Louisiana man gets life for killing ex and leaving her 11-year-old son behind
07/06/2023 12:40 pm PDT
GRETNA, La. (TCD) -- A 28-year-old man will spend the rest of his life behind bars for the 2021 fatal shooting of his 29-year-old ex-girlfriend after pleading guilty during his murder trial.
According to the Jefferson Parish District Attorney’s Office, on Wednesday, July 5, Judge Ray Steib sentenced Shawn Chiasson to a mandatory life sentence after he "abruptly ended his murder trial and pleaded guilty" to the second-degree murder of Lindsey Williams. He also pleaded guilty to being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm and obstruction of justice.
Steib sentenced Chiasson to 20 additional years for the firearm charge and 40 years for obstruction of justice, which will be served concurrently.
According to the District Attorney’s Office, during the trial, prosecutors provided an opening statement, but Chiasson’s defense team waived theirs. One of Chiasson’s ex-girlfriends testified about a 2017 incident in which Chiasson allegedly beat her while she was eight months pregnant. The statement says the ex-girlfriend would not answer one of the prosecutor’s questions, and she could have faced a contempt of court hearing.
While she was on the stand, Chiasson decided to plead guilty to the charges.
On the morning of Aug. 14, 2021, the District Attorney’s Office said Chiasson went to Williams’ home on the 1100 block of Gaudet Drive and shot her one time on the side of the head. Afterward, he reportedly fled the scene, "leaving her 11-year-old son behind with his dying mother."
The District Attorney’s Office said Chiasson went to Westwego following the shooting and placed the pistol near a canal bank.
Williams was reportedly with friends at a restaurant the night before her shooting death, and when she and her friends went to the Mississippi River levee after their dinner, Chiasson showed up and messaged her, "I’m looking dead at you."
On the day of the fatal shooting, shortly before 9 a.m., the District Attorney’s Office said Williams’ son was in his bedroom and heard a noise coming from his mother’s bedroom. When he opened the door, he reportedly discovered Chiasson with blood-covered hands.
According to the District Attorney’s Office, Chiasson called 911 using the boy’s cellphone, stating to the dispatcher that he was "Jake" and "someone had been shot."
Chiasson reportedly fled, and the boy stayed behind on the porch until the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office arrived.
During an interview with detectives, the District Attorney’s Office said Chiasson claimed the pistol "accidentally fired" off when he took it out of his waistband.
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