Herb's mother's brother, Uncle Junior, was murdered the other day in Kenner, LA. May whoever did this to him be found quickly and punished harshly.
Jackie
PS: Here's text from a Times-Picayune article detailing what we know so far:
Police sought leads Wednesday in the death of a Kenner trailer park manager who authorities suspect was strangled by a robber.
Officers were summoned Tuesday to Dixieland Mobile Home and RV Park, 176 W. Airline Drive, at about 11:20 a.m. after a resident found the body of Odrey Bordelon, 60, said Capt. James Gallagher, Kenner Police Department spokesman. Bordelon's body was in the bedroom of his apartment with a cable wrapped tightly around his neck.
Investigators initially left open the possibility that Bordelon had strangled himself. But an autopsy Wednesday ruled that out, Police Chief Steve Caraway said. Someone else was involved, and authorities think the motive might have been robbery.
"He worked for the trailer park," Caraway said. "One of his jobs was to at times help collect rent."
Park resident Michael Mollenix, 34, said Bordelon, known around the park as "Junior," collected rent in cash. Mollenix said he paid $225 a week.
It was Mollenix who found Bordelon's body. He said he hadn't seen the park's manager, maintenance man and groundskeeper for a few days. He went over to Bordelon's tiny gray apartment Tuesday to knock on the door, just as he'd done Monday. But when he got no answer for a second time Tuesday, he peeked through the blinds and said he noticed the refrigerator door open.
Mollenix said the door was unlocked. He said he walked in to close the refrigerator door and noticed Bordelon's body on the floor in a fetal position.
"It looked like he didn't have any clothing on, and he had a cord wrapped around his neck," Mollenix said. "I was shocked."
Investigators have not named a suspect, but Caraway said they do have a person of interest with a connection to the trailer park. Detectives were still looking to speak with this person Wednesday.
In the meantime, Bordelon's death left some of the trailer park's residents in shock.
"I can't even imagine why anybody would have to harm him," said Leigh Bock, 37, "He was a little old man."
Bordelon cut the grass and handled minor maintenance work in addition to collecting rent, Bock and Mollenix said. He had been there for more than 10 years, residents said.
He was a quiet man who didn't drink, preferring water to beer, Bock said. He lived alone.
Bordelon had a fish tank in his apartment and fed the park's multiple stray cats. On Wednesday afternoon, several cats lounged in the grass in front of his apartment. A white and tan kitty walked up to an empty red food dish near his front door and stared.
"He was a great guy," Bock said.
Bordelon's death seems already to have prompted some changes at the park. A yellow sign was posted in the window of the rental office to inform tenants that management would no longer accept rent payments in cash. A woman who answered the telephone number posted there and who identified herself as the manager of the park would not comment.
Bock said Bordelon's murder was the last straw for him. He came to the New Orleans area from Connecticut just after Hurricane Katrina, to work as contractor handling debris removal and other tasks. In the months after the storm, he said, the park was filled with BellSouth workers. It was a safe place where everybody looked out for one another.
But then the rents began dropping, and Bock said seedier residents began to show up. He said he felt less comfortable. With Bordelon's killing, Bock said, he has decided to move. "I'm done," he said.
