NEW ORLEANS — On Sunday, the loved ones of a well-known tour guide walked the streets of the French Quarter to remember her.
Family and friends looked back on the memories of Kristie Thibodeaux, sharing stories and drinks that will benefit her upcoming funeral.
“The owner and bartenders have generously decided to donate all of the profits from the benefit to her family for funeral costs," Crawl owner Brian Cain said. "That includes all of the bartender tips. Everything that comes across the bar is going to be donated to the family.”
Thibodeaux was killed one week ago in an attempted armed robbery. Since then, three teenagers have been arrested for her murder.
"Heavy hearts today. No one deserves to leave this world that way. Just completely unsuspected and not the person that deserved it. We’re all hurting,” Cain said.
19-year-old Joshua Bonifacio, 17-year-old Jerban Alberec, and a 15-year-old are all charged in Thibodeaux’s murder.
According to police documents, Bonifacio and Alberec admitted to being involved in a robbery spree in the French Quarter. They told police that the 15-year-old fatally shot Thibodeaux while she was sitting in her car on the 700 block of St. Peters Street.
Thibodeaux died at the scene.
“We’re also angry. She didn’t deserve this. Juveniles committing crimes like this is a regular occurrence in New Orleans now. It’s heartbreaking,” Cain said.
As Thibodeaux’s family deals with her tragic death, her work family hopes Sunday night’s fundraiser will help ease the stress moving forward.
“No one expects this to happen. It’s just unforeseen expenses that we want to make sure the family is taken care of,” Cain said.