NEW ORLEANS — Inside Café Negril on Frenchmen Street there’s a large, framed photo of Taylore Jones hanging on the wall.
“I loved that we moved her up here,” said bar manager Emily Rowlends. “You can really see her now.”
Jones’ smiling face greets everyone who walks through the door, just like she did when she worked at the music club. Rowlends hired her on the spot.
“She just had an energy about her. I was super excited to get to know her and she was excited to work here,” said Rowlends.
They became fast friends.
“We would hang out and go to other music clubs together. She hung out with everybody. She became fast friends with everybody,” said Rowlends.
Rowlends knew something was off when Jones didn’t show up to the holiday work party in December of 2021. She didn’t show up for work the next day either.
“It was two days later before the police got to me,” said Rowlends.
New Orleans police say Jones, 26, was stabbed multiple times inside her Bywater apartment on December 21, 2021 in the 700 block of Lesseps Street.
“This was a home invasion case by all accounts,” said Detective James Fyfe.
Detective Fyfe was assigned the case, one of his first as a detective.
“On this case specifically I was getting frustrated in the first day or two when we didn’t have answers,” said Fyfe.
Because it was a stabbing, Fyfe says there was no ballistic evidence to work with. Several people were interviewed but no motive was established.
“It’s been a particularly tough case,” said Fyfe “We handle them all equally all diligently, but this one has been extremely difficult.”
The biggest piece of evidence so far is surveillance video showing who police believe is the suspect walking towards Jones’ apartment before her death then running away, after.
“Fully masked, fully gloved, wearing all black in the wee hours of the morning,” said Fyfe.
Just more than a year later, friends and family are left wondering whether anyone will be arrested.
“She was such a beautiful, colorful person,” said Rowlends
To keep attention on the case, Rowlends recently teamed up with a local artist.
“She’s created all of these flowers for us to sell,” said Rowlends as she points up to the large photo of Jones on the wall.
Those flowers, which look like smaller versions of the ones on Mardi Gras floats, are surrounding Jones’ photo. They can be bought for $50, $100, or $150. Rowlends hopes the money raised will bloom into tips. All the money goes to Crimestoppers to help increase the reward.
“Now everybody can have a little piece of Taylore in their home, or a whole bunch of her,” said Rowlends.
Jones moved to New Orleans from Boston. The culture attracted her. The music kept her.
“She really wanted to be a singer. She loved to skateboard, play her guitar or her ukulele,” said Rowlends. “Her parents tell me all the time, to this day that they are so happy that she was so happy, that she had found a place that welcomed her, that reflected her, that reflect her love for life.”
It’s a life her friends still find tough to accept is no longer present in theirs. They’re not giving up hope though.
“You can’t just stab somebody to death and be walking around. There’s got to be something. Somebody’s got to know something,” said Rowlends.
Those flowers can be bought at Café Negril on Frenchmen. The money raised goes directly to the Crimestoppers reward which is currently at $7,500.
Anyone who sends tips to Crimestoppers will remain anonymous. The number to Crimestoppers is 504-822-1111.
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