Retired Shreveport Homicide Detective Re-enacts His Biggest Cases
Rod Demery was involved in hundreds of murder cases during his 14 years as a homicide detective with the Shreveport Police Department. On the 60+ cases on which he was the lead detective, he had a 100% close rate; so you wouldn't want him on your trail if you happened to kill someone.
Some of Demery's highest-profile cases are the subjects of a 10-episode TV series entitled "Murder Chose Me" on Investigation Discovery.
Demery became acquainted with death at the age of three when his mother was murdered. When he was in his twenties, his brother was convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison. Demery vowed that he would break the cycle of violence in his family, and went into law enforcement. He says that his life's mission became to find justice and closure for the families of murder victims, just like his own.
I happened to catch the pilot of the show when it aired this past New Year's Day. The storytelling method is a new one for ID. Viewers get glimpses of Rod’s backstory in serial fashion, with each of his cases precipitating flashbacks to his mother's death. Jane Latman, Executive Vice President of Development at ID, said in an e-mail to realscreen.com, "As Rod draws parallels between his story and each new case, viewers learn about how his layered relationship with homicide informs his detective process.” Good stuff.
"Murder Chose Me" airs Wednesday at 9:00pm on Investigation Discovery.