Police investigating 4-year-old's suspicious death as homicide

Leigh Guidry, Lafayette Daily Advertiser
·1 min read

The suspicious death of a four-year-old child in St. Landry Parish is being investigated by Opelousas Police as a homicide, according to Chief Martin L. McLendon.

The death of Raina Richard was initially reported to the Opelousas Police Department on Sunday. Initial findings of an autopsy performed earlier this week led police to begin investigating the death as a homicide, according to OPD.

The victim's father, 36-year-old Joseph C. Mayon Jr. of Opelousas, has been booked into the St. Landry Parish Jail on charges of first-degree murder and second-degree cruelty to juveniles.

The Opelousas Police Department is investigating the suspicious death of 4-year-old Raina Richard as a homicide, according to a Nov. 24, 2021, release from police.
The Opelousas Police Department is investigating the suspicious death of 4-year-old Raina Richard as a homicide, according to a Nov. 24, 2021, release from police.

"The Opelousas Police Department offers its deepest condolences to the family and would ask the community to keep them in their prayers through this difficult time," McLendon said in a release.

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This article originally appeared on Lafayette Daily Advertiser: Police investigating 4-year-old's suspicious death as homicide