A Marrero, Louisiana woman who allegedly told authorities she’d been unable to wake her “sleeping” former girlfriend was arrested after it was determined that her ex had actually been strangled.
26-year-old Marian Williams was booked Friday with second-degree murder, said Capt. Jason Rivarde, a Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office spokesperson.
The Jefferson Parish Coroner’s Office identified the victim as 19-year-old Azariah Hensley.
Williams and Hensley were inside a vehicle parked at an apartment complex in the 2800 block of Mt. Kennedy Boulevard in Marrero early Thursday morning. Williams told authorities Hensley had been asleep inside the vehicle, with Williams dialing 911 about 1:45 a.m. because she said she couldn’t wake Hensley, according to the Sheriff’s Office.
Hensley was taken to West Jefferson Medical Center in Marrero where she was pronounced dead about an hour later, the Coroner’s Office said.
An autopsy performed the next day determined that Hensley, who had injuries to her neck, had died of asphyxia by strangulation, according to the Coroner’s Office.
Sheriff’s Office detectives obtained a warrant for Williams’ arrest, and she was booked into the Jefferson Parish Correctional Center in Gretna. Williams was being held there Tuesday on a $300,000 bond.
Hensley, a 2021 graduate of John Ehret High School in Marrero, was a fun-loving, good-natured young woman who had dreams of becoming a nurse and opening her own business.
Hensley and Williams had dated for about two years before they broke up a few months ago, according to Fazande. It was an emotionally and physically abusive relationship, friends and family said.
Williams had previously tried to choke Hensley and threatned her.
There had also been cyber-bullying, according to LaQuinta Washington, whose daughter, Quinisha Dudley, was Hensley’s best friend and Ehret classmate.
That forgiving nature may have been her undoing, relatives fear. Though Hensley had moved on in a new relationship, she’d agreed to give Williams a ride home from work on the night that she was killed.
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