AJ Breaux

[Todd Mueller]

Originally Posted by mozartpc27

I must say this was one of the few times where I disagreed with your commentary. Sightings aside, elements leading up to the disappearance and at the scene of his car, in combination with knowing AJ Breaux's personal story, make me suspect that the most direct and logical explanation for this story is that Breaux had found a partner, but someone reasonably far outside of town (good idea if you are trying to hide homosexuality in a small town), and got into an argument with that person that either resulted in his murder, or perhaps his suicide.

Explains the "missing" miles, explains the seeming lack of any clear financial motive, explains the missing milk (he bought it to bring to his destination, and as to why he would buy it before making a journey of 90-120 miles to see a partner, this was 91, late at night to begin with, in a rural area - perhaps he knew the store he was at would be open at 10PM, but by the time he got to where he was going, all stores would be closed).

Does not explain the in-town sightings, but I am inclined to believe people got their dates wrong, or there was simply someone who looked remarkably like AJ that they mistook for him (would explain the annoyed reaction, in one case).

You could definitely be on to something here... Perhaps he hooked up with someone who was discovered or got scared of being outed and blamed AJ for it (think Senator Larry Craig in the Minneapolis airport bathroom). If AJ had a relationship in the South with someone who got scared of being ruined by this, they could have blamed him and attacked/murdered him along with others. I don't see this as being that far fetched.

I agree with RobinW that whatever happened was probably sudden, as he left the money behind and I can't see him living for a long time without more concrete proof. I also agree that the sightings are either not him and/or the dates were mixed up. I swore I've seen friends of mine before out shopping, only to find out I was mistaken.

I also agree with RobinW that the milk is a big clue. Why would it be missing? That's why I think mozartpc27's idea is solid. It would explain a lot about the milk and the miles on the car.

[Todd Mueller]

Originally Posted by dynoguy88

I'm surprised this concept is so foreign to you as it's been going on since the beginning of time. Many gay men, especially ones who grew up during AJ's generation are able to repress their true selves (or be in such deep denial) to the point that they do marry wives and have families for a variety of reasons, mostly not wanting to be rejected by their family and society. The majority of the time, they cannot repress those feelings forever and the consequences can often be brutal, like depression and suicide. Sadly, this still happens even today although it's not as common as 40 years ago.

DING-DING-DING! This is a great post, dynoguy.

I can't imagine the mental torture of living a lie like that. And it is waaaay more common than many people think, especially before the year 2000.

Originally Posted by Mike82

Pardon my ignorace but how can someone who is gay have (biological) children and more than one at that? Without getting too graphic, I as a heterosexual cannot possibly imagine ever 'getting up' for anyone who wasn't an adult female, let alone 'staying up'.

I think desperate people do desperate things. I can't tell you for sure, but I would guess you use your imagination and picture what you want in your mind so the physical part can happen. It happens all the time in prison and I don't think most of the men who have sex in prison are truly homosexuals. It also wouldn't shock me if many of these men like AJ were reported to have an abnormal lack of sex drive and/or ED issues. Excuses like that would help with the cover-up. There are also plenty of women who later came out as lesbians, but for obvious reasons that would be much easier to fake in a marriage.

[dynoguy88]

Originally Posted by mozartpc27

Sightings aside, elements leading up to the disappearance and at the scene of his car, in combination with knowing AJ Breaux's personal story, make me suspect that the most direct and logical explanation for this story is that Breaux had found a partner, but someone reasonably far outside of town (good idea if you are trying to hide homosexuality in a small town), and got into an argument with that person that either resulted in his murder, or perhaps his suicide.

Hmm. You can't rule anything out because we just don't know. But your theory would explain the gas tank issue.

AJ got $10.00 worth of gas the day before his disappearance. At 1991 gas prices, that would have significantly filled your tank. But when his car was found the following day, the gas tank was almost empty. That car was driven a great distance after he was last seen.

[Jon]

Damn, this thread makes me really sad. I get the impression he was a really decent guy. I really hope the family gets the answers they deserve.

[TheCars1986]

I haven't listened to Robin's episode yet, but I've never realized just how close AJ's car was dumped to where he was last seen alive. If it wasn't AJ driving the car, that tells me whoever dumped it picked that specific location for a reason. I wonder if it was because it was close to the building where they had their AA meetings. Which makes me wonder if it was somehow connected to that, and the gay angle was just a red herring in the case.

[thinwhiteduke74]

A devastating quote from that 2017 story:

We firmly believe that’s why our dad isn’t here today,” Tardo added. “Not only was he an AA member and a homosexual, but he worked in a men’s clothing store. For 30 years he could not say he was homosexual because men in the community had to go be fitted by him. He had no other trade, so that was his way of life.”

[Huskerz85]

Originally Posted by TheCars1986

I haven't listened to Robin's episode yet, but I've never realized just how close AJ's car was dumped to where he was last seen alive. If it wasn't AJ driving the car, that tells me whoever dumped it picked that specific location for a reason. I wonder if it was because it was close to the building where they had their AA meetings. Which makes me wonder if it was somehow connected to that, and the gay angle was just a red herring in the case.

The AA angle is troubling for me because there's no clear motive.

The more I think about it, the more I think about how similar this is to the case of Don Smith (where people theorized he was used for money until his killer disposed of him).

[TheCars1986]

Originally Posted by Huskerz85

The AA angle is troubling for me because there's no clear motive.

I could see a few possibilities:

-AJ gets a call from someone in need (who could be on probation for an alcohol related offense), AJ goes to help this person and sees that this person has fallen off the wagon. AJ tells this person he has to notify the probation officer, and this person murders AJ in a fit of rage.

-AJ learned something that he shouldn't have and was killed to silence him.

-AJ was taken advantage of by someone who he tried to help and was killed for his efforts. Robbery could have been the intended motive for this, but because AJ was leery about this person, when he hid his wallet and checkbook, his killer never found it when searching.

I think the AA connection is more plausible due to where his car was dumped. Unless there was more than 1 person involved, someone would have had to have had a ride away from the area. Someone who's car was already at the Easy Does It Club (directly across the street from where AJ's car was found) would fit this. I also think the note should have been taken more seriously. I think if it was written by his killer, it's a half-hearted attempt at confessing without taking 100% of the blame. So they invent the fact that AJ was the one who fell off the wagon and that his death was this weird assisted suicide, when in reality it could have been the total opposite.

[RobinW]

Originally Posted by mozartpc27

Explains the "missing" miles, explains the seeming lack of any clear financial motive, explains the missing milk (he bought it to bring to his destination, and as to why he would buy it before making a journey of 90-120 miles to see a partner, this was 91, late at night to begin with, in a rural area - perhaps he knew the store he was at would be open at 10PM, but by the time he got to where he was going, all stores would be closed).

The milk is the main reason why I suspected A.J. was headed straight home and had no intention of going anywhere else that night. Milk is an item that will go bad within an hour or two if you don't refrigerate it, so it just seems weird that he would purchase it in Houma if he was planning to drive a long distance to see someone (did he really to buy milk THAT badly if he was going to meet a secret lover?).

But since A.J. lived with one of his daughters at the time and apparently went to the Easy Does It Club virtually every night, it would be interesting to hear if he had a tendency to stay out really late or it was his normal routine to come home sometime after 10:00 PM. If it's the latter, then this lends credence to the idea that something unexpected happened to him after he left the convenience store.

[dynoguy88]

Originally Posted by TheCars1986

-AJ gets a call from someone in need (who could be on probation for an alcohol related offense), AJ goes to help this person and sees that this person has fallen off the wagon. AJ tells this person he has to notify the probation officer, and this person murders AJ in a fit of rage.

With no cell phones in 1991 and him not being home yet, the only way he could have received a call for that scenario would be before leaving the Easy Does It Club...which, I'm just assuming had a phone. But the fact that he stopped at the convenience store for milk sort of nullifies that. Helping a friend or someone in need would be done FIRST over buying milk.

Your other two scenarios sound far more likely, IMO.

His car being found where it was may have been intentional to give the impression that he was abducted right after leaving the club. But someone drove that car a great distance to eat up the gas that AJ had just bought that day. And I don't see him driving to the convenience store, buying the milk and THEN driving back to the park.

[TheCars1986]

Originally Posted by dynoguy88

With no cell phones in 1991 and him not being home yet, the only way he could have received a call for that scenario would be before leaving the Easy Does It Club...which, I'm just assuming had a phone. But the fact that he stopped at the convenience store for milk sort of nullifies that. Helping a friend or someone in need would be done FIRST over buying milk.

Your other two scenarios sound far more likely, IMO.

His car being found where it was may have been intentional to give the impression that he was abducted right after leaving the club. But someone drove that car a great distance to eat up the gas that AJ had just bought that day. And I don't see him driving to the convenience store, buying the milk and THEN driving back to the park.

The segment says AJ was last seen at the club at around 8:15. A half hour later is when he was seen at the convenience store. It's possible he was followed after meeting with this person and killed. It's also possible that AJ went to help someone who had fallen off of the wagon and was coaxed into joining them. I'm not sure what AJ's drink of choice was when he was drinking, but milk is often used in white russians.

[MrsD]

Hi all, long time listener first time caller. I would just like to take this opportunity to say how much I enjoy reading these threads and seeing such varying opinions. That being said I would like to state my own theory on AJ.

Others have mentioned him falling off the wagon, in my theory this is case. Although I think that he may have been sneaking a cheeky drink here and there believing that his addiction was under control.

Perhaps some people at the AA meeting clicked on to this and staged an intervention, that would explain the suppose ‘kidnapping’. AJ wasn’t shouting or fighting for his life as he knew the people in the car. If AJ had been kidnapped and his life was in danger I’m sure he would of attempted to signal his friends who saw him, mouth help or something.

Maybe the people agreed that AJ could not be trusted to go home on his own so agreed to take him out of town to their own place to keep an eye on him. He was giving the chance to call a rehab centre, his AA bosses or his family to tell them what was going on but through shame he faked the call.

Once the friends got him to a safe place to detox, something took a turn for the worse. Withdrawals or a fight broke out. Unfortunately AJ expired and the three friends covered it up. I believe the three friends has good intentions and really wanted to help AJ but things got out of their control and they made a pact to stay quiet.

Anyway that is my theory and I’m sure someone is going to poke a million holes in it. Let me know what you think and I look forward to posting more.

Many thanks.

[TheCars1986]

Originally Posted by MrsD

Hi all, long time listener first time caller. I would just like to take this opportunity to say how much I enjoy reading these threads and seeing such varying opinions. That being said I would like to state my own theory on AJ.

Others have mentioned him falling off the wagon, in my theory this is case. Although I think that he may have been sneaking a cheeky drink here and there believing that his addiction was under control.

Perhaps some people at the AA meeting clicked on to this and staged an intervention, that would explain the suppose ‘kidnapping’. AJ wasn’t shouting or fighting for his life as he knew the people in the car. If AJ had been kidnapped and his life was in danger I’m sure he would of attempted to signal his friends who saw him, mouth help or something.

Maybe the people agreed that AJ could not be trusted to go home on his own so agreed to take him out of town to their own place to keep an eye on him. He was giving the chance to call a rehab centre, his AA bosses or his family to tell them what was going on but through shame he faked the call.

Once the friends got him to a safe place to detox, something took a turn for the worse. Withdrawals or a fight broke out. Unfortunately AJ expired and the three friends covered it up. I believe the three friends has good intentions and really wanted to help AJ but things got out of their control and they made a pact to stay quiet.

Anyway that is my theory and I’m sure someone is going to poke a million holes in it. Let me know what you think and I look forward to posting more.

Many thanks.

Welcome to the board.

The problem with your theory is that AJ was seen about 15 minutes after leaving the Easy Does It Club at a convenience store purchasing milk, and the clerk said he was acting normal as was by himself. She was the last known, confirmed person to see him alive. I also don't think people with good intentions would abduct someone and not notify that person's friends and family as to what was going on.

[Labonte18]

Originally Posted by TheCars1986

Welcome to the board.

The problem with your theory is that AJ was seen about 15 minutes after leaving the Easy Does It Club at a convenience store purchasing milk, and the clerk said he was acting normal as was by himself. She was the last known, confirmed person to see him alive. I also don't think people with good intentions would abduct someone and not notify that person's friends and family as to what was going on.

While I agree with you that MrsD's theory in and of itself has some problems.. There's.. Logic to some of it.. Change a few things around on it and perhaps I can buy into it.

As I've mentioned before with my own experiences.. Missing persons cases are often afterthoughts for the police and they just don't get enough attention or actual detective work. Hell, forget detective work, just basic investigation sometimes doesn't happen.

So.. While there's pieces of MrsD's theory that don't work.. The overall general idea isn't necessarily out of the question.

The last sighting of him was buying milk after the meeting.. But when was it noticed that he was missing? I have assumed, and perhaps incorrectly, that he never made it home.. Did he live with his daughters or someone? Is it established that he didn't make it home that evening?

[dynoguy88]

Originally Posted by Labonte18

The last sighting of him was buying milk after the meeting.. But when was it noticed that he was missing? I have assumed, and perhaps incorrectly, that he never made it home.. Did he live with his daughters or someone? Is it established that he didn't make it home that evening?

He lived with one of his three daughters. And since the last sighting of him was when he was buying milk at the store, I think it's safe to assume he never made it home. All three daughters were frantic with worry the next day.

My main problem with MrsD's theory is that if these friends wanted to stage an intervention to the point that it basically involved kidnapping him, there would be no reason to leave the daughters in the dark. Any kind of logical intervention would involve the family members. They're the ones who had the longest history of living with AJ's addiction and were the most affected by it's drawbacks and improvement. To force an intervention FIRST and leave them completely out of the loop would be incredibly cruel.

This would also mean that the daughter AJ was living with would have had no idea he had even relapsed. I think that's asking a lot.