Louis Coleman To Face Federal Charges, Possible Death Penalty

BOSTON — Federal authorities have charged Louis Coleman III, 32, with kidnapping that resulted in the death of Jassy Correia, 23 - which would make him eligible for the federal death penalty if convicted, according to US Attorney Andrew Lelling.

Coleman, 32, of Providence, R.I., has been charged with one count of kidnapping, resulting in death. Coleman was arrested on Thursday, Feb. 28, 2019, in Delaware and will appear in federal court in Delaware on Monday, March 4, before he is transferred to Massachusetts.

UPDATE: Jassy Correia's Accused Kidnapper, Killer To Be Moved To Boston

The charges will be brought in Massachusetts because Correia was taken from Boston, said the US Attorney. Interstate kidnapping resulting in death carries a mandatory life sentence.

Lelling said it appears Correia died from blunt force trauma and strangulation and there is probable cause that Coleman killed her. Coleman had a scratch on his face that he told authorities came from her, according to Lelling.

In the car police found cleaning supplies and tree branch cutters.

"We're going to send a clear-cut message, this is not going to be tolerated," said Boston Police Commissioner William Gross during the press conference Sunday afternoon.

Lelling said when authorities pulled over Coleman on the highway in Delaware and asked him where Correia was, he told them she was in the trunk. Troopers found her there, naked, bound, bruised and covered in what was believed to be in baking soda. She was not mutilated, according to Lelling. He said it doesn't look like Correia was sexually assaulted, or that the two knew each other.

Coleman should face the federal charges within the next few weeks in Boston, but he said it was premature to know if his office would seek the death penalty.

"This federal complaint does not rule out statewide charges," said Suffolk County District Attorney Rachel Rollins.

Correia was kidnapped while leaving the Venu Night Club in Boston Feb. 24, where she was celebrating her 23rd birthday. Her body was found five days later. Correia's body was not found in two separate suitcases, Lelling said.

According to the charging document, after learning of the disappearance of Correia, law enforcement reviewed surveillance tape from outside of the Venu nightclub, the last place Correia had been seen by her friends, which showed Correia leaving the area and entering a vehicle with a man later identified as Coleman. Surveillance footage from Coleman’s Providence, R.I., apartment building showed Coleman, at 4:15 a.m. on Sunday, Feb. 24, parking and getting out of the car, and then returning a short time later carrying a blanket. He then walked from the car to the front of the building carrying a body with long hair and clothing consistent with the description of Correia.

Once he entered the building, surveillance video showed Coleman dropping the victim on the floor and dragging her toward the elevator, and then toward his apartment. The victim was not moving and her body was limp, according to authorities.

On Feb. 26 surveillance video from Coleman's apartment building showed him go into the apartment building with Walmart shopping bags, according to the U.S. Attorney's office. Law enforcement subsequently obtained video surveillance and a receipt from a Walmart in Providence, R.I., that revealed Coleman had purchased three Tyvek suits, duct tape, two candles, electrical tape, one mask, surgical gloves, two pairs of safety goggles, an odor respirator and CLN release bleach bath.

The U.S. Attorney's office said that at approximately 9:58 p.m. on Feb. 27, Coleman is seen on video surveillance entering the apartment building with what appeared to be a new, large suitcase. At 1:15 a.m., on Feb. 28, 2019, Coleman is seen in the video wheeling the suitcase away from his apartment unit towards the elevator, eventually out of the building and into the parking lot where his vehicle was. Coleman appeared to have difficulty lifting the suitcase into the trunk of his car.

Additional surveillance video showed Coleman on several occasions exiting his apartment building with other items, including trash bags, cardboard boxes, a bottle of bleach, a laptop case, a computer tower and a small duffle bag.

Later that day a search warrant was executed at Coleman’s apartment, where police found two packages of hooded coveralls and two respirator masks. Police said they also noticed a cushion from a sofa was missing a cover. Investigators said they found a number of things that could be related to the case in a dumpster outside of the apartment complex, including white trash bags, a bag containing plastic sheets, men’s jeans with bleach stains and a belt, a white nylon hooded coverall, an empty box of baking soda, clear safety goggles, a respirator mask, duct tape packaging, rubbing alcohol, Walmart bags, used plastic gloves, an empty package from a car air freshener, three empty packages of purifying charcoal and a sponge.

That same afternoon, Delaware Troopers stopped Coleman’s car on I-95 South near Wilmington, Delaware. Officers ordered Coleman out of the car and asked him if anyone else was in the vehicle with him. Police said Coleman said words to the effect: “She’s in the trunk.”

Officers said they discovered the Correia's body in the trunk of Coleman’s vehicle, wrapped in a sofa cushion cover, which was inside of a black trash bag, inside of a large suitcase that matches the suitcase Coleman was observed bringing into his apartment on Feb. 27.

A duffle bag, a pair of new long-handled loppers, plastic garbage bags, clothing, a red plastic gas container, a green butane lighter, black gloves, charcoal air purifiers, air fresheners, tinted safety glasses, plastic Walmart bags, work towels, cloth work-gloves, a new set of DeWalt pliers, a laptop, a computer hard-drive/tower, and disinfectant wipes were also found in Coleman’s car, according to authorities.

The U.S. Attorney's office alleges that photographs of Coleman's car depict a windshield that is cracked in two locations on the passenger side and a white substance, believed to be baking soda, in the trunk of the vehicle.

After an investigation that took police across three states, law enforcement arrested Louis Coleman III,32, of Providence, in connection with Correia's disappearance. Rhode Island police charged him in connection to the kidnapping, failure to report a death and mutilation of a dead body.

"This has been the top focus and priority of the Providence Police Department," said RI Police Chief Hugh Clements during the press conference Sunday.

Rollins said authorities were taking the case, which she described as complicated, and as having multiple moving parts in three jurisdictions, seriously.

READ MORE:

• Jassy Correia Missing: Police Searching For Person Of Interest (Feb. 27)
• Police ID Rhode Island Man As Suspect in Jassy Kidnapping
• Louis Coleman Arrested In Delaware (Feb. 28)
• Police Arrest Main Suspect In Jassy Correia's Kidnapping, Murder(Feb. 28)
• Coleman To Face Charges In Rhode Island (March 1)
• Missing Jamaica Plain Woman Found Alive (January)

Correia's disappearance and murder comes on the heels of the disappearance and reported act of violence against another 23-year-old Boston woman. The Jamaica Plain woman disappeared on a Saturday night in January after leaving a bar and was found - alive - three days later after a manhunt. Both garnered national attention.

Victor Pena, the man accused of kidnapping the JP woman, was in court Friday and will face rape and abduction charges on March 15.

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Jenna Fisher can be reached at Jenna.Fisher@patch.com or by calling 617-942-0474. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram (@ReporterJenna).