Tip, backyard dig lead to Eddie Tillman murder arrests in Marrero

A late tip, a backyard excavation and a 2023 missing-person file finally pushed Jefferson Parish investigators from a dormant search to murder arrests in Marrero. What began as a report of buried remains behind a home in the 1200 block of Gaudet Drive turned into a homicide case tied to Eddie Tillman Jr., the father of four who vanished nearly three years ago.

Detectives said the break came after a Crimestoppers tip in late 2025 pointed them toward the abandoned property. By April 20, 2026, investigators had been gathering at the Gaudet Drive address, and LSU forensic teams later helped dig into the yard and recover what appeared to be human remains. The search quickly shifted from missing-person work to a death investigation with two named suspects.

Jefferson Parish officials later confirmed the remains recovered from the backyard belonged to Tillman. A report said a forensic odontologist identified him through dental records, and the Jefferson Parish Coroner’s Office made the confirmation after the recovery. Investigators had already been treating the evidence as strongly linked to Tillman while waiting for the formal identification.

Dustin Billot, 32, was taken into custody and booked on second-degree murder, obstruction of justice and unlawful disposal of human remains. He was being held on a $575,000 bond. Sheriff Joe Lopinto said Billot had lived at the Gaudet Drive home at one point, a detail that gave investigators another possible connection between the suspects and the burial site. John Lopez, 45, was later arrested on the same charges.

The case reaches back to Tillman’s disappearance in August 2023. Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office missing-person records list him as 37 years old, white, 5-foot-6, about 140 pounds, with blue eyes and brown hair. The entry says he was last seen wearing a black muscle shirt and blue jean shorts and associated with a 2001 red Chevrolet Silverado bearing Florida plate 610NYJ. Another source places the disappearance on August 16, 2023, in Bridge City at the 1300 block of Bolo Court.

WWL Louisiana reported that Lopez was already being held in jail on unrelated matters, including a prior assault-related conviction and another alleged gun crime, underscoring how this backyard recovery intersected with a broader criminal history. For Tillman’s family, the identification brought grim closure to a missing case that had sat open since 2023. For Jefferson Parish investigators, it marked the moment a tip and a dig turned one of those old missing-person files into a murder case with arrests, a body recovery and a path toward prosecution.