New Orleans prosecutor Ian Kersting was found dead inside his office in a suspected suicide, police said.
Police arrived at the Orleans Parish DA’s office building at 619 South White Street, just north of Bourbon Street, about 9 p.m. on Saturday to find a male dead as the result of an “apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound,” according to New Orleans Police Department’s Major Offense Log.
Assistant District Attorney Ian Kersting, 34, who specialized in sexual assault cases, was identified as the victim, the NOPD confirmed to WVUE.
Police said Kersting was pronounced dead by paramedics at the scene.
Staff at the New Orleans DA’s Office lamented over the loss of Kersting in the wake of his tragic death.
“The Orleans Parish DA’s Office family suffered a terrible tragedy Saturday night,” the office said in a statement to WVUE. “Assistant District Attorney Ian Kersting was a beloved member of our office, and we send our love and deepest condolences to his family.”
The DA’s office is expected to close on Monday for the team to consult grief and trauma counselors, the spokesperson added. Operations are due to return to normal on Tuesday.
Kersting had been assigned to the office’s Sexual Assault Kit Initiative unit, working with detectives from the NOPD to investigate and prosecute sex crimes cases through the use of recovered DNA evidence.
In March 2024, Kerstig was involved in the conviction of a sex offender guilty of attempted first-degree rape and indecent behavior.
“In a recent win for justice, the joint efforts of ADA Michelle Jones (SVU) and Ian Kersting (SAKI), alongside Investigator Ronnie Puigh (SVU), Project Manager Sydney Houlemard (SVU), and Trial Assistant Daphne Carroll (SVU), led to a significant verdict,” Orleans Parish DA wrote in a statement.
“The successful outcome underscores the dedication and skill of our team in pursuing justice for the most vulnerable members of our community.”
In November 2022, Kersting was a lead prosecutor that convicted Anthony Jones for the 2016 death of his former girlfriend, Renata Vaughn, in a New Orleans’ 7th Ward neighborhood.
She was stabbed 72-times with a flat head screwdriver in front of her children before setting her house on fire. Jones was found guilty of second-degree murder and obstruction of justice.
“I am grateful for the hard work of two of my youngest prosecutors Constance Tullier and Ian Kersting as well as Victim/Witness Advocate Vickie Landry and former NOPD Detective Bruce Brueggeman on this difficult case,” Williams said in a statment.
The conviction came just over two years after Kersting was admitted to the Louisiana bar on in October 2020.
The Independent has contacted the Orleans Parish DA’s Office and the NOPD for more information.
