When Raemel Richardson failed to show up for work at Baker City Court on Wednesday and stopped answering her cell phone, her courthouse coworkers contacted police.
More than 24 hours would pass before a group of kids in St. James Parish — some 40 miles south of Baton Rouge — spotted a body in the Mississippi River and reported their sighting to authorities. The body was later identified as Richardson, 31, who police believe was shot to death and dumped in the river.
Detectives with the Baton Rouge Police Department say they were able to quickly solve the murder. Her boyfriend, Jonathan Bryant, was booked into jail, accused of shooting Richardson to death and trying to hide the crime.
During their investigation, detectives uncovered another horrific detail about the case: Richardson was in the car with Bryant and her young daughter when the shooting occurred. Police said the child, who awoke to the sound of apparent gunfire, was not injured.
Hours after authorities recovered a body from the Mississippi River in St. James Parish, police announced Friday morning that detectives belie…
The car, which belonged to Richardson, was later found "abandoned and burned" on West Irene Road in Zachary, according to a police report.
The body found in St. James was later identified as Richardson. She was found with an apparent gunshot wound, police said.
Details are still scarce about where exactly the shooting occurred and where exactly the body was dumped.
Police believe there was an argument preceding the shooting. Bryant admitted to police that he had argued with Richardson but denied playing any role in her disappearance, according to the police report.
Bryant, 35, was booked into jail on second-degree murder and illegal use of a weapon. East Baton Rouge court records include no indication of previous domestic violence incidents involving Bryant, whose criminal history appears limited to traffic violations.
Debra Ross was headed to her first Bible study of 2020 when she stopped home to change clothes and found herself walking into a nightmare: Her…
Richardson worked as a deputy clerk at Baker City Court, according to the court website. She had attended Southeastern University, according to a social media account under her name. Attempts to reach her family on Friday were unsuccessful.
Her Facebook page is filled with photos of her young daughter, dressed up for special occasions, posing with her mom and smiling for the camera even before she could walk.
Baker Police Chief Carl Dunn said he received a call from the courthouse Wednesday because Richardson hadn't shown up to work and wasn't answering her phone. Her coworkers said that was especially unusual for her, someone who always showed up to work on time..
Dunn said he went to Richardson's apartment on North Lobdell Boulevard and knocked on the door, where he encountered Bryant — whose "answer didn't sound right." That's when Dunn contacted Baton Rouge police since Richardson lived in their jurisdiction.
He said her death has impacted the many people she knew from working at the courthouse in Baker: "We all worked together like a family, so this touches us all."
The news of this latest Baton Rouge homicide adds to an ongoing spike in domestic violence killings, which reached a historic high last year amid the coronavirus pandemic. Most of the victims in such cases are women, many of them mothers.
Marlina Taylor wants to believe that time heals all wounds, but this one cuts too deep.
Domestic violence claimed 19 lives in East Baton Rouge Parish in 2020, the highest number in at least a decade, and more than quadrupled the p…
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