On the night of May 21, 2021, a party on Mike Talley Road in Pearl River, Louisiana, ended when an altercation broke out and shots were fired into a crowd. Twenty-year-old Nicholas Livingston, a White/Caucasian male, was struck and pronounced dead at the scene. The St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office investigated and identified three men — 19-year-old Amarjaye Thomas, 18-year-old Jawaun Gaines, and 20-year-old Malike Batiste — as suspects. Warrants for second-degree murder were issued and all three were taken into custody in the Slidell/south shore area.

A St. Tammany Parish grand jury returned multiple indictments in February 2022: Thomas faced second-degree murder, two counts of obstruction by tampering with evidence, and unlawful possession of a firearm; Gaines was indicted for obstruction by tampering with evidence; and another person, Brock Christopher Bozant, was indicted on obstruction and accessory-after-the-fact charges. In December 2022 Gaines pleaded guilty to obstruction for removing the murder weapon and encouraging false testimony and received a 10-year prison sentence. Livingston’s parents and step-mother delivered victim impact statements at sentencing.

What information did anyone at the party see that night that could help clarify exactly how the shooting unfolded?