In the late hours of a Tuesday in New Orleans, the life of Cassie Lace Picquet, a 39-year-old Black female, was tragically cut short. On November 7, 2023, officers from the New Orleans Police Department's Seventh District responded to a call of a person shot in the 8600 block of Castle Court. Upon their arrival at approximately 11:28 p.m., they discovered a woman, later identified as Picquet, unresponsive on the ground, having sustained at least one gunshot wound.
Emergency medical services were dispatched to the scene, but Picquet was pronounced dead from her injuries.
Known affectionately as 'Cat' to her loved ones, Cassie was a mother to three children, Elton Jr., Essence, and Ethan Ragas, and a grandmother. Born on May 17, 1984, in Port Sulphur, Louisiana, she was a resident of New Orleans at the time of her death. Her death was officially confirmed by the Orleans Parish Coroner's Office on November 10, 2023, with the cause determined to be gunshot-related injuries.
The investigation into Cassie Picquet's death swiftly led to a suspect. Homicide detectives with the New Orleans Police Department identified Carl Wilson as the perpetrator and secured an arrest warrant for one count of second-degree murder. On November 17, 2023, a collaborative effort between the NOPD's Violent Offender Warrant Squad and the U.S. Marshals led to Wilson's apprehension in the 3600 block of Coliseum Drive. Following his arrest, Carl Wilson was booked into the Orleans Parish Justice Center.
