NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) — The suspect accused of killing beloved Bourbon Street bartender, Spencer Hudson, was found guilty of two of three charges in court on Friday, Aug. 18.
Hudson was killed while working a shift at Cat’s Meow in March of 2022. That night, gunfire erupted on the 700 block of Bourbon Street after a fight. Bullets flew through the shutters of Cat’s Meow Karaoke bar, where Hudson was wounded in the chest, slicing an artery in his heart.
Daphney Jackson, 25, was arrested in connection to the deadly shooting.
Jackson was initially charged with manslaughter, obstruction of justice and illegal use of weapons. However, in court on Friday, Jackson was found guilty of manslaughter and aggravated assault with a firearm, and not guilty of obstruction of justice.
After the verdict, Spencer Hudson’s father Felton Hudson said, “I think she should’ve been convicted on all 3 counts. I was told she could still get a severe penalty, punishment hopefully that’ll be the case, I was hoping for more, but we got to live with what we got. I think Spencer deserved the full monty and he didn’t get it.”
On Thursday, Aug. 17, several witnesses testified, including a woman grazed by a bullet on Bourbon Street that night, a firearms expert and Hudson’s mother, who told jurors life without her son is like living in a world without any color.
His mother, Jennifer Hudson, said, “Spencer was my only son. Life without him is just unbearable. I think he made a mark on life, on the people he knew. I want him to be remembered for that and not how he was robbed of his life. It’s just so important to me, and I think on the stand it was the last real tangible thing I could do to stand up for my son.”
His family and friends say Spencer was all-inclusive, non-judgmental, gregarious and a true friend and “brother.”
Sentencing is set for Nov. 2 this year.
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