In the late evening hours of February 24, 2020, Jeanette Collins, a 61-year-old Black/African American woman from New Orleans, Louisiana, was tragically killed. The events leading to her death began to unfold while she was a passenger in a car being driven by her daughter, Chandreica Marshall. Also in the vehicle were two other relatives and Collins' 21-year-old son, DaRius Sims.
According to reports, an argument erupted when Sims became agitated and demanded something to drink.
Marshall pulled the car over near Harahan, and Collins got out to give her son a bottle of water. It was at this moment that Sims allegedly brandished a gun and shot his mother in the chest. Following the shooting, Sims fled the scene on foot.
After running nearly two miles to his home in Metairie, Sims took a relative's car and initiated a high-speed chase with the police. The pursuit reached speeds of up to 130 mph before officers were able to stop him on the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway after his vehicle struck a curb. DaRius Sims was subsequently arrested and charged with the second-degree murder of his mother, Jeanette Collins. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges. In August 2021, a court determined that Sims was mentally competent to stand trial. His defense has indicated that he may suffer from an undiagnosed mental illness.
