Anderson with Momma

On March 19, Julia Anderson was murdered in an act of domestic violence. There is no cure for the pain that her family feels, but the Louisiana Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (La-SPCA) took one small step to ease their pain. The group tracked down Anderson’s family in Missouri and returned the victim’s dog.

Alicia Haefele, Communications Director for the La-SPCA said that after the murder, EMS bought Anderson’s dog, Momma to the group. The group scanned the dog and the implanted microchip helped them find the victim’s parents Jeannine and Jim, as well as their Missouri address.

The couple wanted their daughter’s furry friend, but there was the issue of getting Momma to her home 835 miles away. Fortunately, the La-SPCA already had scheduled the 13 hour trip north for their specially equipped transport trailer. 

On Wednesday (4.01), Jeff Frojd, Jeannine’s brother, met up with the transport and took Momma home to Jeanine and Jim.

“Being with Momma is the only thing keeping me going,” says Jeannine Anderson. “Our family will gain strength from Momma.”

NOPD PIO Frank Robertson says that Julia Anderson and her 38-year-old boyfriend Christopher Hutsell got into an argument in the parking lot of the McDonald’s at 3025 Elysian Fields Avenue around 11:30p.m. on the fateful day. When the words got heated, Hutsell “produced an unknown object” and stabbed his paramour in the neck before running away, according to police.

Robertson says that police and EMT’s quickly arrived on the scene. He explains that Anderson was declared dead on the scene, but officers identified Hutsell as a suspect and tracked him to the 2400 block of Elysian Fields.

NOPD notes that the suspect was taken in for questioning, but exercised his right to remain silent. Hutsell was booked and charged with one count of Second Degree Murder.