Walk In The Woods Turns Deadly

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Sandra Adams disappeared during a nighttime walk at Lafreniere Park in Metairie, Louisiana.

The city of Metairie, La., just outside of New Orleans, is still recovering from the devastation of Hurricane Katrina.  But that natural disaster isn't the only tragedy to shake this quiet suburban community.

Nestled in the middle of Metairie is Lafreniere Park, a beautifully-landscaped 155-acre getaway that residents flock to for its wildlife, picturesque lagoons, picnic areas, and a two-mile jogging path.

On the evening of May 22, 2006, 51-year-old Alessandra Adams, known as Sandra, drove to Lafreniere Park around 9:00 pm with her 21-year-old son and one of his friends for some nighttime exercise. Sandra walked the jogging path, while her son and his friend ran it. Sandra's son planned on meeting up with his mother once he and his friend had completed the trail.

But she never turned up, and Sandra's son contacted park rangers to help him find his mother. The Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office was also called in to assist in finding Sandra. Deputies searched the park throughout the night, but there was no sign of Sandra anywhere.

Grisly Discovery

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Edmundo Cerda-Anima is wanted for murdering 51-year-old Sandra Adams at Lafreniere Park in Metairie, Louisiana.

Around 6 a.m. the next day, police were called to a gravel construction road less than a mile from the park -- and Sandra's case was reclassified from a missing person case to a homicide.

Her lifeless body was lying face-down in the gravel. She was nude, and an autopsy revealed that she had been sexually assaulted. The coroner's report indicates that she died of blunt force trauma from an automobile.

The question for investigators was simple -- who killed Sandra Adams?

Detectives scoured the area, interviewing potential witnesses, and this yielded a bounty of information. Based on an eyewitness description and evidence at the scene, police began searching for a white, late 90's Ford Expedition, possibly with a flat tire, as a suspect vehicle.

Soon, deputies found a white Ford Expedition matching the description of the vehicle parked at a nearby apartment complex, and police learned that the owner of the vehicle was a man named Edmundo Cerda-Anima.

A Killer On The Loose?

Detectives had evidence connecting Edmundo Cerda-Anima to the vehicle, the park, and the parking lot where Sandra was found.  But Cerde-Anima himself was gone.

Cerda-Anima's boss told detectives that on the day Sandra's body was discovered, Cerda-Anima asked to borrow his truck.  Police believe Cerda-Anima fled to Wichita, Kansas, where he was from and worked as a carpenter.  He'd brought his skills to Metairie several months earlier to help rebuild homes destroyed in Hurricane Katrina -- but police say he did more harm than good with the murder of Sandra Adams.

Sandra was very well known and described as a caring mother, grandmother and friend. Sandra was co-founder and former vice president of the French Quarter Business Association and owned the Bourbon French Parfum Company for many years.

Back in Wichita, Cerde-Anima never turned up -- and now police say he is wanted for first degree murder and aggravated rape.

Cerda-Anima could still be driving his old boss's blue 1993 Ford F-150 pickup truck, or he might have picked up some new wheels. He still has family in Wichita, and police say he could be paying regular visits there.  He also may be living in Mexico, and coming back and forth across the border.