Picayune Police provides updates about the arrest in Dec. 23, murder case
Published 9:58 am Friday, January 7, 2022
- Allen
A suspect has been identified and arrested out-of-state for the Dec. 23 homicide of 23-year-old Anna Marie McNeese.
According to a release from the Picayune Police Department, the suspect in the case has been identified as 30-year-old Paige Denise Allen, of Chalmette, La., who was arrested Wednesday by the Camden County Sheriff’s Department in Georgia on a murder warrant issued in relation to the case.
Capt. Rhonda Johnson said she was able to identify Allen as the suspect due to evidence collected during an autopsy conducted on the remains of McNeese.
McNeese’s cause of death was described as being due to a gunshot wound to the head.
Police officers were notified of the homicide on Dec. 23 just before 6:30 that evening, when family members went to check on McNeese after failing to hear from her. Johnson said the family talked to her the day before at about 8:30 p.m., but became concerned when they didn’t hear from her again.
McNeese was found inside a home at the Sun Roamer’s RV Park, according to previous coverage.
Allen was being held in Camden County until her extradition to Picayune.
Johnson said that Allen was expected to be extradited back to Picayune on Thursday.
Staff with the Picayune Police Department worked diligently over the Christmas and New Year’s holidays to identify a suspect in this case, the release states.
According to the release, the Picayune Police Department would like to thank the St. Bernard Parish Sheriff’s Department, U.S. Marshals Service, Pearl River County Coroner’s Office, Mississippi Crime Lab and the Mississippi Coast Medical Examiner’s Office for their assistance in identifying the suspect in this case.