Two law enforcement sources who are familiar with the case say that the woman who was killed in Seabrook on Wednesday night has been identified.
In the 6200 block of Bridgehampton Drive, Katelyn Howard, 25, was shot and killed.
Electronic Christopher Gentris, 35, was caught by police in Lafayette Parish. He was wanted for the murder and was held as a fugitive. Gentris was caught two months ago for breaking into Howard’s house, which led to her death.
At 7:15 p.m., police were called to the house and found Howard shot at least once. At the scene, paramedics said she was dead. Just after 10:30 p.m., Gentris was named as a suspect by the cops.
It was 11:30 p.m. when Gentris was arrested in Scott, Louisiana. He was found with his daughter and a gun. Police say the child was not hurt and was taken out of the car.
Someone who knows Howard and did not want to be named for fear of her safety said that Howard had been “trying to get help from (Gentris) for years.”
Howard’s friend said, “He would always find out where she was whenever she moved.”
A count of home invasion was filed against Gentris in August, after police say he broke into Howard’s home in June.
Court records show that Howard told police that she and Gentris got into a fight and that Gentris left, but then came back and kicked in her front door.
Gentris is said to have then pushed Howard against a wall, taken her food and cell phone, and then left again.
Records show that Howard told the cops that she was scared of Gentris and thought he could hurt or kill her. The Orleans Parish District Attorney’s Office said that case is still open and that a safety order was in place.
Howard told the police on February 17, 2022, that Gentris punched her with a closed hand. Court records show that Gentris punched her again after she ran to the bathroom and said he pinned her against the wall and held her by the hair.
Howard went to the hospital for her injuries, the papers show. It was said by the district attorney’s office that the magistrate judge did not see any reason to charge the person with misdemeanor domestic attack.
Gentris was arrested for another case of child endangering and domestic abuse in February 2020, but Howard was not the victim. In that case, Gentris was not charged by the district attorney’s office.
D.A. Jason Williams’ office said Thursday that Howard’s death was a “tragic incident” that “should serve as a call to action.”
The office asked the city to give “substantial additional resources to combat domestic violence” and said that the victim did not want to press charges against Gentris because the office had turned down charges against him before.
It said, “Our office will continue to seek justice for this victim and her child.”
“We must also, as a city, invest in resources for the community so that individuals caught in cycles of domestic violence have safe places to turn, support systems to rely on, and means to maintain work and schooling, empowering them to pursue justice.”
Howard’s friend said that doing nails and makeup was one of her favorite things to do. Howard also worked at a hospital in New Orleans, her friend said.
Howard’s friend said, “She was a lovely woman.”
Gentris is on hold while being moved from Lafayette Parish to the Orleans Justice Center.