Boyfriend Arrested in Killing of Instagram Influencer Beauty Couch
Georgia police on Friday arrested 21-year-old Eugene Louis-Jocques for the alleged murder of his girlfriend, popular Instagram influencer Beauty Couch, officials said.
Couch’s body was found last week near her burning car in Austell, Georgia. Police were dispatched Wednesday for a brush fire, according to a statement from the Cobb County Police Department. When they arrived, cops found a flaming car and eventually Couch’s corpse.
Couch, 22, had been missing since Tuesday morning. Once her body was found, police immediately suspected foul play and listed Louis-Jacques as a suspect.
He was found in St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana on Friday and arrested by local sheriffs on charges of murder, arson and aggravated assault in connection to Couch’s death. Now, Louis-Jacques awaits extradition back to Georgia from St. Tammany Parish Correctional Center.
“Let the message be that we do not take kindly to people who think they can commit a crime elsewhere and try to hide in St. Tammany Parish,” said Sheriff Randy Smith.
“We were happy to help our counterparts in Georgia by locating this suspect and taking him into custody so he may face justice and Miss Couch’s family can begin to receive closure during this difficult time.”
Couch was a college student and social media star with more than 150,000 Instagram followers, who posted mainly roller-skating and dance clips.
“She was a sweet girl. She never bothered nobody. She never bothered nobody. She was a friend to everybody,” said her biological mother, Kimberly Couch.
Her adoptive mother, Deanna Thurman, noted in a GoFundMe, “She stole my heart from day one. She has always been such a sweet, happy, and talented child. Always smiling and dancing around the house at the tender age of two. She was extremely active and vibrant with a love and passion for all things skating and dancing.”
The motive for Couch’s killing remains unclear.
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