On the evening of January 27, 2024, the life of 42-year-old Cody D. Abbott, a Black male, was tragically cut short in a fatal shooting in New Orleans East. The New Orleans Police Department received a call around 7:44 p.m. reporting gunfire in the 14,000 block of Chef Menteur Highway. Upon their arrival, officers discovered Abbott suffering from multiple gunshot wounds.
Emergency Medical Services were dispatched to the scene, but his injuries proved to be too severe, and he was pronounced dead at the scene. The Orleans Parish Coroner's Office later confirmed his identity.
Friends and family remember Abbott, who was also known by the nicknames 'Mayhem' and 'Monsta Co,' as a vibrant and protective individual with a big heart. Described as 'a big ball of energy and light' and 'the life of the party,' he was a rapper by profession and had attended Sarah Towels Reed High School. He was a father to eight children. A funeral service was held for him on February 4, 2024, at New Light Baptist Church in Evergreen, Louisiana.
In the weeks following the shooting, NOPD detectives conducted an investigation that led them to identify 20-year-old Robert Aguillard as the alleged perpetrator. An arrest warrant was issued for Aguillard on February 20, 2024, on a charge of second-degree murder. The following day, he was apprehended and booked into the Orleans Parish Justice Center.
