Poul Hansen, a 44-year-old Danish man, was a veteran of the Royal Danish Army and Royal Danish Air Force who had a passion for motorcycle adventures. In May 2019, this passion brought him to the United States for a cross-country tour with about 15 of his fellow Danish veterans. Their journey led them to New Orleans, Louisiana, where they checked into a Super 8 motel on Chef Menteur Highway. The night of Friday, May 17th, was the last time his friends would see him alive.
When he failed to appear the next morning, a sense of unease settled over the group.
The search for Poul Hansen came to a tragic end on the morning of Saturday, May 18, 2019. His body was discovered in the 4200 block of America Street, a short distance from the motel. He had been shot in the head, and his wallet and phone were missing, leading authorities to believe that robbery was the motive for this senseless act of violence. The news of his death sent shockwaves through his home country of Denmark and left his wife and two teenage children devastated.
The New Orleans Police Department quickly launched a homicide investigation. Their efforts led to the identification of a suspect, 36-year-old Brandy Myles. At the time she was named in connection with Hansen's murder, Myles was already in custody in the neighboring Jefferson Parish on unrelated charges. A warrant was issued for her arrest on a charge of second-degree murder, and she was subsequently re-booked to face this new accusation.
Following her arrest, the case against Brandy Myles proceeded through the legal system. While the specific timeline of her trial and the evidence presented are not extensively detailed in publicly available sources, the outcome was a conviction for the murder of Poul Hansen. The conviction brought a measure of justice for a life cut short, a tragic end to what should have been the adventure of a lifetime for the Danish veteran.
