District Attorney Collin Sims reports that on Wednesday (September 25, 2024), a Washington Parish jury deliberated slightly more than an hour before finding 65-year-old Andrew Weary of Bogalusa guilty of attempted manslaughter relating to his violent attack on a former girlfriend. Assistant District Attorneys Jason Cuccia and Taylor Nicholson prosecuted the case. Judge Alan Zaunbrecher presided over the trial. Sgt. Casey Hildago with the Bogalusa Police Department was in charge of the investigation.
According to testimony from the trial, the Bogalusa Police Department was notified shortly before midnight on June 24, 2022, of a stabbing in the 600 block of Sabine Street. When officers arrived, they encountered a 40-year-old woman with massive amounts of blood running down her face, torso and legs. While personnel with the Bogalusa Fire Department and Northshore EMS administered treatment to the victim’s stab wounds, officers were able to obtain information from her identifying her attacker as her former boyfriend, Andrew Weary. The victim was transported to a local hospital and then transferred to another hospital for treatment of stab wounds to her face, neck, chest, abdomen and forearm.
The victim testified at trial that she and the defendant had dated briefly. She said she attempted to end the relationship several times and each time, the defendant threatened to harm her. The victim explained that on the night of the stabbing, Weary showed up at her friend’s residence where she was staying. Concerned he would cause a scene in front of her friend’s young children, she agreed to go to a nearby shed to talk. Once they were in the shed, Weary pulled out a large Mossy Oak knife and started violently stabbing her. The victim started screaming and Weary fled.
A male who was present at the time of the incident also testified during the trial. He stated he was inside his residence that night when he heard the victim outside arguing with an older male. He said he went outside to check on her and when he asked her if she needed help, she said no. The witness returned inside and a few minutes later, he heard someone beating on his door. When he opened the door, he found the victim covered in blood. He said the male with whom she had been arguing was no longer present.
Judge Zaunbrecher set Weary’s sentencing for November 7th. Attempted manslaughter usually carries a sentence of up to 20 years in prison. However, due to Weary’s criminal history, he could receive a life sentence. Weary has prior convictions for a variety of offenses including attempted first degree murder, armed robbery, aggravated battery, forgery and unauthorized entry of an inhabited dwelling. He had been released on parole 3 months prior to this incident after serving approximately 21 years of the 75-year sentence he received in 2001 in his attempted first degree murder case.
The Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff’s Office (TPSO) is investigating the discovery of a body wrapped in a tarp along Highway 51 between Fluker and the Village of Tangipahoa..Just before 8 a.m. on Sunday (September 29, 2024), a passerby reported a suspicious, rolled-up tarp and responding deputies discovered the body of a white male was inside of the tarp.
