A guy was officially charged on November 21 in relation to 32-year-old Ella Goodie’s disappearance.
Ella’s case was highlighted in the Dateline Missing in America series in October 2022. Felicia Broussard, a friend of Ella’s, told Dateline that she last spoke with Ella on March 8, 2022.
Felicia claimed that since Ella had been searching for new sources of income, she should begin working for Lyft. However, Ella started providing rides without the app because she wanted to earn more money.
On March 9, Felicia said Dateline, Ella informed her two teenage daughters that she was leaving for a trip to Texas and would be back in Lafayette, Louisiana, the following day.
She never returned. On March 11, Ella was reported missing.
The Louisiana State Police made a post regarding Ella’s disappearance in April 2022. The black 2012 Audi Q5 she was driving was found in St. Joseph, Missouri, almost 13 hours away from her Louisiana home, they said.
According to Louisiana State Police Trooper Dereck Senegal, who Dateline talked with in October 2022, Ella was last seen in that Audi with a passenger named Brandon Francisco.
Two weeks after Ella vanished in March, Francisco was taken into custody for an unrelated 2018 crime. The chief prosecutor in that case, Brian Cespiva, told Dateline that Francisco was first accused of a number of offenses, including second-degree murder, auto theft, and obstruction of justice. In October 2022, he entered a guilty plea to the charge of second-degree murder and received a 30-year prison sentence.
However, Francisco’s history of violence predates that murder allegation by a considerable way. Francisco had previously served a 10-year term for the attempted murder of his ex-wife, Cespiva told Dateline.
The 38-year-old was identified as a person of interest in Ella’s case in 2022. He is now accused of killing her.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Louisiana stated in November 2024 that a federal grand jury had returned an indictment accusing Brandon Jermaine Francisco of carrying out the carjacking in 2022 that killed Ella Goodie.
The indictment states that on or around March 9, 2022, Francisco took a 2012 Audi Q5, 2.0T, Sport Utility Vehicle from the victim, E.G., by force, violence, and intimidation with the intent to cause death and serious bodily harm, which ultimately led to the victim’s death. Francisco is also accused of using a 9mm caliber gun during the incident.
Francisco could be sentenced to life in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, or both if found guilty, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Western District of Louisiana.
No date has been set for the arraignment or initial appearance. Dateline has not received a response to its request for comment from Francisco’s most recent attorney of record.
The body of Ella has yet to be found. The Louisiana State Police are asking anyone with knowledge on Ella’s disappearance to contact them at 318-484-2194.
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