In an update to the distressing hit-and-run incident in Slidell on August 13 that claimed the life of six-year-old Jeremiah Ramirez, the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff's Office has detained a new suspect after fresh evidence brought to light the involvement of a different vehicle. Initially, Cody Beaudette was charged in connection with the child's death, but was released after investigators turned their attention to a silver Nissan Armada, pinpointed as the vehicle of interest in the case. According to WGNO, 40-year-old Connie Estes of Slidell is now facing charges of felony hit-and-run with death or serious bodily injury and felony obstruction of justice.
The incident occurred when Jeremiah was hit by a vehicle while playing with his scooter in his driveway, resulting in his untimely death from the injuries sustained. Initially, Beaudette's arrest was based on evidence at the time, but following more in-depth investigation and the acquisition of new evidence, he was exonerated from the vehicular homicide charge, although other traffic-related charges are still being reviewed, as reported by FOX 8 Live.
In a statement intended to dispel any misconceptions about the investigation, Sheriff Randy Smith made it clear that speculation about Estes's possible connections within the Sheriff's Office did not influence the investigation. "There has been speculation on social media and in the community suggesting that Ms. Estes is either related to or romantically involved with an employee of the Sheriff’s Office, and that this may have influenced our investigation," he said, "That is absolutely false." His sentiments were documented by WWLTV.
According to WWLTV, The Sheriff condemned the hit-and-run, saying, "I am deeply disgusted that someone would strike a child and leave them to die. What’s even more appalling is that this individual allowed someone else to take the blame for their actions." Following new evidence, the 22nd Judicial District Attorney’s Office, at the request of the Sheriff’s Office, dropped the initial charges against Beaudette and redirected the investigation toward Estes.
