Murdered missing man's body left in woods for a month

Robert Malanders, who has been charged with second-degree murder in the death of Aaron Soignier, led authorities to the location of the West Monroe man's body, according to the arrest affidavit filed at the Ouachita Parish Courthouse.

According to an interview with authorities, Malanders said Aaron Soignier, 20, was at Jeffery Osborne and Stacie Shaw's residence at the time of his murder. After the slaying, Malanders said Soignier's body was dumped in a wooded area in Caldwell Parish.

The arrest affidavit states Malanders was brought to Metro Narcotics for an interview concerning the death of Soignier.

He told authorities the murder occurred at Osborne and Shaw's residence, located at 519 Red Cut Loop Road.

According to Malanders, Sierra Collins was inside the residence pointing a gun at Soignier when Malanders left the residence to smoke methamphetamine. He heard a gunshot and fled the scene, according to the affidavit.

He later changed his story and said he returned to the residence and saw Soignier bleeding from his leg. He changed his story again to say he moved Soignier's body to a remote area in Caldwell Parish.

Earlier this week he led Ouachita Parish sheriff's deputies to where Soignier's body was dumped.

"We won't know anything until the autopsy comes back," Sheriff Jay Russell said, referring to the cause of death. "We have a good idea, but he was in that wooded area for a month, so we can't say until we get the official report from the autopsy."

An autopsy can take a week to 10 days.

Arrested Tuesday were Malanders, 32; Collins, 19; Shaw, 33; and Osborne, 35. They each have been charged with one count of second-degree murder and booked into the Ouachita Correctional Center.

Ouachita Parish sheriff's authorities continue the investigation into the slaying.

Once the investigation is complete, the details, including the autopsy report, will be released to the 4th Judicial District Attorney's Office.

According to OPSO spokesman Glenn Springfield, Soignier, of West Monroe, was reported missing to the Sheriff's Office on Monday.

Soignier was last seen Feb. 9. One of Soignier's family members reported him missing.

"They said he did this a lot where he'd leave and not tell anyone, but he would always call. After he didn't call within three weeks, the family got worried," Russell said.

No details have been released of a motive, but Russell said it revolved around narcotics.

"The common denominator in all of this is narcotics, but we can't go into detail at the moment. It would be just speculation," Russell said.

According to Soignier's Facebook, he was currently enrolled at Louisiana Delta Community College studying accounting. He had previously worked at Warehouse No. 1. and Lee Edwards Mazda.

Collins and Soignier were friends on Facebook, but authorities have not confirmed any connection among the victim and suspects. The last post on Collins' Facebook page is a picture of her and Malanders, where she commented, "I love you Rob forever."

Malanders and Collins were reportedly engaged on Feb. 9.

On her Facebook page, Collins' posted several status updates where she threatened to end her life, questioned why her life was out of control, and lashed out at people in general.

A Feb. 23 post stated, "I ain't a killer, but don't push me."

Malanders also was friends with Soignier on Facebook.

According to Facebook, Stacie Shaw and Jeffery Osborne are a couple. There was no indication they were friends with Soignier on social media, though Shaw was friends with Malanders.

Sheriff's investigators were assisted by Metro Narcotics Unit and the OPSO Warrant Division in the investigation.

Follow Scott Rogers on Twitter @lscottrogers.