Marisha Felix

Marisha M. Felix was a fun, happy, and outgoing single mother, remembered by loved ones for her ambition and independent spirit. The 24-year-old Black woman was devoted to her young son, who has autism, and her family said he loved taking selfies with his mom. Those who knew her said she was a "go-getter" with a "heart of a lion" who was always smiling. With her sister, Marisha talked about one day opening a transitional home for women and was passionate about speaking on the topics of gun violence and safety for women. She and her siblings were very close with an aunt and her five children, often spending weekends at their house where the girls would dress up and perform for the family.

On the evening of Thursday, March 1, 2018, that future was stolen from her. At approximately 8 p.m., Marisha was driving her black convertible away from an apartment complex on Martin Luther King Jr. Drive in Lafayette, Louisiana. Suddenly, a barrage of gunfire erupted. Lafayette Police officers, responding to reports of shots fired, arrived at the 800 block of MLK Drive to find Marisha's car had crashed into a fence. The vehicle was riddled with bullet holes, and inside, they found Marisha suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. She was pronounced dead at the scene from a gunshot wound to the back.

The Lafayette Police Department’s investigation quickly identified a suspect. A witness identified 17-year-old Shawntrell Sampy as the shooter, and he was apprehended the following day without incident. He was initially charged with second-degree murder. Two other individuals, Timothy Melancon and Steven Mamou, were later arrested and charged with accessory after the fact to second-degree murder. During questioning, Sampy first denied any involvement but later admitted to shooting at Marisha's car.

Sampy claimed that Marisha had been harassing and threatening him and his younger brother for some time, even alleging she had shot at them on one occasion. However, he had never reported any of these alleged incidents to the police. Investigators could find no evidence to support his harassment claims. On the night of the shooting, Sampy told detectives he saw Marisha stop her car and rev the engine, which is when he opened fire. A police detective testified that Sampy shot at the car 11 times, striking it nine times. Investigators found no gun in Marisha's vehicle and no indication that she had fired a weapon. Her family adamantly denied that she was violent or carried a gun, stating it was completely out of character for her.

In June 2022, Shawntrell Sampy pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of manslaughter. At his sentencing hearing in October 2022, Marisha's family spoke of their profound and unending grief. Her father, Mitchell Felix, described how they visit her grave every Sunday, bringing fresh flowers and spending hours there. They shared the devastating impact Marisha's murder has had on her son, who was three at the time of her death. Now older, the boy still searches the house for his mother's scent, often curling up in the bed she used to sleep in. "How do you explain to an autistic child that his mother was murdered?" her aunt, Nicole Felix, asked in court.

Sampy, then 22, addressed the family in court, stating, "My life was in danger and hers was too. I still love y'all." His family expressed their sorrow for the Felix family's loss. The prosecution asked for the maximum sentence of 30 years, while Sampy's attorney requested 10 years, citing his client's age and fear at the time of the shooting. Judge Royale Colbert, noting the tragic loss of life and a child left without a mother, sentenced Shawntrell Sampy to 22 years in prison with credit for time served. "At the end of the day, someone still died," the judge stated. As of October 2022, the case is considered closed with Sampy's conviction and sentencing.