In the small city of Rayne, Louisiana, a tragedy unfolded that would cut short the life of a young man and leave a community grappling with senseless violence. On February 2, 2018, the body of 17-year-old Jordan Andrew Matthews was discovered inside a private structure located in the 500 block of West Bull Street. The cause of his untimely death was a fatal gunshot wound to the head, a violent end to a life that was just beginning.
The Rayne Police Department immediately launched an
investigation into the death of the male teenager. Their efforts soon focused on a suspect, another local youth named Broderick Mier, who was 15 years old at the time of the incident. Initially, the investigation centered around the possibility of negligent homicide. However, as detectives delved deeper into the circumstances surrounding Matthews' death, the gravity of the situation became clearer. The evidence they compiled prompted a significant change in the case.
Following a review of the investigators' findings by the Acadia Parish District Attorney's Office, the charge against Broderick Mier was upgraded to the far more serious offense of second-degree murder. This decision underscored the belief of law enforcement that Matthews' death was not an accident. In March 2018, an Acadia Parish grand jury formally indicted Mier on the murder charge, signaling the start of a lengthy legal process. The following month, Mier entered a plea of not guilty. Despite his young age, the decision was made to try him as an adult for the killing of Jordan Matthews. The case brought to light the devastating impact of gun violence, leaving one family to mourn the loss of a son and another to face the severe consequences of a violent act.
