In a quiet Metairie neighborhood, a long-simmering feud between two neighbors reached its tragic end on a Saturday morning. Lee 'Big Lee' Martin, a 53-year-old male, was a well-known figure in his community, not only as the owner of a local towing company but also as an ardent LSU superfan, his home a veritable shrine to the team. His relationship with his next-door neighbor, however, was far from amicable, marked by years of arguments and disputes.
On May 5, 2018, the simmering tensions
boiled over in a fatal confrontation. While watering his palm trees, Martin directed the spray from his hose into the truck of his 78-year-old neighbor, Wayne Higgins. Following a verbal exchange, Martin then sprayed the interior of the vehicle. This act proved to be the final catalyst in their decade-long conflict. Higgins emerged from his truck with a firearm and shot Martin, who was found deceased on the side of his home on Bonnabel Boulevard.
The immediate aftermath saw Wayne Higgins surrender to the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office. He was subsequently arrested and charged with second-degree murder. The investigation was aided by video surveillance from a neighboring house that captured the events leading up to the shooting. Higgins pleaded not guilty to the charge and was later released from jail after posting a $500,000 bond.
The legal proceedings against Higgins moved slowly, but before a trial could take place, the case came to an unexpected close. In 2022, at the age of 82, Wayne Higgins passed away. His death meant that the criminal case against him for the shooting of Lee Martin would never be resolved in a court of law, leaving the final chapter of their deadly dispute unwritten.
