Two men dead in Orleans Parish custody identified

By FOX 8 Staff | WVUE | June 14, 2022

NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) – Two men who died in the Orleans Parish Justice Center have been identified by the parish coroner’s office.

One man, identified as Philip Soublet Jr., was killed in a jailhouse brawl while awaiting trial for second-degree murder.

Officials say Soublet died from blunt force trauma. According to statements provided to other news outlets by the Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office, four inmates were injured in a fight on Fri., June 10. Three were taken to a hospital for treatment.

Soublet died the next day from his injuries, according to the coroner’s office.

Soublet was arrested in 2019 and was awaiting a July 18 trial date in the 7th Ward slaying of Roy Cain, 35, according to court documents.

New Orleans police say Soublet killed Cain in a double shooting on the night of May 26, 2019, in the 2200 block of St. Anthony Street. An unidentified woman was found during the investigation with multiple bullet wounds in a car in the 2300 block of Pauger Street, police said.

Soublet’s murder was the first homicide within the parish jail in eight years, according to the Metropolitan Crime Commission.

A second inmate jumped from a balcony to his death on Sunday in a separate incident. The coroner identified that man as Chad Neyland.

Neyland was booked June 9 for theft over $25,000 and rebooked June 10 with possession of oxycodone and possession of drug paraphernalia. He was 46 years old and jumped to his death inside the jail two days later on Sunday, June 12.

The two in-custody deaths prompted Orleans Parish Sheriff Susan Hutson to pull deputies from courthouse security detail to work at the jail, a move that paralyzed the city’s criminal justice system for 24 hours. Courts were forced to go virtual and postpone trials on Monday. After meeting with the Criminal District Court Monday evening, officials were able to secure partial staffing at the courthouse so trials could start or resume Tuesday.