Disclaimer: All persons are presumed innocent until proven guilty.
NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) — Trial was supposed to start Monday for the man accused of the 2018 double homicide of a couple in New Orleans East.
34-year-old Kenneth Augustine will make his first appearance before a judge on Monday, May 6 after he allegedly shot and killed 23-year-old Gregory Heisser and 22-year-old Darnisha Desilva in front of the couple’s children on Oct. 19, 2018.
According to the New Orleans Police Department’s investigation, the shooting stemmed from Augustine being angry that Heisser did not allow him to borrow a vehicle. Augustine was reportedly the ex-boyfriend of Desilva’s sister.
According to NOPD officers, witnesses of the crime saw Augustine and Heisser arguing at the family’s Little Woods home when Augustine left, returned and shot the two.
Further investigation revealed arrest warrants were also issued for Augustine’s mother and sister Barbara and Michelle Augustine who, according to the NOPD, allegedly helped Augustine get away.
The women were arrested on charges of accessory to murder three years after the shooting.
Augustine turned himself in and faced two counts of second-degree murder.
Heisser’s mother gave a recount of the moments leading up to the shooting.
“My grandson, he’s four now, Thomas, was in my son’s arms when he was killed. He was shot multiple times. And his daughter was also at his side playing with her doll. I’ll never forget those images and that’s his last moments with his kids,” said Lurine LaBeaud-Duncan in 2023.
Augustine’s trial was originally set to begin in 2022, but he told the judge that he was “incompetent” to stand trial. A mental competency hearing was ordered, extending the process.
If found guilty, Augustine could face a life sentence.
On Monday, the trial was continued to Monday, May 13,
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