He confesses to his mother before committing suicide Friday, March 14, 2008By Charlie Chapple
Shortly after her son killed his wife with a .22-caliber pistol Wednesday night in their Tangipahoa Parish apartment, New Orleans School Board member Phyllis Landrieu called police and told them her son was poised to take his own life, authorities said.
Stephen J. Landrieu, a member of the politically powerful Landrieu family of New Orleans, was standing outside his apartment in the town of Independence when officers arrived, but he went inside and locked the door, then committed suicide with a rifle, police said.
The body of Landrieu, 52, the cousin of U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu and Lt. Gov. Mitch Landrieu, was found on the second floor of the East Railroad Avenue building in the small central Tangipahoa town. His wife, Brenda Burke, 50, was dead on the first floor.
LLandrieu, who ran a medical supply business, was the nephew of former New Orleans Mayor Moon Landrieu.
Mary Landrieu's spokesman, Adam Sharp, said Thursday: "It is obviously a very traumatic event for the family. They all mourn the loss of their cousin today."
Independence police and Tangipahoa Parish sheriff's deputies went to the couple's apartment after Phyllis Landrieu notified them at 9:46 p.m. that her son had shot and killed his wife and was threatening to kill himself, according to a Sheriff's Office news release. It was unclear where Phyllis Landrieu was at the time.
When Independence police officer T.C. Wells arrived, he saw Stephen Landrieu standing outside the home and tried to speak to him, but Landrieu went inside and locked the door.
The Sheriff's Office tactical unit was called, and its members tried to make contact with Landrieu but had no success, authorities said. Deputies eventually entered the building and discovered the bodies.
Investigators said Landrieu used a .22-caliber semiautomatic pistol to kill his wife, then used a .22-caliber rifle to kill himself.
The couple lived in an apartment in the rear of an old two-story, brick office building at East Railroad Avenue and Genovese Plaza, one block north of the Independence police station.
"I'm still freaked out about it," said Dr. Charles Genovese, who knew the couple and was their landlord. "You never expect something like this to happen to someone you know, a friend."
Genovese, whose doctor's office is across the street from the apartment, said the couple told him that they had lived on a boat, but sold it before Hurricane Katrina and moved to New Orleans. After the storm, they moved to Tickfaw, a village just south of Independence, and rented the two-story apartment in Independence about a year ago, he said.
Landrieu operated his medical supply business, Alpha Med, out of the apartment, Genovese said. Landrieu sold medical supplies, such as diabetic shoes, and electrodes for "micro-current nerve stimulation," or a form of "non-needle acupuncture."
"We used to deal with him several years ago," Genovese said. "After he moved here, I saw him almost daily."
Genovese said he does not know what triggered the events of Wednesday night. "I was totally surprised," he said.
Burke had several back operations and suffered from back problems, Genovese said. "She didn't get out much," he said. "She didn't take any medications and didn't like to go to doctors."
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