BATON ROUGE - A judge ordered that the case of Todd Wessinger, who was convicted for the 1995 killings of two people at Calendar's Restaurant on Perkins Road, be reopened Friday.

Wessinger was a former dishwasher at the now-closed restaurant. He shot and killed employees David Breakwell and Stephanie Guzzardo during a robbery in November 1995. He was convicted in June 1997; one day later, he received the death penalty.

However, a federal appeals judge determined Wessinger’s court-appointed attorneys provided ineffective counsel during the sentencing phase of his 1997 trial.

U.S. District Judge John deGravelles vacated his death penalty sentencing in 2022. Prior to this, Wessinger was in prison since 2012. 

In an order signed on Jun. 20, deGravelles remanded the case to the 19th Judicial District "for a new penalty phase not inconsistent with this court's Dec. 20, 2022 Ruling and Judgement," referring to the vacation of Wessinger's death penalty ruled in 2022. 

District Attorney Hillar Moore said he and his office "respectfully disagree with the judge’s decision and notice of intent to appeal his ruling has been filed."

"The ramifications of this order cannot be overstated," Moore said. "The State of Louisiana will be forced to carry the egregious burden of presenting the entirety of this horrific case to another jury. These twelve individuals will not be able to make a knowing and informed decision about whether to impose the death penalty without a full understanding of this defendant’s heinous conduct."

Moore said that the evidence was overwhelming in the trial and that this "cannot be recreated 30 years after the commission of these crimes."

Court records do not yet indicate a new trial date for Wessinger.