Jessica Renae Easterly Durning was 43 when she disappeared from the Lakeview area of New Orleans in August 2019. An official New Orleans Police Department bulletin said the person who reported her missing last saw her at their General Haig Street residence on August 14. The bulletin, issued August 20, asked the public to contact Third District detectives with information about her whereabouts.
On August 22, a body was found near the intersection of Orleans Avenue and Kenilworth Street, approximately two and a half blocks from Durning's home. WDSU reported that Durning's sister found the body while searching the neighborhood and contacted police. The remains were in an advanced state of decomposition. The Orleans Parish Coroner's Office announced in November that the remains had been identified as Durning. At that time, both the cause and manner of death remained under investigation.
Subsequent reporting did not establish a definitive cause. Forbes, describing the coroner's findings while reporting on an investigative podcast about the case, said the death was classified as undetermined and that injuries were documented to Durning's nose, ribs, jaw, and a neck vertebra. An undetermined classification does not establish whether a death resulted from homicide, accident, suicide, natural causes, or another mechanism. No person is identified here as a suspect because the verified sources do not report a criminal charge.
The investigation continued beyond the initial coroner inquiry. WDSU reported in 2021 that the Orleans Parish District Attorney's Office would re-examine the case after Durning's family raised concerns and said they suspected foul play. In February 2024, WVUE reported that her relatives were again seeking government action and answers. Crimestoppers Greater New Orleans continues to list the matter as an open, unclassified death and asks anyone with information to come forward.
They document Durning's disappearance, the recovery and identification of her body, an undetermined medical classification, and continuing requests for information. They do not establish the precise date or cause of death, identify a charged person, or report a final prosecutorial determination. The coordinates are Wikidata's general coordinates for New Orleans and do not mark Durning's home or the location where her remains were recovered.
