Messy Mya Death: The Shooting, Arrest, and Release of Hamilton

Anthony Barre, the New Orleans YouTube comedian and rapper known as Messy Mya, was shot and killed on the evening of November 14, 2010, in the city’s 7th Ward, and the death of Messy Mya has never been resolved in court: the only man ever charged, Jason Hamilton, was freed in 2013 after alibi evidence cleared him and a separate confession pointed federal investigators to a different person, who has not been publicly identified or prosecuted.¹²

Who Anthony Barre Was

Barre was 22 when he died. He had built a following on YouTube with a caustic style, fluorescent-colored hair, and sharp commentary on New Orleans street life, and NPR later described him as a “sauntering street comic and dis artist” whose videos ran from local gossip to gang violence.³ The day before he was killed, he posted on Facebook, in reference to a recently deceased friend, “I’ll be there soon.”⁴

The Shooting on November 14, 2010

Barre was shot just after 8 p.m. on a Sunday night, near the corner of St. Anthony and North Rocheblave streets in the 7th Ward. He had just left a baby shower for his unborn son and was heading to a block party.¹

News of the killing spread almost instantly online. A photograph of Barre’s body at the scene, with a cell phone visible inches from his face, was circulating on the internet within hours and provoked an intense reaction on social media.³

The Arrest of Jason Hamilton

Six days later, on November 20, 2010, Jefferson Parish sheriff’s deputies arrested 24-year-old Jason Baptiste Hamilton on a New Orleans Police Department warrant. He was charged with second-degree murder and taken into custody without incident.⁵

Police said Hamilton had been recorded on video threatening a student and boasting about killing Messy Mya.¹ His defense attorney, Martin Regan, later said Hamilton had bipolar disorder and was not properly medicated when he made those statements. Hamilton spent 18 months of his pretrial incarceration in psychiatric care before being declared competent to stand trial.²

How the Case Fell Apart

Trial was set for September 2012 in Orleans Parish Criminal District Court before Judge Frank Marullo. Nearly a full day of jury selection had passed when, on September 21, a courtroom worker told the court she had seen a YouTube video that appeared to depict the shooting. She came forward after learning that Regan planned to present an alibi defense.³

Orleans Parish District Attorney Leon Cannizzaro’s office asked to delay the trial to hunt for the footage. Judge Marullo first granted the delay, then reversed himself, saying further waiting would do a disservice to the victim’s family. Both the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeal and the Louisiana Supreme Court upheld his decision to proceed.¹

Prosecutors then made an unusual move. Rather than go to trial without the video, they dropped the second-degree murder charge to avoid triggering double jeopardy, filed a manslaughter charge to keep Hamilton in custody, and set out to obtain a fresh murder indictment. Hamilton was re-indicted on the original second-degree murder charge.¹⁶

The video was never recovered. After meetings with Google and YouTube lawyers, Regan called the search fruitless and suggested the footage may have shown only Barre’s body rather than the shooting itself, which would have carried little evidentiary weight.⁶

Why Hamilton Was Freed

On August 23, 2013, Judge Marullo ordered Hamilton released, and the Orleans Parish DA’s office dropped all charges. He had been in jail for close to three years.²

Two things broke the case open. Regan produced witnesses and cellphone records placing Hamilton near Southeastern Louisiana University in Hammond, miles from the 7th Ward, at the time of the shooting. Separately, federal investigators interviewing an unnamed individual about an unrelated crime obtained a confession to killing Barre. Ballistics testing on a weapon recovered during that interview matched the gun used in the murder.²

Regan told reporters Hamilton and his family were thrilled and called it a great day for the Hamilton family.²

Where the Case Stands

The person who confessed to federal investigators has not been publicly identified, and available reporting does not indicate anyone else has been formally charged with Barre’s murder. More than a decade after the shooting, no one has been convicted for the death of Messy Mya.

1
NOLA.com. Late Word of YouTube Video Stalls Messy Mya Murder Trial
2
NOLA.com. Messy Mya Murder Suspect Freed, Charges Are Dropped
3
NPR. Who Killed Messy Mya? High-Profile New Orleans Murder Trial Halted
4
BBC News. Beyonce Sued for $20m by Family of Messy Mya
5
CBS News. Messy Mya Murder Suspect Arrested in YouTube Comedian’s Death
6
NOLA.com. Messy Mya Murder Suspect Has Witnesses, Phone Records to Support Alibi, Defense Attorney Contends