Louisiana: Coroner rules museum founder’s death a homicide

| July 21, 2019 | EDITORIALS, NATIONAL, NEWS | No Comments
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FILE – In this April 20, 2004 file photo, Rep. Carla Blanchard Dartez, D-Morgan City, center covers Gov. Kathleen Blanco, left, as a few drops of rain fall while talking with Sadie Roberts-Joseph, right, before the start of the Stand Up for Children 2004 Rally for Children on the steps of the State Capitol in Baton Rouge, La. Sadie Roberts-Joseph, who founded an African American history museum was discovered dead in the trunk of a car, and police said Saturday, July 13, 2019 that investigators were working diligently to find those responsible.(Arthur D. Lauck/The Advocate via AP, File)

The founder of Baton Rouge’s African American history museum died of suffocation and her death was a homicide, a coroner ruled Monday, as residents of Louisiana’s capital city struggled to come to terms with the slaying of the well-respected, 75-year-old community leader.

East Baton Rouge Coroner Beau Clark released preliminary autopsy results that show Sadie Roberts-Joseph was suffocated before her body was found in the trunk of a car Friday.

He said Roberts-Joseph died from “traumatic asphyxia, including suffocation.” The Advocate reports this means her airways were physically blocked, cutting off her oxygen supply.

Roberts-Joseph founded the Baton Rouge African American Museum in 2001. It features a 1953 bus that visitors can board to learn more about the Baton Rouge bus boycott of that year. They can also learn about three different types of cotton grown in the museum’s garden, and learn more about African American contributions in areas such as inventions and art.

Denise Marcelle, a state representative and former member of the council that governs Baton Rouge, had known Roberts-Joseph for years. They worked together on Juneteenth celebrations which commemorate the end of slavery.

“She was just a very likeable person and that is why the community is so outraged,” Marcelle said. “It’s really a shock to the entire Baton Rouge community. It’s just a shock.”

Recently Marcelle said she’d put the lieutenant governor’s office in touch with Roberts-Joseph so they could work together on a civil rights trail project across Louisiana. Marcelle said Roberts-Joseph often came to the council to speak on various issues. She was soft-spoken and even if she disagreed with you on an issue, she did it respectfully, Marcelle said.

The Baton Rouge Police Department announced Saturday that Roberts-Joseph’s body had been discovered Friday. Sgt. L’Jean Mckneely Jr. said Monday that she’d been discovered in the trunk of her own vehicle.

“The Baton Rouge Police Department joins the community in mourning the loss of Ms. Sadie Roberts-Joseph. Ms. Sadie was a tireless advocate of peace in the community,” the department said in a Facebook post Saturday.

 

June 16 – Man arrested in slaying of 75-year-old community activist

By CHEVEL JOHNSON and REBECCA SANTANA

The suspect in the slaying of a community leader who founded Baton Rouge’s African American history museum was a tenant who owed her back rent, authorities said Tuesday.

Ronn Jermaine Bell, 38, was arrested Tuesday on a charge of first-degree murder, city Police Chief Murphy J. Paul told news reporters. Bell is being held in the East Baton Rouge Parish jail. It’s unclear whether he’s represented by an attorney.

Paul said Bell was a tenant in a rental property owned by 75-year-old Sadie Roberts-Joseph and was behind on about $1,200 in rent. Paul said a “solid motive” remains under investigation but he says they don’t believe Roberts-Joseph’s death was a hate crime or related to her community activist role.

Roberts-Joseph’s body was discovered Friday in the trunk of her vehicle. The coroner’s office said she had been suffocated.