Insets: Coshelia Conley, Da’Sean Conley and Cathy Conley (East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office). Background: Huey P. Long Bridge in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana (WAFB/YouTube).
The “mangled up” body of a man killed by his girlfriend’s teenage son was discovered on a busy Louisiana bridge last week — leading to murder and accessory charges for his partner, her 17-year-old and the woman’s mom — after the family tried wrapping him in a blanket and dumping him over the side with a kettlebell, officials say.
Coshelia Conley, 36, of Baker, was trying to cover up her boyfriend Gerard Nicholas Richard’s death last Thursday after her son, Da’Sean Conley, shot and killed him while the two were arguing and fighting that night, according to their arrest affidavit, which was filed by the East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office and obtained by local CBS and ABC affiliates WAFB and WBRZ, respectively.
Richard was found with trauma injuries near the center of the Huey P. Long Bridge in Jefferson Parish at around 7 p.m. after Conley and her son allegedly tried dumping his body over the side with her mother, Cathy Conley, 55, who is charged with principal to second-degree murder.
Police say surveillance footage from Coshelia Conley’s apartment shows the trio “removing a trash bag believed to contain bloodied clothing items” roughly 30 minutes before Richard’s body was discovered. Authorities went to the residence and allegedly found blood and bleach in the apartment and parking lot. A forensic examination showed that the place had been scrubbed down and cleaned, WBRZ reports.
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A witness who spoke to cops said they saw two vehicles stopping at the top of the bridge to dump Richard’s body over and approached them. The cars dropped Richard in the roadway and sped off, causing his body to be run over multiple times by vehicles that were passing by, according to police. Blood smears on the bridge’s railing indicate that Coshelia Conley and her family allegedly tried dumping him over but were unsuccessful.
During their investigation, authorities learned that Da’Sean had been arguing with Richard last Thursday. Richard was allegedly “punched and beaten” by the teen before the fighting eventually spilled out of the apartment and into the parking lot. Police say the pair entered a Chevrolet Tahoe and witnesses then heard a “single gunshot” go off. The Conleys then proceeded to team up to destroy evidence and dump Richard’s body in a bid to cover up the murder, according to officials.
Richard’s body was described by investigators as “mangled up,” according to WBRZ.
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Security footage allegedly shows the Tahoe that Richard was killed in traveling with a 2011 GMC 1500 pickup with a red gas can in the bed along a route near the Huey P. Long bridge. Coshelia Conley wound up driving the GMC truck to meet up with detectives to be questioned about the case, with investigators immediately noticing the gas can in the back, according to WAFB.
Coshelia Conley is facing a charge of being an accessory after the fact of second-degree murder and obstruction of justice, while Da’Sean Conley is charged with second-degree murder and obstruction of justice. Cathy Conley was booked for obstruction in addition to principal to second-degree murder.
