DA says victim was third witness killed in man’s slaying
Third witness in case found dead
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A 33-year-old woman shot to death during the weekend is the third witness to be slain in the 2007 beating and burning death of Jason Fourmy, East Baton Rouge Parish District Attorney Hillar Moore said Monday.
Shelva Sherica Glasper’s body was found shortly after midnight Saturday in a ditch in the 1700 block of Seneca Street, Baton Rouge Police Cpl. L’Jean McKneely said.
Glasper was a witness to Fourmy’s beating in October 2007, Moore said.
“It’s really disheartening,” he said. “We’re not sure of the relationship to this case, but we’re looking.”
Moore said Glasper was shot in the head. McKneely said she was shot multiple times.
The motive for the shooting is unknown and police have no suspects, Moore and McKneely said. Police also have not made any arrests or named any suspects in the killings of two other witnesses to Fourmy’s death.
Moore said he spoke Sunday with Fourmy’s mother.
“She was devastated once again,” he said. “That’s a tough (telephone) call to make.”
Brothers Dearius and Denako Duheart and Andrea Williams initially were charged with first-degree murder in Fourmy’s death, but the charges were reduced to attempted second-degree murder last year after two witnesses were slain in November 2007.
The charges were reduced further to second-degree battery earlier this month.
The Duhearts and Williams are scheduled to stand trial Sept. 21.
State District Judge Trudy White released the 40-year-old Williams from his bond obligations Monday because 120 days had passed since his attorney, Fred Kroenke, filed a motion for a speedy trial. Williams was being held on a $250,000 bond and had been jailed since early December 2007.
Kroenke said second-degree battery carries up to five years in prison.
“He is not willing to do that” amount of time, the defense lawyer said when asked outside the courtroom if Williams intends to fight the reduced charge.
The trial has been pushed back several times at the request of prosecutors because of witness problems.
Fourmy’s remains were found in a wooded area in the 1400 block of Gayosa Street on Oct. 31, 2007. The 39-year-old man had been beaten for more than 24 hours in his house on Cedar Avenue, suffering a brain hemorrhage, two broken ribs and a ruptured spleen, according to an arrest warrant.
The Cedar Avenue house was destroyed in an arson on the evening of Oct. 31, 2007, a search warrant says.
Police obtained an arrest warrant for Dearius Duheart on Nov. 20, 2007. Three days later, Freida Robertson — a witness in the case — was fatally shot inside a house in the 2600 block of Lobelia Street.
Another witness, Dimonique Hardnett, was shot and killed in the early morning hours of Nov. 28, 2007, in the 2700 block of Cedar Avenue. That afternoon, Dearius Duheart surrendered to police in Fourmy’s death.
Moore, who said his office lacks witness protection funds, said his request for help from the federal government was rejected.
“Federal protection is not available because it’s not a federal case,” he said.
Dearius Duheart, 20, remained Monday in Parish Prison on a $151,500 bond that White set June 11. The bond includes the second-degree battery charge in the Fourmy case as well as unrelated drug and traffic charges.
White released Denako Duheart, 24, on his own recognizance in January because prosecutors were not prepared to try him. He was being held on a $250,000 bond.
Investigation of Jason Fourmy’s death
Chronology of events in the 2007 beating and burning death of 39-year-old Jason Fourmy:
OCT. 31, 2007: Fourmy’s body is found in a wooded area in the 1400 block of Gayosa Street. An autopsy showed he was alive when taken to the woods and set on fire. The Cedar Avenue house where he had been beaten was destroyed in an arson on the evening of Oct. 31.
NOV. 20, 2007: Police obtain an arrest warrant for Dearius Duheart in Fourmy’s death.
NOV. 23, 2007: Freida Robertson, 41, a witness in the case, is fatally shot inside a house in the 2600 block of Lobelia Street.
NOV. 28, 2007: A second witness, Dimonique Hardnett, 22, is shot and killed early that morning in the 2700 block of Cedar Avenue.
NOV. 28, 2007: Dearius Duheart surrenders to police in the afternoon and is booked on counts of first-degree murder and aggravated kidnapping in Fourmy’s death.
NOV. 29, 2007: A 45-year-old man, believed to have seen or had knowledge of Fourmy’s death, was wounded in a shooting in the 1600 block of North 40th Street.
DEC. 5, 2007: Andrea Williams is booked on counts of first-degree murder, aggravated kidnapping and conspiracy to commit first-degree murder in Fourmy’s death.
FEB. 1, 2008: Denako Duheart, the older brother of Dearius Duheart, is booked on counts of first-degree murder, aggravated kidnapping and conspiracy to commit first-degree murder in Fourmy’s death.
APRIL 18, 2008: The charges against the Duheart brothers and Williams are reduced to attempted second-degree murder by prosecutors who cite witness problems.
AUG. 23, 2008: Dearius Duheart is released from Parish Prison after posting a $250,000 bond on the reduced charge in the Fourmy case.
JAN. 5, 2009: Denako Duheart, who was being held on a $250,000 bond in the Fourmy case, is released from Parish Prison on his own recognizance by state District Judge Trudy White because prosecutors are not prepared to try him.
JAN. 29, 2009: State District Judge Lou Daniel increases Dearius Duheart’s bond in a recent drug case from $25,000 to $500,000 because of a second drug arrest. He is back in Parish Prison.
JUNE 11, 2009: The charges against the Duheart brothers and Williams are reduced further, this time to second-degree battery. Prosecutors again cite witness problems.
JUNE 11, 2009: White sets a new, $151,500 bond for Dearius Duheart that includes the second-degree battery charge in the Fourmy case as well as unrelated drug and traffic charges.
JUNE 27, 2009: A third witness in the Fourmy case, Shelva Glasper, 33, is found shot to death in a ditch in the 1700 block of Seneca Street.
JUNE 29, 2009: Andrea Williams, who was being held on a $250,000 bond in the Fourmy case, is released on his own recognizance because prosecutors did not try him within the required 120 days. Williams’ attorney had filed a motion in late February for a speedy trial.
SEPT. 21, 2009: The Duheart brothers and Williams are set to stand trial in the Fourmy case.
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