Offender Record · OFF-2026-018
Daniel Joseph Blank
Also known as The River Parishes serial killer
Sex
Male
Race
White
Born
1962
Custody
Incarcerated
States
LA, TX
Custody
Incarcerated at Louisiana State Penitentiary
Custody record at the facility
Blank remains incarcerated on death row as of 2025. In 2016, the Louisiana Supreme Court halted his execution one month before it was scheduled to take place.
This record documents arrests, charges and convictions reported by courts, law enforcement agencies and news organizations. Every statement is tied to a cited source with an archived copy. A charge is an accusation, not proof of guilt; a person charged is presumed innocent unless convicted. Solve the Case does not allege that this person committed any offense beyond what the cited records state, and this record is not a suggestion that the person is connected to any unsolved case. How records are built, corrected and removed.
Summary of the record
Daniel Joseph Blank, born June 28, 1962, is a convicted serial killer who killed a total of six elderly people between 1996 and 1997 within the River Parishes in Louisiana. Blank was found guilty of the April 10, 1997 murder of 71-year-old Lillian Philippe, and sentenced to death on December 9, 1999; he was also given multiple life sentences for the other cases that were taken to trial, including one for the May 14, 1997 murder of 55-year-old Joan Brock, which had originally been a death sentence but was later commuted to life. Blank remains incarcerated on death row as of 2025.
Documented Arrests, Charges and Convictions
Dispositions are shown exactly as the cited records report them. Pending charges are updated when a court acts; a record with no remaining conviction or pending charge is removed from the site.
Offense date Oct 27, 1996, St. Amant, Louisiana
First-degree murder (Victor Rossi)
Ascension Parish Sheriff, Louisiana · Arrested Nov 14, 1997 · Convicted Convicted
On October 27, 1996, Blank murdered his employer, 41-year-old Victor Rossi, at his home in St. Amant. Prior to his murder, Rossi had hired Blank as his employee of his auto repair shop in Prairieville. Blank had killed Rossi while robbing him for money.
SourcesRadford University serial killer biography: Blank, Daniel; Daniel Blank - Wikipedia; The Story of Serial Killer Daniel Joseph Blank
Offense date Mar 18, 1997, Paulina, Louisiana
Second-degree murder (Barbara Bourgeois)
St. James Parish District Attorney · Arrested Nov 14, 1997 · Convicted Convicted · Sentence: Life imprisonment without parole
On the night of March 18, 1997, Blank entered the home of 58-year-old Barbara Bourgeois in Paulina, for the purpose of committing robbery. Blank disabled the telephone wires at her residence and ransacked the house for money when Bourgeois woke up from her sleep and confronted Blank. Upon being caught red-handed, Blank armed himself with a vacuum cleaner and hit her repeatedly in the head and body, and as a result of the attack, Bourgeois suffered from multiple injuries, consisting of large hematomas, mass blunt trauma to the face, fractured nasal bones, a fractured sternum and hemorrhage which caused her death.
SourcesRadford University serial killer biography: Blank, Daniel; The murderous ways of Daniel Blank
Offense date Apr 09, 1997, Gonzales, Louisiana
First-degree murder (Lillian Philippe)
Ascension Parish District Attorney · District Court, Ascension Parish · Arrested Nov 14, 1997 · Convicted Convicted · Sentence: Death by lethal injection
On April 9, 1997, Blank invaded the house of 71-year-old Lillian Philippe in Gonzales, and while he was ransacking the house, Blank came face to face with Philippe, who saw Blank after coming out of the bathroom. Blank assaulted and stabbed Philippe to death during the confrontation, and escaped after he stole from her house. Philippe's body was discovered the next day by her sister-in-law.
SourcesRadford University serial killer biography: Blank, Daniel; Daniel Blank - Wikipedia; River Parishes serial killer evidence must undergo new DNA testing, judge rules; The murderous ways of Daniel Blank
Offense date May 09, 1997, LaPlace, Louisiana
First-degree murder (Sam Arcuri and Louella Arcuri)
St. John the Baptist Parish District Attorney · Arrested Nov 14, 1997 · Convicted Convicted · Sentence: Two life sentences without parole
Daniel pleaded guilty to two counts of first-degree murder for the deaths of Sam and Louella Arcuri. He was sentenced to two irrevocable life sentences.
SourcesRadford University serial killer biography: Blank, Daniel; The murderous ways of Daniel Blank
Offense date May 14, 1997, LaPlace, Louisiana
First-degree murder (Joan Brock)
St. John the Baptist Parish District Attorney · 40th Judicial District Court · Arrested Nov 14, 1997 · Convicted Convicted · Sentence: Death by lethal injection (later commuted to life imprisonment without parole)
Blank was given multiple life sentences for the other cases that were taken to trial, including one for the May 14, 1997 murder of 55-year-old Joan Brock, which had originally been a death sentence but was later commuted to life.
SourcesRadford University serial killer biography: Blank, Daniel; Daniel Blank - Wikipedia; Daniel Blank gets death for Brock murder
Offense date Jul 06, 1997, Gonzales, Louisiana
Attempted murder (Leonce Millet and Joyce Millet)
Ascension Parish Sheriff, Louisiana · Arrested Nov 14, 1997
Attempted murder of Leonce and Joyce Millet, both 66 years old. They were beaten and shot inside their Gonzales home. Leonce and Joyce Millet, of Gonzales, recounted for jurors how they were left for dead after a July 6, 1997, robbery and attack by an intruder. They could not identify the man, but helped investigators create a composite sketch of him.
SourcesRadford University serial killer biography: Blank, Daniel; River Parishes serial killer evidence must undergo new DNA testing, judge rules
Pattern and Background
Victim counts and the pattern of the offenses as stated by courts, agencies and the cited reporting. Suspected counts are what officials have said publicly, not a finding of this site.
6
Victims convicted
6
Victims confessed
0
Victims suspected
Active years
1996–1997
Victim profile
Elderly, Strangers, Acquaintances
Stated motive
Financial gain
Range from home
regional
Confessed
Yes
Education
some high school
Marital history
Never married
Children
4
Places Lived, Worked and Frequented
Each place and date range comes from a cited record. Dates marked approximate are as reported. Know a place that is missing? Use Edit record under the photo; a moderator reviews it before it appears.
LA
Paulina, Louisiana
1962 – 1997 · Born in Paulina, St. James Parish
Reserve, Louisiana
1995 – 1996 · Car repair shop employee (Joan Brock's husband's employer)
Gonzales, Louisiana
1995 – 1997 · Owned or operated auto repair/mechanic shop
Prairieville, Louisiana
1996 – 1996 · Auto repair shop employee (Victor Rossi's employer)
Sorrento, Louisiana
1996 – 1997 · Living at time of crimes
Louisiana
Nov 14, 1997 – present · Louisiana State Penitentiary, death row
TX
Onalaska, Texas
Nov 14, 1997 – Nov 14, 1997 · Arrested by law enforcement in Texas
Photographs by Year
Photo from en.wikipedia.org
Photo from www.wafb.com
FILE - In this Jan. 26, 1986, file photo, Chicago Bears coach Mike Ditka is carried off the...
FILE - In this Jan. 26, 1986, file photo, Chicago Bears coach Mike Ditka is carried off the...
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Timeline
Jun 28, 1962
Daniel Joseph Blank was born June 28, 1962 in Paulina, Louisiana.
Oct 27, 1996
On October 27, 1996, Blank murdered his employer, 41-year-old Victor Rossi, at his home in St. Amant. Blank had killed Rossi while robbing him for money.
Mar 18, 1997
On the night of March 18, 1997, Blank entered the home of 58-year-old Barbara Bourgeois in Paulina, for the purpose of committing robbery. Blank disabled the telephone wires at her residence and ransacked the house for money when Bourgeois woke up from her sleep and confronted Blank.
Apr 09, 1997
On April 9, 1997, Blank invaded the house of 71-year-old Lillian Philippe in Gonzales, and while he was ransacking the house, Blank came face to face with Philippe. Blank assaulted and stabbed Philippe to death during the confrontation.
May 09, 1997
Daniel bludgeoned to death, Sam Arcuri and Louella Arcuri in their LaPlace, Louisiana home.
May 14, 1997
Daniel murdered Joan Brock in the back yard of her LaPlace home. She was beaten to death.
Jul 06, 1997
Attempted murder of Leonce and Joyce Millet, both 66 years old. They were beaten and shot inside their Gonzales home.
Nov 13, 1997
During a 12-hour interrogation, Daniel fully confessed to the murders of 41-year-old Victor Rossi, 58-year-old Barbara Bourgeois, 71-year-old Lillian Philippe, 76-year-old Sam Arcuri & his 69-year-old wife, Louella Arcuri, 55-year-old Joan Brock & the attempted murders of Leonce & Joyce Millet.
Nov 14, 1997
Blank was arrested on November 14, 1997 in Onalaska, Texas.
Dec 10, 1998
Daniel Blank broke a second-floor bathroom window, crawled onto a roof and jumped to the ground outside the courthouse.
Sep 02, 1999
On September 3, 1999 after about 2 ½ hours of deliberation the jury found Daniel guilty of murdering Lillian in the first-degree.
Dec 09, 1999
Blank was found guilty of the April 10, 1997 murder of 71-year-old Lillian Philippe, and sentenced to death on December 9, 1999.
Apr 08, 2000
His second murder trial for the death of Joan Brock in 2000 found Daniel guilty of first-degree murder despite his continued claims of innocence.
Oct 20, 2000
On October 20, 2000 he was sentenced to death for the second time.
Feb 07, 2001
On February 7, 2001, his third trial began, this time for the second-degree murder of Barbara Bourgeois. He initially pleaded not guilty, but later changed his plea to guilty. As a result, he was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Nov 13, 2001
Daniel pleaded guilty to two counts of first-degree murder for the deaths of Sam and Louella Arcuri. He was sentenced to two irrevocable life sentences.
Sources
Solve the Case is never the original source. Each item below is the public record a statement on this page rests on, with an archived copy where one exists.
News report · Murderpedia ·
Daniel Joseph Blank“Daniel Blank pleads guilty to murder; avoids new trial; Convicted serial killer Daniel Blank, currently in prison serving a life sentence, appeared in court in Edgard this morning and pleaded guilty to the first degree murder.”
Court record · CourtListener ·
State v. Blank“The jury heard defendant's detailed confessions to the murders of Mr. Rossi, Mrs. Brock, Mr. and Mrs. Arcuri, and Mrs. Bourgeois, and to the attempted murders of Mr. and Mrs. Millet.”
News report · They Will Kill You ·
The Story of Serial Killer Daniel Joseph Blank“Daniel Joseph Blank was born on June 28, 1962, in Louisiana, United States. On October 27, 1996, when he killed 41-year-old Victor Rossi, his own employer, during a robbery at Rossi's home in St. Amant.”
News report · Crime Solvers Central ·
Daniel Joseph Blank, Serial Killer“Blank was arrested on November 14, 1997, and later sentenced to life in prison without parole.”
News report · Crime and Coffee Couple ·
The murderous ways of Daniel Blank“Daniel Joseph Blank was a mechanic living in The River Parishes region of Louisiana who committed a total of six murders between October 1996 & May 1997.”
News report · Louisiana Illuminator ·
As Louisiana is set to resume executions, these 53 people are on death row“Daniel Blank has confessed to killing six people in the River Parishes from 1996-97. He was sentenced to death for the 1997 fatal stabbing of 71-year-old Lillian Phillippe of Gonzales.”
News report · Wikipedia ·
Daniel Blank - Wikipedia“Daniel Joseph Blank is an American convicted serial killer sentenced to death in Louisiana for killing six elderly people between 1996 and 1997 in River Parishes, Louisiana.”
News report · The Weekly Citizen ·
Attorneys for Daniel Blank, convicted River Parishes serial killer, ask for DNA testing“Convicted River Parishes serial killer Daniel Blank, whose murder cases date back to the mid-1990s, has been in headlines again as his attorneys have asked for crime scene evidence to be examined.”
News report · WAFB ·
River Parishes serial killer evidence must undergo new DNA testing, judge rules“In 1999, a jury unanimously convicted Daniel Blank of the 1997 murder of 71-year-old Lillian Phillippe of Gonzales, LA.”
Other · Radford University, Department of Psychology ·
Radford University serial killer biography: Blank, Daniel“Daniel Joseph Blank born 1962 in Paulina, Louisiana; serial killer who confessed to six murders between October 1996 and May 1997.”
News report · L'Observateur ·
Daniel Blank gets death for Brock murder“Accused serial killer Daniel Blank has been sentenced to die by lethal injection for the 1997 murder of LaPlace resident Joan Brock.”
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