Family shocked, confused by murder
Gary Farrell of Luling shot and killed Ginger Mongrue Allen before calling police dispatchers to report the crime on Sept. 22 and causing a six-hour standoff that ended when he allegedly shot himself in the head, authorities said.
Farrell, 42, and Allen, 50, had been friends for more than 10 years, according to Allen’s sister, Alyce Mongrue.
“I knew Gary and I had no clue that he would ever, ever do this,” Mongrue said. “We’re all just blown away. We’re confused and we’re very, very shocked.”
Authorities say that Farrell killed Allen by shooting her in the head. He then put Allen’s body in a 1992 tan Lincoln Town Car and drove to St. Charles Parish Hospital at 12:08 a.m. on Sept.22.
Mongrue said the Town Car was Allen’s vehicle. She said that Allen had been offering Farrell rides to the grocery store and convenience store since he has been without a car for months.
“He didn’t have a car for a few months and since Ginger was such a good friend she would take him places he needed to go,” Mongrue said. “She helped him out whenever she could.”
Video surveillance caught Farrell parking the car at the hospital and then walking around the parking lot. He eventually admitted himself into the emergency room with back pains.
Farrell was released from the hospital at 1:38 a.m. and was picked up by a family member.
Twelve hours later, authorities say that Farrell called 911 and informed dispatchers that he had killed his girlfriend.
Mongrue said that although Farrell was romantically interested in Allen at one time, Allen did not return the interest and the two had never dated.
Farrell told dispatchers that he put Allen in a car and parked it at the hospital. He then told dispatchers that he was barricaded in a shed on his property on Luling Avenue with a gun and that he would not come out alive.
Deputies located the Lincoln and found Allen’s body lying face down between the front and back seats of the car. Deputies found Farrell in a shed he converted into a home at 732 Luling Ave.
They surrounded the building and talked with Farrell over the phone in an effort to get him to surrender. After hours of unsuccessful negotiations, the Sheriff’s Office’s Special Response Team deployed canisters of tear gas through a window.
Deputies then heard what sounded like a gun shot, and eventually confirmed that Farrell had shot himself by deploying remote cameras into the home.
Farrell was transported to University Hospital in New Orleans where he underwent surgery. He is still listed in critical condition.
Mongrue said she has no idea what motive Farrell would have had to kill Allen, but she said that Farrell was on medication for manic depression, also known as bipolar disorder.
She first noticed that something might be wrong on Tuesday, Sept. 21.
Allen had plans to visit Mongrue, a hair dresser, to have her hair colored. When she did not show up on time, Mongrue drove around Luling looking for Allen’s car.
“Around 11 a.m. I rode around and I passed by his house…her car was backed in by his house,” Mongrue said. “I thought maybe she took him grocery shopping and just forgot about our appointment, but then the next day all this took place.”
Mongrue said that Allen was always a trusting person who saw the best in everyone and never judged others.
“She just trusted in the wrong one,” Mongrue said.
She said Allen had previously worked at Social Concerns and loved spending time with her nieces and nephew more than anything else. Mongrue said that the community has really supported the family in their loss, especially close family friend Barry Minnich.
Investigators have been telling her as much as they can, she said, but a lot of her questions have been left unanswered because the investigation is ongoing.
“I still don’t have closure and I don’t know if I’ll ever get closure,” Mongrue said. “I would like answers that I’ll never be able to get.”
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