On the evening of August 3, 2026, deputies in Natchitoches Parish responded after a vehicle traveling south on U.S. Highway 71 near Clarence carried a passenger who had been shot in the Campti area. The passenger, 27-year-old Jasmine M. Smith, was found with a gunshot wound to her thigh. First responders applied a tourniquet and she was taken by ambulance to Natchitoches Regional Medical Center, then airlifted to a regional trauma center. The Natchitoches Parish Coroner notified detectives that Jasmine Smith died of her injuries at 12:48 p.m. on August 4, 2026, at Rapides Regional Medical Center; an autopsy was scheduled to determine the official cause and manner of death.

Within 24 hours, detectives located and arrested 18-year-old Dalton Exavier Michiels of Bentley at a mobile home park on Louisiana Highway 9 near Campti. A search warrant recovered a handgun believed to be the murder weapon and other evidence; Michiels was booked and charged with First Degree Murder. Law enforcement has not released a motive while the investigation continues.

Does anyone have information about Jasmine’s movements in the Campti or Clarence areas on August 3 that could help investigators?