In an unusual turn of events, a Louisiana woman, already in prison for killing a cyclist, is vocalizing displeasure over the quality of prison food. The woman in question, who also strangled her fiancé after he facilitated her bail, has brought her grievances to light.
Laura Collins, 39, faced a conviction last Friday for the brutal murder of her partner, Gerald Robichaux, 50. Robichaux had invested a hefty sum of $45,000 to spring Collins from custody, an ominous decision that tragically cost him his life.
The chilling sequence unfolded in January 2021 at their New Orleans residence, where Collins fatally strangled Robichaux while awaiting a court hearing for a separate offense—the hit-and-run death of cyclist Lloyd Smith, 62, a year earlier in New Orleans.
According to police reports, Collins claimed that Robichaux initiated an attack after discovering her broadcasting on the dating platform MeetMe. Her defense team endeavored to present her as a victim of domestic abuse, as reported by NOLA.com.
Nevertheless, jurors in Orleans Parish swiftly reached a decision, needing just 90 minutes to dismiss her allegations and convict her of second-degree murder. Her legal representative has indicated plans to challenge the conviction, as conveyed to the Daily Mail.
Collins was also found guilty of manslaughter and obstruction of justice regarding Smith’s death, after it emerged she struck the grandfather on January 9, 2020, before fleeing the scene.
She has been behind bars since Robichaux’s murder and now The Daily Mail has discovered she has filed a civil lawsuit against prison officials claiming she has been beaten, starved and sexually harassed.
Collins claims she was fed expired milk, food with ‘bugs’ in and even refused nutrition and medical care during her stay at the Orleans Justice Center, the filing states.
Laura Collins strangled her fiancé to death after he posted her $45,000 bond in connection to the death of a cyclist she hit with her car
She alleged that she was held down while a deputy beat her and accused other officers of ‘sexually harassing, physically threatening’ and ‘retaliating’ against her.
‘I have also been falsely charged in an attempt to cover the facilities [sic] wrongdoing. Not to mention being fed sour milk, bugs in food, and/or outright denied food,’ the filing reads.
Collins is demanding transfer to a new prison, $500,000 in damages and for the ‘punishment/remanding of staff involved,’ per the lawsuit.
The killer also successfully filed a pauper order with the court to delay the payment of her legal fees.
The defendants have since filed a motion to dismiss Collins’ suit stating that they deny all of her claims.
Their response also says that Collins, who is white, alleged that she had been the ‘victim of prejudice and racist remarks about the color of her skin’ which they also deny.
The civil suit remains ongoing. The Daily Mail has contacted lawyers for the defendants and the Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office for comment.
Meanwhile, Collins is set to learn her fate for her criminal convictions at a sentencing set for July 30. Prosecutors have said her murder conviction carries a mandatory life sentence.
Collins filed a civil lawsuit against prison deputies in which she claimed to have been beaten, harassed by officers as well as fed rancid milk and food with ‘bugs’ in during her stint at the Orleans Justice Center
It comes more than five years after cops were called to a report of domestic disturbance at the home she and Robichaux shared in the St Claude neighborhood of New Orleans.
Bodycam footage played at her trial showed a Collins tearfully telling a responding officer that she had placed Robichaux in a ‘sleeper hold’ after ‘he got p***ed tonight and dragged me off my stream and dragged me down to the ground.’
‘All I did was defend myself when he attacked me,’ she sobbed, per the footage.
But Officer Lanie DeRoche Morgan told the court that she felt something was amiss in the scene presented by 5’4″ Collins and her 5’11”, 204lb partner.
She said her suspicions deepened as Collins was unable to explain a large bruise to the back of her fiancé’s head.
‘At some point, I believed there was more to the story based on what I was hearing from Ms. Collins,’ Morgan testified.
Criminologist Dr Rae Taylor, a domestic violence expert, told the court that it appeared that Collins was a victim of domestic abuse and that Robichaux had exercised coercive control.
However, jail records indicate that Collins had previously been booked on domestic violence charges and violation of a protection order. The Daily Mail has reached out to police to confirm the status of the charges.
Collins mowed down grandfather Lloyd Smith, 62, in January 2020 before fleeing the scene
It is unclear when the relationship between Collins and Robichaux soured. The murder took place less than a year after her fiancé posted her bond following Smith’s death.
‘Obviously we are disappointed in the outcome of the trial,’ Collins’ lawyer Michael Kennedy told the Daily Mail. ‘In particular with regard to the count of 2nd degree murder-where our domestic violence expert testified that she firmly believes Laura was the victim in that incident.
‘Ms. Collins has been re-victimized by the system. The Orleans Parish District Attorney’s office has forgone all rules of decorum and civility in attacking me rather than the case.
‘Laura will be filing an appeal. I will be filing a bar complaint.’ The Daily Mail reached out to the DA’s office for comment.
The court heard how Collins called Robichaux immediately after she struck Smith, a grandfather of four, as he was cycling at the intersection of Canal and North Rendon streets.
The impact from her Jeep Cherokee caused Smith to suffer an internal decapitation, a severed aorta and pelvic fractures, experts testified at Collins’ trial.
Collins told Robichaux she ‘hit something’ before sending a series of texts implicating herself in the crime, according to court documents.
Smith’s family filed a wrongful death suit against Collins which has not progressed since 2021 when their attorneys submitted a request to withdraw from the case. The Daily Mail has reached out to their lawyers for comment.