A young man's charred body is found in the trunk of his vehicle
In the fall of 2016, just five days after celebrating his 26th birthday, Eric Arbuthnot Jr.'s life was tragically cut short. An African-American male known for his contagious smile, his friends and family would never again see the grin that so easily spread to those around him. The last moments of his life and the reasons behind his death remain a painful mystery to those he left behind.
On the evening of November 2, 2016, the New Orleans Fire Department responded to a call about a vehicle on fire in the desolate 10000 block of Old Gentilly Road. After extinguishing the flames, they made a grim discovery inside the car: the body of Eric Arbuthnot Jr. The following day, his mother was notified that the burned vehicle belonged to her son. The Orleans Parish Coroner's Office would later determine the cause of death to be 'homicidal violence of unknown etiology,' meaning the precise manner in which he was killed could not be established.
As the family grappled with this devastating news, they went to his apartment, only to find it had been ransacked. It was unclear if anything had been taken. In the years that have passed, authorities have not publicly identified a motive or any suspects in the case. The investigation into who killed Eric Arbuthnot Jr. and why remains open, leaving his loved ones with unanswered questions and a profound sense of loss.
