LIVINGSTON – Witnesses described the terrifying hours of being held captive by the man deputies said waited to strike – killing his wife in a horrific attack late Monday night in Livingston Parish.

Terrell Anthony, 37, surrendered a day later on first-degree murder charges and was being held without bond.

Sheriff’s deputies in Livingston Parish said Anthony shot and killed Jessica Clark, 31, after holding her family hostage until she arrived. That’s when, deputies said, Anthony shot and killed Clark.

In a preliminary hearing Wednesday where a judge denied Anthony bond, an investigator and two people inside the home at the time of the attack testified about what happened.

The Advocate reported on the hearing: Anthony nabbed Clark’s 12-year-old son as he got off the school bus Monday afternoon then forced the boy and the live-in nanny to surrender phones. Inside the home on Rue de Fleur in the Live Oak area of Watson, the court heard Anthony held the two with a child he shares with Clark, a 2-year-old, until Clark returned just before midnight.

For eleven hours, according to the witnesses, Anthony forced the family to wait - the nanny in a bedroom when Clark returned home; Shot by Anthony as the 12-year-old watched, according to the newspaper.

The two kids and nanny were not hurt and fled to neighbors’ homes where the 12-year-old and adult separately called for help.

Neighbors described the frantic pleas for help in interviews with WBRZ in the neighborhood Tuesday.

“[They] said, ‘Jessica's been shot!’ I said, ‘what happened?’ [They replied], ‘Terrell shot her!’"

Neighbors said they ran to the home and found Clark shot dead.

“She's laying on her left side with her face up on one side. She had a bullet hole in her temple area and there were gunshot wounds along the back part of her. She was laying in a pool of blood right there out in front of her,” the eyewitness told WBRZ.

WBRZ.com previously reported on Anthony’s violent and dangerous past.

At the time of the attack Monday night, he was free on bond from a previous murder arrest. He was assigned to wear an ankle monitor, which he cut off nine days before the shooting, The Advocate reported.

Wednesday afternoon Livingston Parish Sheriff Jason Ard spoke on his department's involvement with Anthony's past.

"We've actually arrested this suspect before for domestic violence-type charges," said Ard. "He's got a pretty extensive criminal history and yes, I mean, I don't think this guy should have been out on the street, my personal opinion."

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