Brenda Dupont was stabbed to death in 1988, and an Opelousas man was found guilty of first-degree murder by a St. Landry Parish jury.

Jonell Rubin’s DNA was matched to semen discovered on Dupont in 2012, years after Benda’s body was discovered in her apartment.

Rubin was a prisoner in the city jail when authorities obtained his permission to take a DNA sample, which was sent to the Louisiana State Police Crime Lab.

Who is Brenda Dupont?

Brenda Dupont was stabbed 31 times and murdered in her apartment on Railroad and Church Streets in Opelousas in 1988.

Joenell Rubin, an Opelousas resident, was sentenced to life in prison after DNA evidence was discovered in 2012.

When enhanced DNA testing revealed that the semen found within Dupont’s body matched Rubin’s DNA, Rubin was arrested for first-degree murder and aggravated rape of the woman, who died at the age of 29.

Rubin was a prisoner in the local jail in 2012 when detectives obtained his permission to take a DNA sample. A St. Landry Parish grand jury indicted him for first-degree murder rather than aggravated rape.

The case ended in a conviction after two days of testimony in which the prosecutor, Don Richard, claimed Rubin sexually assaulted Dupont before fatally stabbing her.

A criminal pathologist, Christopher Tate, testified that Dupont had been stabbed 31 times. When speaking with Detective Dwain Grimmett, Rubin stated that he had never met Dupont or visited her apartment.

Linda Nicholas, Brenda Dupont’s sister, testified in the 1988 murder case.

Brenda Dupont lived just a few feet behind Linda Nicholas’ apartment on May 21, 1988, according to the victim’s sister Linda Nicholas’ testimony.

Joenell Rubin was charged with the murder and rape of Brenda Dupont in 1988.
Joenell Rubin was charged with the murder and rape of Brenda Dupont in 1988. ( Source : Dailyworld )
The defendant, according to Nicholas, paid a visit to Nicholas’ daughter Michelle the afternoon before her sister was killed.

According to Nicholas, after discovering that the defendant had brought a knife into her home, she confronted him and expelled him.

Dupont’s sister claimed that she made breakfast the next morning and sent her six-year-old son to wake up Dupont, but they were both unable to do so.

When no response was received at 11:30 a.m., Nicholas became concerned and called the police, who discovered Dupont’s body.

Brenda Dupont was married but divorced, and Nicholas testified that she had not seen anyone enter or leave Brenda’s apartment the night she died.

Joenell Rubin Is Charged With Murder In The Death Of Brenda Dupont

Joenell Rubin was found guilty of first-degree murder in the 1988 stabbing death of Brenda Dupont. Rubin’s DNA was matched in 2012 to sperm found on Dupont when detectives discovered her body in her apartment years before.

Joenell Rubin, 45, was scheduled to be sentenced by State District Judge Alonzo Harris on February 18, 2016, after his DNA was linked to semen discovered on Dupont in 2012.

According to prosecutor Donald Richard, the St. Landry Parish District Attorney’s Office did not seek the death penalty in Rubin’s case. He did not explain why the DA’s office did not consider the death penalty.

During a hearing on Tuesday, criminal pathologist Christopher Tate of the Acadiana Crime Lab testified that an autopsy performed on Dupont days after her murder revealed she had been stabbed 31 times.

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