Ronnika Richburg: 32-Year-Old Mother Shot Dead Outside New Orleans
Ronnika Richburg, 32, was shot to death in suburban New Orleans on Tuesday, August 25, 2020. The father of her child is wanted to Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s deputies.
Ronnika Richburg was just trying to start over. After a rocky seven-year relationship with the father of her child, the suburban New Orleans woman had moved on.
She started a successful hairstyling business from her home in Avondale, just outside New Orleans. She was actually doing a client’s hair when chaos violently erupted the day.
The Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s office alleges that on Tuesday, August 25, 2020, Lloyd Jones, 42, burst into Richburg’s home and cornered her in a bathroom before shooting her dead. The 32-year-old woman died at the scene.
Her mother’s boyfriend, who was also in the home, was shot as well and is recovering.
Also in the home was Richburg’s 4-year-old son and her mother, Kimberly Lemar. “My child didn’t deserve this,” Lemar told the Picayune.
Richburg did exactly what you should do when you feel threatened by a scorned lover or former romantic interest. She went through the trouble of getting a restraining order just days before she was murdered.
Richburg was trying to protect herself from the father of her child. But as it has become painfully apparent so many times, it was all to no avail.
“It’s just a piece of paper. It don’t mean nothing,” Lemar told the newspaper.
Jones is wanted on charges of:
First-degree murder
Home invasion
Obstruction of justice
The murder happened just six days after Richburg filed the restraining order. In the days leading up to her getting the protective order, she had been on the receiving end of some vitriolic behavior from the suspect.
Jones allegedly shattered her car’s windshield, smashed her cell phone and damaged other items of hers, according to the Times PIcayune newspaper
In her words, here’s what the newspaper says she wrote in court documents seeking the protective order:
“[Jones] stalked my mom’s house, called my phone continuous, followed me on (the) bridge. He calls my cell all day and night, pops up at my house unannounced, follows me, calls my mom and ... continuously sends numerous text messages (and) goes to my friend’s house unannounced.”
After forcing his way into the home and allegedly firing upon its occupants, those in the home ran for cover — but not everybody.
“I hopped on his back, and me and him was tussling,” Lemar told the newspaper. “I got bullet holes all over my ceiling.”
Jones sped off in a dark-colored GMC pickup truck. The Sheriff’s Office is asking anyone with information on Jones’ whereabouts to call the agency at (504) 364-5300 or the local chapter of Crimestoppers at (504) 822-1111. Tipsters may be eligible for a $5,000 reward.
Domestic Violence Resources
National Domestic Hotline: 1-800-799-SAFE (7233), or 1-800-787-3224 (TTY)
