Editor’s note: This is the second story in a two-part series about domestic violence.
NEW ORLEANS -- Simone Veal was running for her life.
“I’ve been shot!” the young woman cried into her phone early Jan. 20, 2017, after she raced through the West Bank to try to escape her assailant.
The 31-year-old Marrero woman, who was eight weeks pregnant, frantically recounted to Jefferson Parish 911 dispatchers how her ex-lover, a man named Sylvester Holt, pulled up to her home in a white U-Haul pickup truck and shot her.
Veal hopped into her silver car and sped away. Holt pursued her.
Veal’s 911 call recorded the screeching of wheels, a crash and multiple gunshots.
The line then went quiet.
A dispatcher desperately tried to ask for her location. Silence.
Moments later, dispatchers answered another urgent call.
“We’ve got an officer down on Barataria and Ames,” the caller said. “And there’s a young lady on the ground out here as well.”
Officers would arrive to find the bodies of Veal and Westwego police Officer Michael Louviere, a father of two, on the ground. Louviere was headed home after a shift and pulled over to help with what he assumed was a traffic accident.
Veal’s life and that of Louviere, by extension, were both lost to act of domestic violence.
Their slayings were the fifth domestic violence-related deaths in Jefferson Parish in a two-month period. In November 2016, Jatory Evans shot and stabbed his pregnant ex-girlfriend and her parents inside their Old Jefferson home.
The alarming acts have spurred lawmakers into action to try to protect victims of domestic violence while increasing penalties for those who are responsible for it. More can be done, they say.
"Until our criminal justice system sees … that domestic violence is a trigger for possibly more to come, I don't see changes happening," said state Rep. Helena Moreno (D-New Orleans) who has championed tougher domestic violence laws.
The state has enhanced penalties for violating protective orders. Most recently, protections were added for people in dating relationships, not just spouses. Still, Moreno said, that's not enough.
Moreno said there is poor enforcement of laws designed to keep weapons out of the hands of abusers under protective orders.
"What we've never have been able to go far enough in the Legislature is to finally do that firearm transfer … to make sure that those firearms are either turned over to police immediately or that they are immediately somehow divested of these firearms,” Moreno said.
Moreno says that could save the life of an abused victim and a tragedy like Veal's from happening -- again.
A VIOLENT PAST
Apparently not content with simply killing his ex and a police officer, Holt made his way to the home of Veal’s boyfriend.
Dayton Bergeron was dating Veal at the time she was killed and told Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office detectives he feared for his life after learning Veal and Louviere were killed.
Investigative Photos obtained by Eyewitness News through a public-records request show Holt was prepared for more violence.
The U-Haul truck was left abandoned outside of Bergeron’s home. Inside, investigators would find a box of bullets on the passenger seat, on the floor and in the center console.
Police reports show Holt had a long history of domestic violence.
Bergeron told JPSO detectives that Veal feared Holt. Holt punched Veal in the face at one point and broke her nose, he told them.
Ashinda Scott, one of Holt’s ex-girlfriends, told detectives he exhibited violence behavior toward her as well, forcing her to leave him.
Scott said she didn’t even know his name was Sylvester Holt. While they were dating, Holt told Scott his name was Trayvon Thompson.
"How did you learn later on that he was using a fictitious name?" a detective asked Scott during an interview. "He ... popped up at my house and I asked him to leave … and he was acting erratically, so I called the police,” she said. “And they stopped him up the street ... and they found out that that was his name Sylvester Holt and not Trayvon.”
Scott described Holt as unstable and depressed.
"Has he threatened to kill himself before?" the detective asked Scott.
“Yes, he has," Scott replied.
"How many times do you think he's done that?"
"Oh my God! Over five times."
Shortly before Veal's murder Holt had been arrested on suspicion of rape. The alleged victim in that case eventually refused to cooperate with the investigation.
VICTIMS OFTEN REMAIN VULNERABLE
In audio recordings with JPSO investigators, family members tell them that Holt and Veal were in a relationship for nearly a decade.
Veal broke up with Holt in October 2016 following his rape investigation. In the times that he was violent towards Veal, family members said, she would call the police, but she never pressed charges.
“It's always an issue when it comes to domestic murders. You never know what's going to set it off,” said interim Jefferson Parish Sheriff Joe Lopinto.
He said it can be difficult to lock up an abuser if there is no paper trail.
“Sometimes, previous abuse is always a factor. But it's not the only factor,” he said. “You have cases all around this country that they have no criminal history … police have never been called to the house, and a domestic murder occurs ’cause it's all built off of emotion.”
Nia Weeks, with the group Women with a Vision said that even when victims often remain vulnerable when they take necessary steps and file a protective order.
"Protective orders themselves, the reality is that when someone is so depraved to harm you or harm a woman in that way, they don't care about a protective order,” Weeks said. “I mean, that's a very harsh reality where we live in.”
Veal's family did not respond to interview requests from WWL-TV.
A VIOLENT END
Even if Veal had filed for a restraining order against Holt, it apparently would not have mattered.
Pictures from the crash scene show multiple bullet holes in Veal’s windshield. Dozens of casings littered the road.
Veal was shot 10 times. Louviere, the Westwego police officer, was shot once.
Holt hopped into a taxi to flee the scene.
The cab driver told investigators that Holt got into his car and asked to use his phone. Holt then began to act strangely and demanded to be let out at the peak of the Crescent City Connection.
"Did you think he was going jump at that time?" a detective asked the cab driver.
"I didn't know where he was going,” the driver told investigators, “but he just tells me, 'Just go, go, go!'”
The cabbie sped off and alerted police.
That began a seven-hour standoff on the bridge. Holt paced back and forth near the edge.
Police tried to talk him out from jumping. They shut down the bridge as traffic over town came to a standstill thanks to the gridlock.
As the sun set, a gunshot rang out. Holt shot himself in the chest.
Police lifted Holt off of the bridge and rushed him to a hospital where he died.
Are you a victim of domestic violence, or do you know someone who is and needs help? The following resources are available.
Statewide hotline: (888) 411-1333 (24 hours a day; caller gets automatically routed to the nearest domestic violence provider)
Metro Centers for Community Advocacy -- 504-837-5400
Family Justice Center - Orleans -- (504) 592-4005
Faith House - Lafayette -- (888) 411-1333
Iris Center - Baton Rouge -- (225) 389-3001
Safe Harbor - St Tammany -- (985) 626-5740
St Bernard Battered Women's Program - St Bernard -- (504) 277-3177
The Haven - Terrebone Parish -- (985) 872-0757
All programs have someone answering the phone 24 hours a day; anyone can call for information, resources, and services. Shelter space is day-by-day availability.