Defense Attorney Found Slain in La. Law Office
Updated: Police are investigating the murder of a Louisiana defense lawyer who was found slain early this morning in her Baton Rouge law office.
Chiquita Tate, 34, was stabbed more than a dozen times, reports WAFB, citing an unnamed source. She had been preparing for a double murder trial that was set to begin Monday.
Family members say her husband found Tate’s body at her law office early this morning, after she didn’t return home from work last night, the article continues.
“The initial investigation revealed that some unknown person or persons entered the private suite that housed Ms. Tate’s law office and committed the crime,” the city’s police department says in a press release. However, authorities also say that Tate appears to have been specifically targeted in the crime, and that the suspect is not believed to pose a danger to others at this time, according to media reports.
No arrest has been made and no suspect has been publicly identified at this point.
However, Tate’s husband was jailed over the weekend on a December 2007 warrant for allegedly failing to appear in a domestic abuse case concerning his wife, as discussed in a subsequent ABAJournal.com post.
Additional coverage:
WAFB: “Ten-year-old witness scheduled to testify in double murder trial”
WAFB: “Defense attorney’s death means murder trial likely to be delayed”
Updated at 11:15 a.m. on Feb. 23 to include link to subsequent ABAJournal.com post.
