Honduran man guilty of Kenner strangulation; faces up to 40 years in prison
by Paul Purpura, The Times-Picayune
Thursday August 20, 2009, 9:40 AM

Rony Omar Arias-ChavarriaA Honduran man was convicted Wednesday of murdering a woman in the Kenner auto body shop where he worked and lived because, he claimed, she "insulted his manhood."
Rony Omar Arias-Chavarria, 36, is guilty of the second-degree murder of Bobbie Joe Hulsey, 21, on Sept. 10, 2007. He faces mandatory life in prison when sentenced Aug. 25 by Judge John Molaison of the 24th Judicial District Court.

Hulsey, a native of Ventura, Calif., and the mother of a 6-year-old daughter, moved to the area about six years ago. She lived in a Kenner motel and worked as a prostitute on the streets, meeting Arias-Chavarria outside a convenience store near the motel, according to testimony.


Bobbie Joe Hulsey"I didn't agree with it, " her older sister Charity DeSilva testified of Hulsey's lifestyle. "We hated what she did, but we couldn't change her mind."

A grass-cutter, Thomas Dimm, testified he found Hulsey's body, dressed only in a red striped shirt, lying amid trash in a wooded lot in the 2400 block of Helena Street on the morning of Sept. 10, 2007.

She had been strangled and sexually mutilated, forensic pathologist Karen Ross testified.

"It wasn't a quick death, " said Assistant District Attorney Megan Gorman, who prosecuted the case with Ken Bordelon.

Arias-Chavarria, who could speak little English and was in the United States illegally, had lived in Medina's One Stop, an auto body shop, about two weeks before he met Hulsey, who gave him her cell phone number. The encounter took place in the shop's business office.

Arias-Chavarria confessed to Kenner Police Department Detective Trey Hille days later. Arias-Chavarria told Hille that Hulsey laughed at him "because she say it's small, " according to a recording of the interview. He said he became angry.

"Then I say to her that is normal, " he told Hille, but she continued to laugh. "I lost my control. I take care of her."

He said he put her body over his shoulder and carried it out the shop's back door to the vacant lot.

A Jefferson Parish jury deliberated 30 minutes in rejecting the defense claim that Arias-Chavarria committed manslaughter, driven in "the heat of passion, " as his attorney Alex Lambert argued. That charge carries up to 40 years in prison.

The comments provoked Arias-Chavarria in such a way that would deprive "an average man" of his "cool reflection, " Lambert said, reciting the state's manslaughter law.

Lambert also said his client's confession was largely taken out of context because of the language difference. Arias-Chavarria responded to police questions in both English and Spanish.

But Bordelon defended the police interrogation, saying Hille used two Spanish-speaking officers to assist.

"The police took every precaution possible as a safeguard to make sure there were no communications problems, " Bordelon said.

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Paul Purpura can be reached at ppurpura@timespicayune.com



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