LIVINGSTON — A Livingston Parish grand jury has found there is enough evidence to move forward with formal charges against a 35-year-old man accused of shooting and killing his 18-year-old girlfriend.
Dexter Boutte was indicted April 9 for the second-degree murder of Jasmine Newhouse. Boutte was also indicted of possession of a firearm by a felon.
“I’m so happy that she will one day have justice,” Newhouse’s mother, Twanna Sibley, told UWK. “But my momma heart hurts so bad for her. He won’t be able to hurt anyone else the way he did my baby.”
MORE: Man arrested after woman shot in neck at Denham Springs apartment
“This is a small victory in the long war ahead of us, but we are fighting for Jasmine! She deserves it! And we will continue to be her voice. God has our precious girl with him and together they will be the strength we lean on until there is Justice for Jasmine,” her grandmother Toni Griffith told UWK.
“This case is a tragic example of how domestic violence can escalate into deadly violence. We are committed to seeking justice for Jasmine and holding those who commit these acts, especially when firearms are involved, accountable,” Livingston Parish’s Assistant District Attorney Serena Birch, who is prosecuting the case, told UWK.
Deputies with the Livingston Parish Sheriff’s Office responded around 3 a.m. on Jan. 31, 2026, to an apartment on Magnolia Beach Road for a reported shooting. That’s where they found Jasmine Newhouse with a gunshot wound to her neck.
“I’m struggling in so many different ways,” Sibley said. “She’s gone, and I have no idea what to do.”
In the days that followed, Newhouse fought for her life on life support, but her family said doctors were not optimistic she would survive. On Friday, Feb. 6, they faced the difficult reality of saying goodbye. Newhouse had turned 18 just months earlier.
Newhouse was an organ donor and had told her mother she wanted others to receive her organs if anything ever happened to her. Her loved ones honored that wish with an honor walk.
Boutte told investigators the couple got into an argument and were wrestling over a gun when it discharged.
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