Abbeville Police have booked a local man with murder in connection with the March stabbing death of a woman.
Javen Richardson, 33, was booked with second-degree murder on Monday. He's accused in connection with the March 30 stabbing death of Nicoletta Menard, 44.
Police were called to an apartment complex on Coulee Kinney Road, where they found Menard's body in her apartment. She had died of multiple stab wounds.
Through the investigation, which was a joint effort of Abbeville detectives and the Vermilion Parish Sheriff's Office Criminal Investigations Division, Richardson was identified as a suspect and a warrant was issued for his arrest.
Detectives believe he left town to try to avoid arrest, and the Louisiana State Police Fugitive Task Force was called in to help locate him. Investigators found that Richardson had returned to Abbeville, and on April 13 the sheriff's office found him at a house just outside the city limits. He was arrested and booked on the warrant.
"Chief Hardy would like to thank the Vermilion Parish Sheriff’s Office, the Louisiana State Police, the Abbeville City Marshal’s Office, and the Vermilion Parish Coroner’s Office for their assistance in this investigation," a release states. "Chief Hardy would like to commend his department for a job well done."
