Louisiana Man Arrested for Wife’s Murder at Fried Chicken Restaurant 44 Years Later

A Louisiana man was arrested more than 40 years after his wife was gunned down inside the fried chicken restaurant they owned and operated together.

According to People, 78-year-old Chester Vegas, Sr. is currently free on $50,000 bail after being formally charged with the 1977 murder of Diane Ledet Vegas.

Diane died from a single gunshot wound to the back at the Chicken House, the Golden Meadow, La., restaurant, the couple ran together.

At the time, investigators found the restaurant’s register had been rifled through but could never determine if any money had actually been stolen.

Chester Vegas, Sr had always been considered a suspect in his wife’s murder, but cops never made an arrest, and the case went cold.

The decades-old cold case heated up last October when a “detective re-opened the case and obtained new information that led to establishing probable cause for Chester Vegas’ arrest,” a statement from the Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Office said.