NORCO, La. -- St. Charles Parish deputies arrested four teenagers in connection with the brutal murder of a 78-year-old Norco woman Sunday night.
Deputies found her body last Friday, and investigators said Monday they think two 16-year-old Norco boys are to blame.
The murder happened on a quiet street, in a quiet neighborhood that’s surrounded by refineries.
“It's terrible. It really is,” said Allison Subervielle, a woman who lives across the street from the unsuspecting house where 78-year-old Mary Arico was brutally murdered.
“This is the first time that something like this ever happened in Norco, that I know of,” said Corey Jackson, another neighbor of the victim’s.
Arico lived alone at the green house at 115 Mary St.
“She's quiet, peaceful. She didn't bother anybody,” said another neighbor, Godfrey Keating.
St. Charles Parish Sheriff Greg Champagne said Monday that Arico’s body was lying on the kitchen floor for the past three weeks.
“The lady died of multiple trauma, both to her skull and multiple stab wounds,” Champagne said during a late-morning news conference.
A neighbor went to check on Arico after Mary's sister called from New York saying she hadn't heard from Mary in weeks. The neighbor called 911 and sheriff's deputies found the body. Two days later, they arrested four teens.
17-year-old Pauline Deese is facing an accessory to first-degree murder charge for helping her brother get rid of unknown evidence. He's one of two 16-year-old boys arrested on a first-degree murder charge.
Another 14-year-old Norco girl is charged as a principal to first-degree murder.
“Apparently these two juveniles, or at least one of them, knew about this lady, where she lived, proximity to the wooded area behind her home,” the sheriff said.
Deputies said on Nov. 8 the 16-year-olds knocked on the door and asked Arico if they could use her phone.
“One of them distracted her while the other began beating her with objects that were in the house, including knives,” Champagne said.
“We didn't hear anything out of the unusual. We had no clue that that happened so close. It's such a tragic thing,” Subervielle said.
The sheriff said the teens actually bragged about the killing. But because the body wasn't found inside the home for nearly three weeks, nobody believed them. That is, until Friday.
“Once the reports of an elderly lady being victimized surfaced, we began to get phone calls,” said Champagne.
Deputies said they believed the teens were trying to rob Arico.
“Senseless. Because you know, she didn't have anything,” Subervielle said.
And the sheriff said detectives don't know if they even found anything of value to steal.
The 16-year-olds charged with first degree murder should make their first appearance in court Tuesday morning. They face life in prison if convicted.
Even though they're charged with a crime of violence, the Sheriff wouldn't release their names because they're juveniles.
