BATON ROUGE, La. (BRPROUD) — A 31-year-old man was arrested by Baton Rouge Police in connection to a 41-year-old woman’s homicide.
Baton Rouge detectives and the U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force arrested Gerald Smith on charges of second-degree murder, illegal use of weapons or dangerous instrumentalities and domestic abuse battery.
According to the Baton Rouge Police Department, on Saturday, May 28, Smith took the victim, Cathy Watson, to a hospital after she received a gunshot wound. Police said she did not survive her injuries. Smith first told investigators Watson was holding the gun when it went off.
Authorities said Watson’s death was determined to be a homicide by the East Baton Rouge Coroner’s Office.
According to BRPD, the couple had gotten into a verbal argument that turned physical at a laundromat on Greenwell Street on the night of May 28, before Watson was taken to the hospital.
Smith was booked into EBR Parish Prison.