A surprising murder story from the Big Easy?

By Chris Kromm / November 16, 2005

Cross-posted from the Institute's new project covering the post-hurricane rebuilding of the South, Gulf Coast Reconstruction Watch

Remember the relentless reports of violence and killing in New Orleans in the wake of Hurricane Katrina? Thugs taking over the streets, deadly shoot-outs erupting in shelters, armed criminals seizing on the chaos to strike fear into the hearts of desperate city-dwellers?

Then this story silently rolling off the news wires may surprise you:


NEW ORLEANS -- The first murder in New Orleans since Hurricane Katrina has been recorded with the killing of a woman and the beating of her neighbor inside his home.

Police did not release the woman's identity. The man was identified as Jon Newlin, 56, a well-known New Orleans poet. Friends told police they went to his residence Tuesday and found the victims. [...]

Tuesday's killing is the 205th for the city this year, compared with 225 by the same time last year, police said. The last recorded murders in New Orleans happened Aug. 27, two days before Hurricane Katrina emptied the city.

A tragic crime, to be sure. But shouldn't this get more coverage for debunking one of the most powerful media images of what was happening after Katrina?

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