NEW ORLEANS — It took less than two hours for a New Orleans jury to convict Preston Higgs of second-degree murder following a 3-day jury trial in Criminal District Court Section E on Friday.
Hours earlier, Higgs admitted to killing Liz Quackenbush with an axe inside the couple's shared home three years ago.
Quackenbush was found slain in her home in the 1200 block of Desire Street in March 2021.
Higgs was arrested four months later in Indiana following a nationwide manhunt.
While on the stand, Orleans Parish District Attorney Jason Williams asked if it was Higgs' choice to put this axe in the woman's head.
Higgs replied, "Yes."
"No one else?" Williams asked.
"No it was me," Higgs said.
WWL Louisiana reporter Alyssa Curtis was in the court and said Higgs' lawyer argued self defense. He claimed Quackenbush stabbed Higgs first with a blade.
"He defended himself as he had to and as the law allows," he stated. "[The state] can present to you no reason why Mr. Higgs would swing first."
Williams found the notion of self-defense absurd.
"The argument that this was self-defense was ludicrous – it was lunacy," Williams told media after the verdict. "It was clear that all Liz wanted was for him to leave. Leave her home, leave her life. You saw the pictures, she was in a corner of that home. There was no place for her to go. She retreated as far as she could go. Her final resting place was in a corner.
"This was no accident," he continued. "It was an axe, and he swung it multiple times. He couldn't even remember how many times he swung it."
Judge Rhonda Goode-Douglas presided over the case.
This is an ongoing story and will be updated shortly.
