LA Mom Meridian Woodson ID’d As Victim In Thursday Elmwood Murder-Attempted Suicide

ELMWOOD, LA. (THECOUNT) — Meridian Thomas Woodson, 28, was identified by the Jefferson Parish Coroner’s Office as the woman fatally shot Thursday morning inside her Elmwood, Louisiana, apartment in what investigators say was a domestic violence incident involving her ex-husband.

Authorities said Woodson, the mother of two young daughters ages 4 and 7, was pronounced dead inside her apartment at the Palmetto Creek complex in the 5100 block of Citrus Boulevard.

Investigators said Woodson’s former husband, a 30-year-old Westwego man whose name has not yet been publicly released, was later found suffering from a self-inflicted gunshot wound in a nearby shopping center parking lot.

The Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office said deputies were dispatched shortly after 10 a.m. Thursday following a 911 call reporting a disturbance at the apartment complex.

When deputies arrived, they discovered Woodson suffering from at least one gunshot wound. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

Authorities immediately began searching for the suspect and located his silver GMC extended cab pickup truck in the parking lot of a shopping center near 5151 Citrus Boulevard, adjacent to the apartment complex.

Investigators said the man had sustained a self-inflicted gunshot wound and was transported to an area hospital in critical condition.

Crime scene investigators later cordoned off the vehicle with yellow police tape while detectives processed evidence.

Witnesses at the scene observed all four doors of the pickup truck open while blood was visible dripping from the driver’s side into a pool beneath the vehicle before it was eventually towed away.

At the apartment complex, detectives, crime scene analysts, and representatives from the coroner’s office continued investigating throughout the afternoon.

Elmwood is an unincorporated Jefferson Parish community located just west of New Orleans along the Jefferson Highway and Clearview Parkway commercial corridor.

The investigation remains ongoing.

Google Maps: 5100 Citrus Boulevard, Elmwood, Louisiana

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