In the quiet community near Abita Springs, Louisiana, the life of 51-year-old James Kenny Hamilton, a white male, was brought to a tragic and violent end in early March of 2016. His body was discovered in a recliner in the living room of his home on Lenel Road on Monday, March 7, 2016, after he failed to show up for work. An autopsy would later reveal that he had been shot six times in the head with a. 22 caliber pistol.
The coroner estimated that Hamilton had been killed 36 to 48 hours prior to being found, placing his death on Friday, March 4th, or Saturday, March 5th.
The investigation into Hamilton's death quickly focused on his 16-year-old stepson, Daniel Tucker Hamilton. The motive for the killing appeared to stem from a strained relationship, exacerbated by disagreements over driving restrictions the elder Hamilton had placed on the teenager. Evidence presented during the trial showed that Daniel had shot his stepfather as he sat in his chair after finishing a meal. Following the murder, Daniel took his stepfather's truck and debit card. He attempted to use the card at a local Walmart but was unsuccessful. He then met up with friends at a pizza parlor and spent the next couple of days at a hunting camp, drinking and partying with friends. He even tried to sell the murder weapon.
Daniel Tucker Hamilton was arrested for the second-degree murder of his stepfather. The St. Tammany Parish Sheriff's Office investigation led to a grand jury indictment, not only for the murder but also for two counts of solicitation for murder. These additional charges stemmed from a plot Hamilton devised while out on bail to have his aunt and uncle killed because they had requested his bond be revoked.
In March 2019, a St. Tammany Parish jury found Daniel T. Hamilton, then 19, guilty of the second-degree murder of James Kenny Hamilton. He was also found guilty on the two counts of solicitation for murder. For the murder conviction, Daniel Hamilton received a mandatory sentence of life in prison. The Louisiana Court of Appeal, First Circuit, later upheld the conviction in 2020, solidifying the legal conclusion to a case that began with a family dispute and ended in a calculated act of violence.
