An SUV driver struck his girlfriend on a sidewalk in New Orleans, US, sending her hurtling through a wall which led to her death, as per a report in the New York Post. Anthony Cooper, aged 31, is now facing second-degree murder charges for ramming into 21-year-old Anastasia Rayborn with his Ford Edge SUV after a heated argument between the couple.
According to court documents, Mr Cooper is charged with hitting the gas "at a high rate of speed... hitting Ms Rayborn and slamming her through the wall" of a house.
According to family members, Ms Rayborn and Mr Cooper's relationship was fraught with conflict, and the couple had a 2-year-old toddler. They began dating when the woman was 17 and Mr Cooper was 27.
The victim's sister Skye Guillory said, "I never really liked him. He (Cooper) got her a car that he never let her drive and ultimately he killed her with it." The sibling also talked about how she became increasingly concerned about the toxic relationship and gave Rayborn a "safe word." "I got her out of that situation more than once," she said. "I'm livid. That's how I feel," she said.
Before being classified as a homicide, the deadly incident was first considered to be a car crash. According to New Orleans police, Mr Cooper was arrested on the spot. "At about 11:05 a.m., Fifth District officers were called to a fatal car accident in the 1100 block of Marais Street. Through investigation, the incident was reclassified as a homicide. According to investigators, a Ford SUV crashed into a female pedestrian, and then into a building, resulting in the death of the female victim," they said.
