MORGAN CITY, La. (KLFY) – A homicide unsolved for more than 25 years has been solved in Morgan City.

On October 8, 1998, the Morgan City Police Department responded to Youngs Road regarding a body that had been discovered behind Youngs Park near the wooded area. The body of Amber Lynn Jenkins Garcia has been found. The investigation began with the Morgan City Police Department Detective Division when it was determined that Ms. Garcia’s death was the result of a homicide.

Amber Jenkins Garcia

During the investigation, investigators collected several sources of evidence which were analyzed by crime specialists. As the investigation continued, information and leads grew cold and investigators were unable to determine who was responsible for Ms. Garcia’s death.

Jennifer Vedol

On December 25, 1998, investigators from the Morgan City Police Department responded to the area of ​​Duke Street regarding the body of a woman that had been found. Jennifer Vedol’s body was found and her death was determined to be the result of homicide. This investigation was opened by investigators when John Willis Pittman Jr., then 18 years old, was identified as a suspect. Ultimately, Pittman was charged with Ms. Vedol’s death and later pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the 16th Judicial Court. He was sentenced to 40 years of hard labor and taken into custody by the Louisiana Department of Corrections.

John Pittman

Over the years, the investigation into Ms. Garcia was examined to see if any new leads could be developed regarding her death. In early 2024, investigators from the Morgan City Police Department’s Detective Division resubmitted evidence collected at the scene of Garcia’s death to the Acadiana Forensic Science Laboratory. Over the years, with technological advances in this field, results showed that DNA collected at the scene linked Pittman to Ms. Garcia’s death.

With this new evidence, the investigation has once again been rejuvenated. Investigators obtained a warrant for Pittman’s arrest on a charge of second-degree murder for Ms. Garcia’s death more than 26 years ago. Pittman, who remains incarcerated at Elayn Hunt Correctional Center for Ms. Vedol’s murder, will now be charged in Ms. Garcia’s death. He remains incarcerated and will be booked on the new charge and will await trial in the 16th Judicial Court.

Chief Chad M. Adams and the Morgan City Police Department would like to congratulate all of our investigators, from those who participated in the initial investigation to those who have reviewed the case over the years since, and to our current investigators who We have now completed the task that brought this investigation into a heinous homicide to a conclusion. The work accomplished by all these investigators led to Justice Not only to Mrs. Garcia, but to the family she had left behind. Mrs. Garcia was a daughter and a mother. We pray for Mrs. Garcia’s family and that our Lord may lay his hands on them and the Vedol family during this difficult time. As this investigation nears its conclusion, Chief Adams and investigators from the Morgan City Police Department have made contact and met with Ms. Garcia’s family.

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