A Kinder man, arrested in August of 2020 in a double homicide case, was found guilty Friday, October 22, in a Calcasieu courtroom. He is now facing two mandatory life sentences in prison for two first-degree murder charges.
Scott Martin Kidd, 37, W/M, of Kinder, was first sought by authorities in August of 2020, as a person of interest in the deaths of Joan O’Brien, 73, and Zoren O’Brien, 81. The couple was found shot to death in their Iowa home by family members on Saturday, August 29, 2020, two days after Hurricane Laura’s arrival.
Authorities began looking for Kidd, who was arrested the following day on unrelated charges in Eunice. Calcaiseu Sheriff Tony Mancuso previously released information that Kidd was arrested on felony theft in Eunice. Kidd was then transported to the Calcasieu Correctional Center, where he remains today. He was officially charged on September 2, 2020, when a warrant was signed by a judge for two counts of first-degree murder. He was held with no bond.
At that time, the Calcasieu Parish Sheriff’s Office was leading the investigation. Deputies and detectives received assistance from the Jeff Davis Parish Sheriff’s Office, Iowa Police Department and Louisiana State Police.
During testimony last week, Kidd took the stand to testify he acted in self-defense, according to trial coverage. He attempted to convince jurors Zoren accidentally shot his wife, Joan, before Kidd had to shoot Zoren to protect himself.
The case’s prosecutors, argued Kidd broke into the O’Brien’s home and killed them before robbing the house. Prosecutors referred to Kidd as “the worst of the worst.”
Jurors learned the elderly couple were both shot in the head with a shotgun in their South Thompson Street home in Iowa. Kidd was known to the family having spent time with the elderly couple.
The prosecution claimed Kidd kept changing his story. The defense argued the state didn’t prove who killed the O’Brien’s.
The jury deliberated two hours before returning a guilty verdict on the two counts of first-degree murder. He will be sentenced on December 17. The murders were believed to have occurred on August 28, 2020.
