The case of Dorothy Lou Thompson stretched from a disappearance in April 1985 to a guilty plea in July 2014. What happened in between explains why the Azalea Original Pet Cemetery murder remained unresolved for nearly three decades: investigators initially lacked enough evidence to bring a case, a witness later came forward, and prosecutors ultimately accepted a manslaughter plea rather than risk a trial. This timeline separates documented dates from claims made by witnesses and investigators.
Timeline at a glance
- About 1950: Grace Thompson, Dorothy’s mother, establishes the pet cemetery in rural eastern St. Bernard Parish, according to the sheriff’s office.
- 1978: Grace Thompson dies. Dorothy continues to be associated with the cemetery property.
- 1980: Brandon Nodier begins working as a groundskeeper/handyman at the cemetery, according to investigators.
- 1981: A contemporary photograph shows Dorothy at the cemetery. This image later became one of the recurring archival photographs in coverage of the case.
- 1984: A dispute over ownership of the property develops. Dorothy files a civil lawsuit against the Nodiers, according to investigators’ later accounts.
- April 1985: Dorothy disappears. Reports say she was last seen in the days before a scheduled court proceeding in the property dispute.
- May 2, 1985: Fishermen discover Dorothy’s body in the Mississippi River in neighboring Plaquemines Parish. Authorities report that her body was weighted with chains.
- 1985–2000s: Nodier remains a suspect, but investigators say evidence was not initially sufficient to seek an indictment. The location where the killing occurred and the parish jurisdiction also complicated the case.
- 2009: The sheriff’s office revisits the cold case. Public accounts describe new witness information as central to the renewed investigation.
- April 2012: Nodier is arrested and indicted on a second-degree murder charge after a witness comes forward. He later remains free on bond while the case proceeds.
- July 11, 2014: Nodier pleads guilty to manslaughter under a plea agreement and receives a 10-year sentence.
1984–1985: The property dispute and Dorothy’s disappearance
The land dispute is a major part of the official account of the case. Investigators said Dorothy wanted to regain control of the property and had filed a lawsuit. Reports place her disappearance in mid-April 1985, shortly before a court date connected with that dispute. The timing was important to investigators, but a timeline alone does not establish every allegation about motive.
May 2, 1985: The discovery in the Mississippi River
Authorities reported that fishermen found Dorothy’s body in the Mississippi River on May 2, 1985. The sheriff’s office said the body was weighed down with steel chains and that she had been suffocated. These are the central documented facts behind the case’s disturbing reputation; supernatural accounts that later circulated around the cemetery are a separate matter and should not be mistaken for forensic evidence.
2009: A cold case is revisited
The sheriff’s office later described a renewed cold-case effort as the beginning of the route toward an arrest. Reports differ in how they summarize the witness’s approach and the precise sequence of interviews, so the safest conclusion is that new witness information gave investigators a basis to pursue the case more actively. Accounts that the witness had paranormal experiences or heard a confession are allegations attributed to that witness—not independently verifiable supernatural proof.
April 2012: Arrest and indictment
On April 25, 2012, local reporting said Nodier surrendered after a grand jury indicted him on a second-degree murder charge. Authorities publicly described the land dispute as a possible motive and said the case had lacked sufficient evidence for an earlier arrest. An indictment is an accusation, not a conviction; the legal outcome came later.
July 11, 2014: Guilty plea and 10-year sentence
Nodier pleaded guilty to manslaughter and was sentenced to 10 years in prison. The charge was reduced through a plea agreement. The sheriff publicly acknowledged the difficulties of taking the case to trial, including the reliance on a key witness. That distinction matters: the final legal record was a manslaughter guilty plea, not a jury verdict following a contested murder trial.
Official source and documentary context
The St. Bernard Parish Sheriff’s Office published a release about the 2014 plea and sentence. That official account, together with contemporaneous reporting from FOX 8 and WDSU, provides the backbone for this timeline. HBO’s three-part documentary revisits the case and its community history, but the series’ paranormal framing should be understood as storytelling around reported claims—not proof that a ghost intervened in the investigation.
Read the sheriff’s office 2014 release · Read FOX 8’s 2012 arrest report · Read FOX 8’s 2014 sentencing report
Embedded official social post
The sheriff’s office has also shared information about the case and the documentary through its official social channels. If Facebook blocks embedded posts in your browser or theme, use the direct post link below.
Open the St. Bernard Parish Sheriff’s Office Facebook post
Sources
- St. Bernard Parish Sheriff’s Office — 2014 plea announcement
- FOX 8 — 2012 indictment and arrest
- FOX 8 — 2014 guilty plea and sentencing
- WDSU — arrest in the 1985 killing
- Autopsy of Architecture — cemetery photo essay
- HBO — official series listings
Bottom line: The case’s key dates are clear even where parts of the story remain disputed: Dorothy disappeared in April 1985, her body was found May 2, Nodier was indicted in April 2012, and he pleaded guilty to manslaughter in July 2014. The plea and official records—not the ghost stories—are the firmest anchors for understanding the case.
