METAIRIE, La. — A Jefferson Parish jury only needed about 30 minutes to convict a man of fatally shooting his girlfriend’s mother in front of her 10-year-old granddaughter Thursday evening.
Brandon Kestle, 34, was guilty as charged of second-degree murder in the death of Linda Paquette, 66.
Kestle had entered a plea of not guilty and not guilty by reason of insanity.
According to court documents, Kestle, who was living in Paquette’s home at the time, got a semiautomatic pistol and shot her twice in the head. He then called 911 and told the sheriff’s office, told them what he had done and said he would be waiting for them.
The crime occurred on May 25, 2020 in the 700 block of North Howard Avenue.
Court testimony revealed that Paquette’s 10-year-old granddaughter had witnessed the crime and that her two adult children heard the gunfire and then saw Kestle holding a pistol.
According to testimony, Kestle told deputies that Paquette had been poisoning him since he was a child and wanted to make sure she was dead.
The district attorney’s office argued at trial that he was insane, and a defense psychiatrist said he was unable to distinguish right from wrong. However, a forensic psychiatrist for the state said it didn’t make sense that Kestle would move in with someone he claimed had poisoned him for years and that his call to 911 showed a recognition of guilt.
He will be sentenced on Wednesday, Dec. 20.
