Killing of Megan Ducote Parra

Megan Ducote Parra, 29, was found gravely wounded in her Cottonport, Louisiana, home on June 28, 2014. Her parents discovered her with a gunshot wound to the head, and she was removed from life support the following day. The initial police investigation and autopsy classified her death as suicide. Her family disputed that conclusion and spent years seeking another review. [Paramount Press Express](https://www.paramountpressexpress.com/cbs-news-and-stations/shows/48-hours/releases/?view=109010-a-young-mothers-death-is-declared-a-suicide-but-when-her-family-reviews-photos-of-the-scene-they-believe-they-see-evidence-of-a-homicide)

The original inquiry drew later criticism because evidence received little or no forensic examination. Parra's family collected scene photographs and other records, then enlisted retired federal investigators and a crime-scene analyst. Cottonport's police chief reopened the case and deputized two retired agents to conduct interviews. Other agencies had previously reviewed the material without finding a basis to overturn the suicide determination, illustrating the conflicting assessments surrounding the evidence. [CBS News](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/megan-parra-husband-dustin-parra-louisiana-death-investigation-photos-48-hours/)

In 2021, the Avoyelles Parish district attorney presented the case to a grand jury, which indicted Megan's husband, Dustin Parra, for second-degree murder and obstruction of justice. The medical examiner subsequently changed the recorded manner of death from suicide to undetermined. Prosecutors prepared for trial while acknowledging evidentiary problems, including disagreement about the meaning of suspected blood spatter and uncertainty about the shooting's precise circumstances. [CBS News](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/megan-parra-husband-dustin-parra-louisiana-death-investigation-photos-48-hours/)

On March 26, 2023, Dustin Parra entered a no-contest plea to negligent homicide. As part of the plea, he did not contest that he and Megan argued, that he held a pistol during a struggle, and that the weapon discharged into her head. The prosecution dismissed the obstruction charge, and the court imposed the statutory maximum sentence of five years. Parra waived an appeal. [KALB](https://www.kalb.com/2023/03/26/dustin-parra-enters-no-contest-plea-negligent-homicide-sentenced-five-years/)

CBS later reported that Megan Parra's death certificate lists the manner of death as homicide. Parra's no-contest plea was not an express guilty plea.