Orleans Parish inmate dies of illness two months before twice-delayed murder trial

NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) – An Orleans Parish inmate died Saturday (Sept. 28), less than two months before she was scheduled to go on trial for the murder of a woman in Algiers, authorities said.

Jodi Sonnier, who would have turned 50 this Friday, died at University Medical Center, where she was receiving hospice care, from what the Orleans Parish Sheriff's Office described as a “persistent incurable illness.”

No further details about Sonnier's death were released, but OPSO said the accused Belle Chasse killer was transferred to the hospital from the Orleans Justice Center jail on Sept. 2. The OPSO said it approved a visit from Sonnier's immediate family last Wednesday.

Sonnier was arrested in June 2022 after New Orleans police linked her to the fatal shooting of 41-year-old Alicia Bozeman two months earlier. According to court documents, Bozeman was found dead from a single gunshot to the head on April 8, 2022, in the bedroom of her apartment in the 2200 block of Cobblestone Lane in Algiers.

Investigators wrote that a witness identified Sonnier as the woman who visited Bozeman around 1 p.m. and argued with him, then drove away after he shot her.

Sonnier was arrested on June 16, 2022 and remained in custody until her death. She was scheduled to go on trial Nov. 18 on charges of second-degree murder, obstruction of justice and possession of a firearm by a felon.

Court records show that two previous trial dates – in May 2023 and September 2023 – were postponed and rescheduled for “medical reasons.” Sonnier made his final court appearance on June 14 for a hearing.

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