Daniel Beckley, the Kenner man arrested last year on the charge of murdering 16-year-old Jorion White and leaving her body in St. Rose, was found guilty of second degree murder and obstruction of justice Friday.
The guilty verdicts were handed down by Judge Timothy Marcel after a four-day trial prosecuted by John Chaisson and Howat Peters. Beckley faces a mandatory sentence of life in prison with the Louisiana Department of Corrections on the second degree murder charge and a maximum sentence of 40 years on the obstruction charge.
He is scheduled to be officially sentenced Dec. 12. Marcel has ordered he be held without bond until that time.
“Our focus throughout the course of this prosecution has remained on securing a just outcome for the family of the victim,” said District Attorney Joel T. Chaisson, II. “In the early morning hours of April 22, 2016, the defendant took the life of a beautiful young girl and robbed her loved ones of their daughter, granddaughter, niece and friend. This verdict cannot bring her back, but it can bring healing and the knowledge that this man will never be able to prey upon another child ever again.”
Following her murder, White’s body was found face down in a drainage canal in a secluded, wooded area along St. Rose Avenue. She was identified by her dental records.
She was the daughter of Michelle Price of Kenner, who lived with and maintained a relationship with Beckley for 10 years. Beckley was a former resident of St. Charles Parish.
Price identified her daughter based on pink hair curlers she was still wearing when her body was found. A passerby reported her body in an area about a 1/2 mile north of the nearest residences and CN Railroad.
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