A Louisiana woman accused of stabbing a man to death earlier this month in New Orleans had a two-count domestic violence case against her refused by Orleans Parish District Attorney Jason Williams’ office seven months earlier, court records show.
New Orleans police announced Saturday (July 16) that 24-year-old Ariel Shelling was booked with second-degree murder in connection with the July 8 fatal stabbing of a man at the corner of Banks and South Broad streets.
The age and identity of the murder victim still have not been disclosed by the Orleans Parish Coroner’s office. So it remains unclear whether the man found stabbed to death at 7:30 a.m. that day is connected to the domestic violence case against Shelling that was dropped last December.
Police said the man had been stabbed multiple times and was pronounced dead at the scene.
The NOPD said it found Shelling already jailed at the Orleans Justice Center after a July 13 arrest on a count of aggravated battery, for which her bond was set at $50,000. The department said homicide detectives “developed and positively identified Shelling as the perpetrator” of the fatal stabbing on July 8, and obtained a murder arrest warrant for her on Friday.
Shelling was re-booked with the murder allegation and was awaiting the setting of a new bond for that count on Saturday afternoon.
Court records show Shelling was arrested last Oct. 30 and booked with two counts of domestic abuse battery, for which Orleans Parish Magistrate Commissioner Robert Blackburn set a bond of just $200. Two months later, on Dec. 28, Williams’ office notified the court it was refusing to prosecute the case.
Williams’ office did not immediately respond when asked to explain why the earlier case was refused.
Tell us your thoughts...