Early on the morning of April 2, 2000, a domestic dispute in a Kenner neighborhood outside New Orleans erupted into deadly violence. At about 7:00 a.m. Leo Mitchell forced his way into a Pollack Street home where his former girlfriend Elena Smith and several family members were present. Mitchell opened fire, fatally wounding family patriarch Henry Porter and wounding Howard Bardell, who survived.

After the shootings Mitchell grabbed Elena Smith, who was wearing only a t-shirt and underwear, dragged her into nearby woods and forced her toward Airline Highway. He later obtained a cab to continue fleeing toward New Orleans; Smith says she saw him discard the firearm during their flight. A grand jury indicted Mitchell on first-degree murder on June 1, 2000; later indictments added second-degree murder, attempted second-degree murder and second-degree kidnapping. A sanity commission found him competent to stand trial. A jury convicted Mitchell on all counts and he received life at hard labor for the murder plus lengthy concurrent terms for the other convictions, with no parole, probation or suspension of sentence.

Does anyone have additional details about the victims or the neighborhood that could shed light on what led to this confrontation?