Woman killed cyclist and then murdered fiancé after he bailed her out

A Louisiana woman who killed a cyclist and then strangled her fiancé after he bailed her out is complaining about the standard of food she is receiving in prison.

Laura Collins, 39, was convicted on Friday of the violent murder of her lover Gerald Robichaux, 50, who had forked out $45,000 to secure his beloved's release from jail.

Collins repaid him by choking him to death at their New Orleans home in January 2021, while she was awaiting trial for the hit-and-run killing of cyclist Lloyd Smith, 62, in New Orleans a year prior.

Collins told police Robichaux attacked her first after he caught her livestreaming on dating site MeetMe and at trial, her attorneys sought to portray her as the victim of domestic violence, NOLA.com reports.

But jurors in an Orleans Parish court took just 90 minutes to deliberate before rejecting her claims and convicting her of second-degree murder. Her lawyer told the Daily Mail he plans to appeal the murder conviction.

Convicted Inmate Sues Prison Over Alleged Abuse 

Collins was also found guilty of manslaughter and obstruction of justice regarding Smith's death, after it emerged she struck the grandfather on January 9, 2020, before fleeing the scene.  

She has been behind bars since Robichaux's murder and now The Daily Mail has discovered she has filed a civil lawsuit against prison officials claiming she has been beaten, starved and sexually harassed.

Collins claims she was fed expired milk, food with 'bugs' in and even refused nutrition and medical care during her stay at the Orleans Justice Center, the filing states. 

She alleged that she was held down while a deputy beat her and accused other officers of 'sexually harassing, physically threatening' and 'retaliating' against her. 

'I have also been falsely charged in an attempt to cover the facilities [sic] wrongdoing. Not to mention being fed sour milk, bugs in food, and/or outright denied food,' the filing reads.

Collins is demanding transfer to a new prison, $500,000 in damages and for the 'punishment/remanding of staff involved,' per the lawsuit.

Civil Lawsuit Remains Pending 

The killer also successfully filed a pauper order with the court to delay the payment of her legal fees.

The defendants have since filed a motion to dismiss Collins' suit stating that they deny all of her claims.

Their response also says that Collins, who is white, alleged that she had been the 'victim of prejudice and racist remarks about the color of her skin' which they also deny.

The civil suit remains ongoing. The Daily Mail has contacted lawyers for the defendants and the Orleans Parish Sheriff's Office for comment.

Meanwhile, Collins is set to learn her fate for her criminal convictions at a sentencing set for July 30. Prosecutors have said her murder conviction carries a mandatory life sentence.

It comes more than five years after cops were called to a report of domestic disturbance at the home she and Robichaux shared in the St Claude neighborhood of New Orleans.

Bodycam footage played at her trial showed a Collins tearfully telling a responding officer that she had placed Robichaux in a 'sleeper hold' after 'he got [expletive] tonight and dragged me off my stream and dragged me down to the ground.'

'All I did was defend myself when he attacked me,' she sobbed, per the footage. 

But Officer Lanie DeRoche Morgan told the court that she felt something was amiss in the scene presented by 5'4" Collins and her 5'11", 204lb partner.

She said her suspicions deepened as Collins was unable to explain a large bruise to the back of her fiancé's head.

'At some point, I believed there was more to the story based on what I was hearing from Ms. Collins,' Morgan testified.

Expert Claims Abuse, But Past Charges Surface 

Criminologist Dr Rae Taylor, a domestic violence expert, told the court that it appeared that Collins was a victim of domestic abuse and that Robichaux had exercised coercive control.

However, jail records indicate that Collins had previously been booked on domestic violence charges and violation of a protection order. The Daily Mail has reached out to police to confirm the status of the charges.

It is unclear when the relationship between Collins and Robichaux soured. The murder took place less than a year after her fiancé posted her bond following Smith's death.

'Obviously we are disappointed in the outcome of the trial,' Collins' lawyer Michael Kennedy told the Daily Mail. 'In particular with regard to the count of 2nd degree murder-where our domestic violence expert testified that she firmly believes Laura was the victim in that incident.

'Ms. Collins has been re-victimized by the system. The Orleans Parish District Attorney's office has forgone all rules of decorum and civility in attacking me rather than the case.'

Defense Vows Legal Appeal 

'Laura will be filing an appeal. I will be filing a bar complaint.' The Daily Mail reached out to the DA's office for comment.

The court heard how Collins called Robichaux immediately after she struck Smith, a grandfather of four, as he was cycling at the intersection of Canal and North Rendon streets.

The impact from her Jeep Cherokee caused Smith to suffer an internal decapitation, a severed aorta and pelvic fractures, experts testified at Collins' trial.

Collins told Robichaux she 'hit something' before sending a series of texts implicating herself in the crime, according to court documents.

Smith's family filed a wrongful death suit against Collins which has not progressed since 2021 when their attorneys submitted a request to withdraw from the case. The Daily Mail has reached out to their lawyers for comment.

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