A driver found the body after noticing the car on the side of the I … This month marked a year since Jessica’s body was found, and her family and friends are still left with many unanswered questions. The case remains an unclassified death. Jessica Easterly Durning and her sister, Audrey Gutierrez, spent hours on the phone with each other - talking, watching reality TV. Microsoft and partners may be compensated if you purchase something through recommended links in this article. The Orleans Parish Coroner performed an autopsy but has not determined a cause of death. NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) - New Orleans Police are investigating a homicide after a body was found in Algiers Thursday morning. “He’s not even supposed to be here today,” Magrette’s sister told Eyewitness News the night of the collapse. ... body parts, but none was immediately found. The Orleans Parish Coroner’s Office will release the victim’s name upon completion of an autopsy and notification of family. Police in New Orleans called about 8:15 a.m. A corpse had washed up on the banks of the Mississippi River, they said. Calmer. Visit New Orleans' most reliable source for breaking news. The victim’s death was originally ruled an unclassified death but it was later determined that the person died by shooting. The sisters, who grew up mostly in Ocean Springs, Mississippi, now lived in different states, Jessica in New Orleans, Louisiana and Audrey in Biloxi, Mississippi - so they relied on their frequent phone calls. See a spelling or grammar error in our story? Hancock County officials confirmed that a body found off of I-10 in Louisiana is that of a missing Hancock County man. The body of a construction worker killed by debris during the collapse of a Hard Rock Hotel in New Orleans was exposed. Police have confirmed that detectives in New Orleans are investigating a possible connection between Monday's machete attack at a Shreveport hospital and … It was Audrey who made the horrific discovery. Jessica’s family told Dateline they believe foul play was involved in her death and that her body was placed where she was found. “It seemed like she was backtracking,” Maria said. Naya Rivera used the last of her strength to save her 4-year-old son before she died, Ventura County Sheriff Bill Ayub said Monday. When their schedules got hectic, they swapped long Facebook messages back and forth that mostly included song lyrics or hashtags with powerful words or phrases to lift each other up. “She shouldn’t be dead right now,” he said, with tears on his cheeks. ___ NEW ORLEANS - The New Orleans Police Department has launched a homicide investigation after a body was found inside of a trash can Monday. Her sister, Audrey, maintains a website dedicated to the case and has kept their love of hashtags going with the most important one of all -- #Justice4Jessica. “I knew right then something terrible had happened.”. Rick Schmitt added that his stepdaughter was a “good woman” who made close friends that she kept for life. And then a second call. Audrey said they were driving when a foul smell prompted them to get out of the car and search on foot. The body of Karmeshia Thomas, 25, a trucker from Mississippi, was found Sunday inside her truck at a truck stop in New Orleans. But it would be three months before the body was identified. I couldn’t believe this was happening.”. All rights reserved. If anyone has any information about the incident they are asked to contact NOPD Homicide Detective Chris Puccio at (504) 658-5300 or Crimestoppers at (504) 822-1111. Bodies of Jose Arreola … She was a good friend. Activists and the American Civil Liberties Union of Louisiana are calling for an independent investigation into the death of Charles, a Black 15-year-old whose body was found … NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) - New Orleans Police are investigating a homicide after a body was found in Algiers Thursday morning. Like, if you were feeling down, you could talk to her and she would pick you up.”. New Orleans (CNN) Crews in New Orleans are expected to begin Monday the recovery of the bodies of two workers who died nine months ago when the Hard Rock Hotel collapsed during construction. “We could talk for hours about anything,” Audrey told Dateline. Maria added that she spoke to Jessica on the phone again later that day and she seemed better. And I didn’t… I just didn’t think this could ever happen.”. In an email to Dateline, NOPD Spokesperson Gary S. Scheets said Jessica’s case “remains an unclassified death” and “ is not currently classified as a homicide.” He added that the investigation remains open and active. “I was devastated,” Audrey told Dateline. It was Maria who Jessica frantically called just two days before she disappeared in August of 2019. “That’s what made the autopsy to difficult… The fact that she was there, everything points to she was dumped there; she did not die there.”. She was a great sister. Please include title of story. NEW ORLEANS - The NOPD needs help identifying a person of interest in a deadly shooting in the 3700 block of South Claiborne Avenue. Latest COVID-19 updates, Avalanche kills skier in Wyoming national park. But first they decided to conduct their own search in Jessica’s neighborhood. It was Jessica’s husband, Justin Durning. Show full articles without "Continue Reading" button for {0} hours. Gary S. Scheets, a spokesperson for the New Orleans Police Department told Dateline this week that the case remains open and active and is being investigated by the 3rd District detectives. However, in the report signed January 8, the pathologist did not address how these injuries might have been sustained. Authorities say Gray’s body was found near the intersection of Chef Menteur Highway and Old Gentilly Road, which was about a block from where she lived. NOPD has not released the identity of the victim. WDSU NewsChannel 6 is your source for the latest local headlines and live alerts. Along the tree line of a wooded area of City Park near the intersection of Orleans Avenue and Kenilworth Street, about two blocks from Jessica’s home, was a body clad in a black tank top, black shorts and black shoes. When the two finally connected a few minutes later, Jessica asked Maria to come pick her up at the house she shared with her husband and her stepdaughter, in New Orleans. A body clad in black shoes, black shorts and a black tank top was found on Aug. 22 at Orleans Avenue and Kenilworth Street, about four blocks … “I still can’t believe she’s gone,” Maria said. New Orleans police are investigating the death of a man who was found shot behind and abandoned home in the 1600 block of North Rocheblave Street. “She was so happy-go-lucky. NEW ORLEANS — A person was found dead in the trunk of a car in New Orleans East on Christmas Eve, a police spokesperson said. And I didn’t get an answer. A driver found the body after noticing the car on the side of the I-10 Service Road on the southern side of the highway, near Basinview Drive. Advocate staff photo by John McCusker -- The body of an unidentified male was found Wednesday morning in the 3000 block of Lafitte Street, according to New Orleans police. It’s what she deserves.”. “But it was a 2-hour drive and I didn’t have anyone to pick up my kids from school. Gary S. Scheets, a spokesperson for the New Orleans Police Department told Dateline this week that the case remains open and active and is … But I should’ve known something was wrong. He asked, “Is Jess with you, Grace and I are worried??? I can’t believe she’s gone.”. The New Orleans Police Department says a new report by a consent decree monitor, pointing out deficiencies in the long running reform program, does not … Like us on Facebook to see similar stories, US deaths account for 20% of world's total; Johnson & Johnson plans 20M vaccine doses by end of March. So we started making a plan for me to pick her up the next morning.”. “She didn’t go into specifics, only that she needed to leave,” Maria said. It was about 9 p.m. on August 14, Maria said, when she got a message from Jessica’s Facebook account. Audrey called the police and an investigation was launched. “I’ve always talked to her on her birthday, I’ve always called her,” Jessica’s sister Audrey said tearfully. Click Here to report it. ?” Grace is Justin’s daughter and Jessica’s stepdaughter. According to Orleans Parish Coroner’s Office Spokesman Jason Melancon, the autopsy found evidence that Jessica sustained a nose injury as well as a “a small linear fracture” to her jaw around the time she died. “I knew right away it was her. That evening, Jessica’s husband filed a missing persons report. Maria told Dateline she called the New Orleans Police Department to perform a welfare check at Jessica’s house on General Haig Street. Her body had been there three days, her mom says. It happened around 3:19 this … On August 22, a week after Jessica was last seen, Audrey, their other sister, Amanda, and their cousin, traveled to New Orleans to speak with detectives at the New Orleans Police Department. Maria, who has been friends with Jessica for at least 20 years, told Dateline their phone calls filled a place in her heart that is now empty. A Louisiana sheriff's office is trying to solve the mystery of a severed arm that was found near a canal in a New Orleans suburb. - Officials in New Orleans say the body of a person killed in the Hard Rock Hotel collapse that happened in 2019 has been exposed, after it … The Coroner’s Office classified both the cause and manner of Jessica’s death as undetermined. Maria told Dateline she was at home in Alabama on August 12 when she missed a call from Jessica. Thought maybe she was just out. On November 8, 2019, the body was positively identified as Jessica Easterly Durning, according to the Orleans Parish Coroner’s Office. Jessica Easterly Durning, 43, went missing from her home on General Haig Street in the Lakeview area of New Orleans, Louisiana on August 14, 2019. Local News Body found in New Orleans East car trunk on Christmas Eve: NOPD. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Third District at 504-658-6030 or call Crime Stoppers anonymously at 504-822-1111 and toll-free at 1-877-903-7867. “When I read that message, my whole body went cold,” Maria told Dateline. NOPD says the body… “This thing would not have taken this long as it has had she not laid in the New Orleans sun for a week and a half before her body was found,” Jessica’s stepfather Rick Schmitt, of Summerdale, Alabama, told WDSU after receiving the results. ... ‎Stay up-to-date with the latest news and weather in the New Orleans area on the all-new free … The body of Latanisha Carmichael, who appeared to be about 3 at the time of her death, was found in a closet strewn with incense sticks, air fresheners and baking soda boxes. 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