In a tragic turn of events, a 22-year-old Black / African American male named Akeem Boudreaux was killed on February 5, 2013, in Metairie, Louisiana. His life was cut short in the apartment he shared with his partner, Morris Alexander Williams, 26, a transgender woman also known as Milan or Mimi Boudreaux. The couple had been fatally shot in the head.
The grim discovery of their decomposed bodies was made nine days later, on February 14, by concerned friends who had not heard from them and decided to check on their welfare at their Edenborn Avenue residence.
The investigation into the double homicide led authorities to Baton Rouge, where they arrested 20-year-old Melvin Miller, an acquaintance of the couple, on February 16, 2013. The arrest came after Baton Rouge police responded to a domestic dispute involving Miller and his girlfriend. During this response, police found Miller in possession of Williams' stolen car. Further investigation revealed that Miller also had the victims' cell phone and laptop. Evidence presented at trial showed that Miller had traveled by bus from Baton Rouge to Metairie on the day of the murders and returned to Baton Rouge in the stolen vehicle.
Seven years after the murders, in February 2020, a Jefferson Parish jury found Melvin Miller, then 27, guilty of two counts of second-degree murder. He was also convicted of being a felon in possession of a firearm, as he had a prior burglary conviction from 2012. Miller's girlfriend at the time, Joseph "Jasmine" Alexander, pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice in 2015 for having discarded bullets connected to the case and received five years of probation.
In March 2020, a judge sentenced Melvin Miller to two consecutive life sentences for the murders of Akeem Boudreaux and Morris Alexander Williams. The judge cited Miller's "callous" behavior and lack of remorse in carrying out the executions and then using the victims' vehicle for days. In addition to the life sentences, Miller also received a concurrent 20-year sentence for the firearm conviction.
