La. woman sentenced for killing her boyfriend in 1984 and taking over his business

JEFFERSON PARISH, La. (TCN) -- A 60-year-old woman recently pleaded guilty to killing her live-in-boyfriend, who disappeared two years before his remains were found in a well.

The Jefferson Parish District Attorney’s Office announced Nov. 13 that a judge sentenced Patricia Tito to life in prison without the possibility of parole for second-degree murder in connection with the death of her boyfriend, 57-year-old Lester Rome. A jury indicted her in December 2023.

According to prosecutors, Rome, who owned a lounge on Grand Isle, was last seen on Jan. 9, 1984. The Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office said his family members reported him missing to the Grand Isle Police Department.

Tito was reportedly a teenager at the time and ran the lounge while Rome was missing. The district attorney’s office said Tito continued to live in the victim’s residence and drive his vehicle. Rome’s brother later evicted Tito.

According to prosecutors, Tito told other people she drove Rome to the airport for a trip, and she was the last person to see him. Tito allegedly said to another individual that Rome gave her the lounge and left the state.

The district attorney’s office said authorities identified Tito as a suspect in the missing person case, but they suspended the investigation because they couldn’t find Rome’s remains. Two years later, investigators reportedly found Rome’s body in a well on farmland. Deputies said he became known as "the Man in the Well," and investigators determined he died of blunt force trauma and possible stab wounds. Rome wasn’t positively identified until 2021.

In 2021, the Sabine County Sheriff’s Office worked on the case. Tito was serving a 40-year prison sentence at the time after pleading guilty in 2007 to manslaughter in connection with the shooting death of a woman.

Tito reportedly told investigators Rome had been killed by another man, Delvin Sibley, in Jefferson Parish over a drug debt. His remains were moved to the well on a property formerly owned by Sibley’s family. In 2022, Tito eventually told authorities she and Rome teamed up for a business relationship. He allegedly "made sexual advances toward her," dismantling their business relationship. Tito said Rome was slain shortly after.

According to the Jefferson Parish sheriff’s office, "Tito obviously had knowledge of Mr. Rome’s death and failed to make any effort to notify law enforcement or a member of his family between 1984 and 2021."

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