BOSTON – Louis Coleman III was indicted today by a federal
grand jury in Boston for the kidnapping resulting in the death of Jassy
Correia.
Coleman, 32, of Providence, R.I., was indicted on one count
of kidnapping resulting in death. An arraignment date will be scheduled by the
Court. Coleman was arrested on Feb. 28, 2019, in Delaware, charged by complaint
in the District of Massachusetts on March 3, and appeared in federal court in
Boston on March 11. He has been detained since his arrest.
According to the charging documents, after learning of the
disappearance of Correia, law enforcement reviewed surveillance tape from
outside of the Venu nightclub, the last place Correia had been seen by her
friends, which showed Correia leaving the area and entering a vehicle with a
man later identified as Coleman. Surveillance footage from Coleman’s
Providence, R.I., apartment building showed Coleman, at about 4:15 a.m. on
Sunday, Feb. 24, 2019, parking and exiting the vehicle, and then returning a
short time later carrying a blanket. He then walked from the car to the front
of the building carrying a body with long hair and clothing consistent with the
description of Ms. Correia. Once he entered the building, surveillance video
showed Coleman dropping the victim on the floor and dragging her towards the
elevator, and subsequently towards his apartment unit. The victim was not
moving and her body was limp.
It is alleged that on Feb. 26, 2019, surveillance video from
the defendant’s apartment building showed Coleman enter the apartment building
with Walmart shopping bags. Law enforcement subsequently obtained video
surveillance and a receipt from a Walmart in Providence, R.I., that revealed
Coleman had purchased three Tyvek suits, duct tape, two candles, electrical
tape, one mask, surgical gloves, two pairs of safety goggles, an odor
respirator and CLN release bleach bath.
At approximately 9:58 p.m. on Feb. 27, 2019, Coleman is seen
on video surveillance entering the apartment building with what appeared to be
a new, large suitcase. At 1:15 a.m., on Feb. 28, 2019, Coleman is seen in the
video wheeling the suitcase away from his apartment unit towards the elevator,
eventually out of the building and into the parking lot where his vehicle was
parked. Coleman appeared to have difficulty lifting the suitcase into the trunk
of his car.
Additional surveillance video showed Coleman on several
occasions exiting his apartment building with other items, including trash
bags, cardboard boxes, a bottle of bleach, a laptop case, a computer tower and
a small duffle bag.
Later in the day on Feb. 28, 2019, a search warrant was
executed at Coleman’s apartment, where two packages of hooded coveralls and two
respirator masks were recovered. A sofa with four large cushions, one of which
was missing a cover, was also observed. In a dumpster outside of the apartment
complex, white trash bags, a bag containing plastic sheets, men’s jeans with
bleach stains and a belt, a white nylon hooded coverall, an empty box of baking
soda, clear safety goggles, a respirator mask, duct tape packaging, rubbing
alcohol, Walmart bags, used plastic gloves, an empty package from a car air
freshener, three empty packages of purifying charcoal and a sponge were
recovered.
On the afternoon of Feb. 28, 2019, Coleman’s vehicle was
stopped by Delaware authorities on I-95 South near Wilmington, Delaware.
Officers ordered Coleman out of the vehicle and asked him if anyone else was in
the vehicle with him. It is alleged that Coleman stated words to the effect:
“She’s in the trunk.”
Officers discovered the victim’s body in the trunk of
Coleman’s vehicle, wrapped in a sofa cushion cover, which was inside of a black
trash bag, inside of a large suitcase that matches the suitcase Coleman was
observed bringing into his apartment on Feb. 27, 2019. The victim had
significant bruising, a bloodied face, was bound with gray duct tape, and was
covered in what is believed to be baking soda.
A duffle bag, a pair of new long-handled loppers, plastic
garbage bags, clothing, a red plastic gas container, a green butane lighter,
black gloves, charcoal air purifiers, air fresheners, tinted safety glasses,
plastic Walmart bags, work towels, cloth work-gloves, a new set of DeWalt
pliers, a laptop, a computer hard-drive/tower, and disinfectant wipes were also
recovered in Coleman’s vehicle.
It is further alleged that photographs of the defendant’s
vehicle depict a windshield that is cracked in two locations on the passenger
side and a white substance, believed to be baking soda, in the trunk of the
vehicle.
Coleman was taken into custody and transported to a Delaware
State Police barracks. There, it was noted that Coleman had a large bandage on
the right side of his face. When asked about it, he allegedly replied, “It’s
from the girl.”
The charge of kidnapping resulting in death provides for a
sentence of death or life in prison. Sentences are imposed by a federal
district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other
statutory factors.
United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling; Boston Police
Commissioner William G. Gross; Joseph R. Bonavolonta, Special Agent in Charge
of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division; John Gibbons,
U.S. Marshal for the District of Massachusetts; Suffolk County District
Attorney Rachael Rollins; Colonel Nathaniel McQueen Jr., Delaware State Police;
and Colonel Hugh T. Clements Jr., Chief of Police, Providence Police
Department, made the announcement today. The U.S. Attorney’s Office would also
like to acknowledge the cooperation and assistance of Rhode Island Attorney
General Peter F. Neronha; United States Attorney David C. Weiss, District of
Delaware; and the Massachusetts State Police. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kenneth
G. Shine and Robert Richardson of Lelling’s Major Crimes Unit are prosecuting
the case.
The details contained in the charging documents are
allegations. The defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven
guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
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