On the evening of January 30, 2022, in Donaldsonville, Louisiana, 36-year-old Charlotte Nichole Leona Smith was found dead at a Chevron gas station on Highway 1 and West 10th Street. A resident of Donaldsonville, Smith had sustained a single gunshot wound to the head. The tragic event unfolded around 8:15 p.m., leaving the local community in shock.
The Ascension Parish Sheriff's Office launched an immediate investigation into the shooting.
Their inquiries quickly identified 38-year-old Raymond Shields as the suspect in Smith's death. Investigators determined that Shields shot and killed Smith before fleeing the scene. The case took another grim turn when deputies, acting on information, located Shields in his vehicle in the parking lot of a business on Loop 945 Street.
Upon their arrival at the second location, authorities found Raymond Shields deceased in his car from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. A gun was recovered from his hand at the scene. The investigation concluded that the incident was a murder-suicide. Reports suggest that Smith and Shields were involved in an affair, and an argument may have preceded the fatal shooting. There was also speculation that Smith may have been pregnant at the time of her death.
