A mother and daughter are gunned down In the early morning hours of December 16, 2013, a grim discovery was made at the Wind Run apartments on the I-10 Service Road in New Orleans East. Inside one of the units, 45-year-old Lisa Arbuthnot was found deceased, having suffered fatal gunshot wounds to the head. Just outside in the parking lot, her 20-year-old daughter, Ryesha Arbuthnot, was also found dead, the victim of both stabbing and multiple gunshot wounds.
The violent nature of the crime scene suggested a targeted attack, a belief later confirmed by police investigators who stated the incident was not random. Neighbors reported hearing pops and a woman screaming between 3:00 and 4:00 a.m. One witness described seeing a figure in all black on top of the younger woman, stabbing her in the darkness of the driveway.
For nearly eight years, the brutal double murder of the mother and daughter remained unsolved, a cold case that offered no immediate justice for their family. However, a breakthrough finally came in 2021 when a witness, who had initially claimed to have seen nothing, came forward with new information. This crucial testimony led investigators to identify two suspects: David H. Wisham Sr. and Kenneth W. Jones Jr. Arrest warrants were issued for both men on April 23, 2021, and on June 4, they were taken into custody in East Baton Rouge Parish. Following their arrests, Wisham and Jones were transported to the Orleans Parish Justice Center, where they were each booked on two counts of second-degree murder.
The long-awaited legal proceedings culminated in a jury verdict in June 2024. Kenneth Jones Jr. was found guilty of the second-degree murder of the Arbuthnot women, as well as obstruction of justice. David Wisham Sr. was found guilty of obstruction of justice. The verdicts brought a measure of closure to the family of Lisa and Ryesha Arbuthnot and concluded a years-long investigation marked by the persistent efforts of New Orleans Police Department homicide detectives.
