On a day meant for celebration, 31-year-old Lindsay Marie Dufrene Nichols' life was tragically cut short. It was Father's Day, June 21, 2015, and the young mother had recently returned to her native Louisiana from a job in Texas. To mark her homecoming and new apartment, she went out with friends to a bar in New Orleans East. This evening of celebration would unfortunately be her last.
In the early morning hours, Lindsay was last seen by her friends leaving a nightclub.
She had apparently met a man named Thayon Samson and gotten his phone number. Shortly after leaving, at around 4:45 a.m., a chilling 911 call was made by Lindsay. She told the dispatcher that an irate man she had just met was outside her car, pointing a gun at her. The dispatcher could hear a man's voice in the background threatening to put a gun in her mouth.
Later that morning, firefighters and police responded to a vehicle fire at the intersection of Lake Forest and Michoud boulevards. Inside the trunk of the burned-out car, they made a grim discovery: the body of Lindsay Nichols. An autopsy later revealed that she had been shot multiple times. The discovery of her body, which also showed signs of being beaten, sent shockwaves through the community and left her family devastated.
The investigation into Lindsay’s murder led police to 30-year-old Thayon Samson. A witness saw Samson standing behind Lindsay's car, and crucial evidence including cell phone records and his DNA found in the vehicle linked him to the crime. Samson was arrested and charged with second-degree murder. Subsequently, a second suspect, 29-year-old Troy Varnado, was also implicated and indicted on charges of second-degree murder, second-degree kidnapping, accessory after the fact, and obstruction of justice. In a further disturbing twist, Samson was also charged with trying to have Varnado killed from his jail cell to prevent him from testifying.
In September 2018, Thayon Samson pleaded guilty to manslaughter, second-degree kidnapping, obstruction of justice, and solicitation of murder as part of a plea agreement. He was sentenced to 40 years in prison without the possibility of parole. Troy Varnado was also convicted in connection with Lindsay's death. The resolution of the legal proceedings brought a measure of peace to Lindsay's grieving family, who remembered her as a loving mother with bright blue eyes.
