In the early morning hours of September 24, 2017, the life of 20-year-old Brett McCraney, a male resident of Slidell, Louisiana, was tragically cut short. Just before 1 a.m., deputies from the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff's Office were dispatched to an apartment complex on Pontchartrain Drive following reports of gunfire. Upon their arrival, they discovered McCraney in the parking lot, suffering from a single gunshot wound to his chest.
He was rushed to a nearby hospital, but his injuries proved to be fatal, and he was pronounced dead.
The investigation into the shooting quickly pointed to a suspect who was still at the scene when law enforcement arrived. Witnesses identified 20-year-old Frank William Beckendorf, III, also of Slidell, as the individual who had shot McCraney. It was determined that a verbal altercation between the two young men had escalated, culminating in the deadly shooting. Beckendorf was taken into custody and initially arrested on a charge of second-degree murder.
As the legal process unfolded, the case was presented to a St. Tammany Parish grand jury. In January 2018, the grand jury returned an indictment against Beckendorf, though for the lesser charge of manslaughter. Information regarding the final disposition of this manslaughter charge, including details of a trial, conviction, or plea agreement, is not available in the public record. However, court documents from a separate and later case in 2025 indicate that Beckendorf had a conviction for negligent homicide in 2019, in addition to a number of other unrelated charges. Details clarifying whether the negligent homicide conviction is connected to McCraney's death are not specified.
