A mother and daughter are gunned down In the early morning hours of December 16, 2013, a brutal attack in New Orleans East claimed the lives of a mother and her daughter. Responding to a call of shots fired at the Wind Run apartments on the I-10 Service Road shortly after 3:15 a.m., police discovered a horrific scene. In the parking lot, they found 20-year-old Ryesha Arbuthnot, a female who had been stabbed and shot multiple times.
Inside an apartment, her 45-year-old mother, Lisa Arbuthnot, was found deceased from gunshot wounds to the head. Authorities stated that the attack did not appear to be random.
For years, the case remained unsolved, a painful mystery for the family and the community. However, a breakthrough came nearly eight years later when a witness, who had initially told detectives they saw nothing, came forward with information. This new testimony was crucial in leading investigators to identify two suspects. In June 2021, the New Orleans Police Department announced the arrests of David H. Wisham Sr. and Kenneth W. Jones Jr. in connection with the double homicide. Both men were subsequently booked on two counts of second-degree murder.
The wheels of justice turned, culminating in a trial that brought long-awaited answers. In June 2024, a New Orleans jury delivered its verdict. Kenneth Jones Jr. was found guilty of the second-degree murder of Ryesha and Lisa Arbuthnot, as well as obstruction of justice. David Wisham Sr. was found guilty of obstruction of justice. The verdict marked a significant moment of accountability for a crime that had taken two lives and haunted a family for over a decade.
