On July 30, 2019, officers from the Concordia Parish Sheriff’s Office responded to a home on Anderson Road in Clayton, Louisiana, after a 911 call and found 12-year-old LaFrederick McCoy and his mother, Meghan McCoy Watson, dead of gunshot wounds. The initial investigation identified Meghan’s husband and LaFrederick’s stepfather, Marvin Watson, as the primary suspect; he fled the scene and was later apprehended.

At trial Watson said he acted in self-defense, claiming an AR-15 misfired when LaFrederick threatened him, that he tripped and the gun discharged while he tried to leave, and that further shots occurred while he followed the wounded boy into a bathroom to render aid. Forensic testimony, however, indicated the fatal wounds were fired at a downward angle inconsistent with shots fired while falling, and that at least one shot that struck LaFrederick was fired while he was sitting or bent over behind the bathroom door.

A jury rejected the self-defense claim and convicted Watson of two counts of first-degree murder; he received two consecutive life sentences at hard labor without parole, probation, or suspension of sentence. Does anyone have information about the victims or the Clayton area around July 2019 that could add context to this case?