LAKE CHARLES (LA)
Acadiana Advocate [Lafayette LA]
March 14, 2025
A Lafayette man who was found severely beaten in Lake Charles has died, according to media reports.
Scott Anthony Gastal was found in the parking lot of a motel near the Lake Charles Event Center in the 1000 block of N. Lakeshore Drive around 10 p.m. March 2. Gastal appeared to have head injuries, and he was taken to a Lafayette hospital, where he died Tuesday.
Gastal, 50, was one of the first, at age 11, to accuse a Catholic priest of sex abuse, according to The Guardian. He testified in the 1980s that his priest, Gilbert Gauthe, had raped him.
Gauthe is believed to be the first priest in the United States to be openly accused and prosecuted for child sexual abuse. He served various church parishes in the Acadiana area.
Reese Iles Chaumont, 28, of Lake Charles, was charged with second-degree battery, which was upgraded to second-degree murder when Gastal died, authorities said.
Chaumont was originally arrested March 2 by Lake Charles Police on unrelated charges about an hour after the incident is believed to have occurred, officials said.
Chaumont is being held in the Calcasieu Correctional Center on $650,000 bond.
Detectives say this is an ongoing investigation, and anyone with information is asked to contact Lake Charles Police at (337) 491-1311 or anonymously leave a tip on the Lake Charles PD app.