri on April 1.

Francisco was out on bond at the time of his arrest in Missouri for a Rapides Parish case in which he was charged with attempted second-degree murder, among other charges. When he didn’t show up for court ahead of his trial and was found in Missouri, the Rapides Parish District Attorney’s Office added a new charge - out of state bail jumping.

Last October, Francisco pleaded “guilty as charged” to attempted second-degree murder for the Rapides Parish case and was sentenced to 30 years in prison to be served without the benefit of probation, parole or suspension of sentence. All other Rapides Parish charges were dismissed.

It’s important to note that Louisiana State Police told us that Francisco is still considered a person-of-interest in the Goodie case. As for why the case is in the hands of the Calcasieu Parish District Attorney’s Office, that’s because GPS cellphone records track her last known movements near Iowa, Louisiana - and a search was conducted in that area last April.

A representative with the Calcasieu Parish District Attorney’s Office confirmed to News Channel 5 that it received the Goodie case and is in the review process. We’re told since it is a large file, that process may take some time. Once it’s complete, the case will head to a grand jury. There’s no timeframe for that yet.

News Channel 5 reached out to Francisco’s Alexandria-based attorney, Tiffany Sanders, for comment on the news that the Goodie case is now in the hands of the district attorney’s office and the fact that her client remains a person-of-interest. She told us over the phone that she was not aware of that development. She sent us this statement.

“Today, my office received information as to my client being named as a person of interest in an ongoing matter. Through unknown means, it was discovered that the investigation is still in its infancy, although over a year has elapsed. I do not want to try this case in the media and intend to adhere to the Louisiana Rules of Professional Conduct that provide guidance on pretrial publicity. My client has not been charged with any crimes regarding this matter and vehemently maintains his innocence.”

Click here to report a typo. Please provide the title of the article in your email.

Copyright 2023 KALB. All rights reserved.