NEW ORLEANS — One day after John Honore was found guilty in the gruesome carjacking death of Linda Frickey, her family came together with the district attorney's office for a press conference.
After a long fight for justice, Linda Frickey’s family says they’re ready to move forward.
“I promised Linda at her coffin as I told her goodbye, I promised her everyone would know her name and would know what was done to her, and we were going to get justice for her, and we were going to make sure that this didn’t happen to other people,” Linda’s sister in law, Kathy Richard said.
But the family is also calling for action, saying something needs to be done by the city to prevent juveniles from committing crimes in the first place.
“Bad people want you to be bad, too,” Richard said. “So if they can corrupt an innocent one, that’s a game from them. So, we need to put some roadblocks into place. And that starts with a young age.”
District Attorney Jason Williams, a carjacking victim himself, echoed Frickey’s family. He said that crime will not be tolerated by his office.
“The conviction of Honore and his accomplices serves as a reminder that violent acts in the city of New Orleans will not go unpunished,” Williams said.
John Honore was just 17 at the time of the crime, but he was tried as an adult because of its severity. Matt Derbes with the DA's office said that the decision to try a minor as an adult is never easy.
“This case crosses a line,” Derbes said. “This was so heinous and brutal that the jury looked at that and they said despite our reservations on prosecution of juveniles as adults, this particular case it was obviously the right move.”
“In New Orleans, we have to get to a place where we value human life. We must value human life,” Williams said.
Honore faces a mandatory life sentence with a chance at parole after 25 years. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 12.
The three other defendants Lenyra Theophile, Mar’quel Curtis, and Briniyah Baker, pleaded guilty last week to attempted manslaughter in exchange for 20-year sentences.
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