August 3, 2026 | By: Dani Gallingane

This story is part of a collaborative project between Project: Cold Case and the University of North Florida’s Applied Journalism class.

Donald Faul was in New Orleans, Louisiana on the weekend of Super Bowl XV in 1981, but he was not there for football; he was watching college basketball with his friends. It was not uncommon for Donald to take weekend trips to New Orleans, to visit friends and spend time going to bars and listening to music, but those weekend trips came to a tragic end when he was stabbed to death on the French Quarter’s Moonwalk. He was only 30 years old.

Donald was born on November 24, 1950, and was raised in Lafayette, Louisiana with his younger brother and sister. Growing up, Donald was the classic older brother; he helped his sister with her math homework and taught her how to drive a stick shift in his dark green MG through their subdivision. When he wasn’t at work or in school, Donald loved to read and often spent hours in his hometown park playing his favorite sport: pick-up basketball. Donald’s love for the sport was mirrored in his love for his favorite player, ‘Pistol’ Pete Maravich, whom he talked about constantly. Donald was tall and lean, making basketball a good choice of hobby, but his sister, Maryann Marks, also described him as handsome, with tan skin and dark eyes.

“All the girls were always after him,” she said, laughing.

Shortly before his death, he had taken up photography and he was extremely talented.

After graduating from high school in 1968, Donald went to college at the University of Louisiana-Lafayette, then known as the University of Southwestern Louisiana. After five years, and changing his major a few times, he graduated with a degree in business and finance. During his time there, he pledged to the Kappa Alpha fraternity and made a lot of friends outside of his chapter.

His sister described Donald as not loud, but also not shy. “He could walk around a room and probably talk to everyone in it,” she said.

After college, Donald trained in South Florida to become an insurance adjuster. Searching for his place in the world, he left Florida for New Orleans, where he resided for a couple of years. Donald loved New Orleans; he loved the food, the atmosphere, and the music. Along with the jazz and blues music which New Orleans is known for, he also loved classic rock and artists like The Rolling Stones, The Who, and Led Zeppelin. His siblings remember flipping through Donald’s huge collection of albums. His love for and constant playing of this style of music led them to love the genre as well. Donald’s brother lovingly kept ahold of the album collection and still cherishes it to this day.

Despite his love for New Orleans, Donald ended up moving back to Lafayette for work, but returned to New Orleans often to visit friends. It was on one of these visits that the unimaginable happened.

In the early morning of January 25, 1981, Donald was out with a woman on a blind date that his friends had set him up on. The pair decided to get coffee and beignets from the famous Café Du Monde and then make their way over to The French Quarter’s Moonwalk. Donald talked of his family, his father, mother, and younger siblings and his affection for them. They also planned a second date, to go fishing the next weekend. The Moonwalk is an almost 3,500-foot-long boardwalk between the Mississippi River and the French Quarter’s historic Decatur St. Originally opened in 1975. The boardwalk is lined with museums, cafés, and memorials often visited by tourists. Keeping the energy of the district, street musicians playing different styles of music often set up there to perform.

While walking down the Moonwalk steps, Donald and his date passed two men going in the opposite direction, who then commented on the cold weather but thought nothing of it. As they arrived at the bottom of the stairs, they began watching the boats pass by on the Mississippi River. Donald was suddenly stabbed 15 times from behind by one of the strange men they had passed seconds earlier. After fighting her way out of the attacker’s grip, the woman ran to find a police officer, but by the time they returned, the men were gone. Donald died from his wounds, falling off the Moonwalk, onto the rocks below. His date was able to provide a detailed description of the men and the clothes they were wearing. The perpetrator was described as a white male, early 30’s, about 5 ft 10 inches, thin face, short brown hair and a small mustache. He was wearing a brown cowboy hat and a long coat with two large front pockets with flaps. The accomplice was described as being in his early 30’s and weighing about 185 lbs. He was wearing a short, rust colored coat. She was able to help the police create a unique sketch of the suspects, but no one has ever been arrested for Donald’s murder.

Losing a family member in this way is devastating. Donald’s family found themselves in a permanent state of shock, not talking to each other even while living in the same home. The family barely did anything those first few months after Donald’s death and never celebrated Thanksgiving or Christmas the same. Every year, January 25^th and Donald’s birthday, November 24^th is unbearable for their family. Donald’s sister also described how their parents embraced their faith during the grieving process.

Donald’s family continues to remember him in many ways but still cannot watch the Super Bowl because it reminds them of the day he was killed.

Donald’s sister still has all of Donald’s clothes, including suits and a personalized monogramed sweater. Donald’s younger brother decided to honor his late brother by naming his son, the family’s first grandchild, after Donald.

Though it has been over 45 years since Donald’s death, his family and friends still share new stories and memories. Just recently, his sister spoke with his best friend who told her that one time, someone bought a bunch of tacky gold chains for Donald and several of their friends during their failed disco music phase. The gold disco chain is gone, the second date fishing trip never happened, his family he spoke so highly of that night never saw him alive again at the hands of a monster. The next weekend was his funeral instead. Donald’s family has spoken with the Detective on the case who has recently reopened the case and is optimistic that the perpetrator and accomplice may still be alive.

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If you have any information that could help solve Donald’s case, please contact the New Orleans Crimestoppers at (504)-822-1111, (877) -903-7867 or submit a tip form on their website.

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