2 officers arrested in murder, neither named as suspect

HAMMOND, La. (WGNO) — The Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff's Office announced the arrest of two police officers, a husband and a wife, in connection with a murder investigation, but neither is named as a suspect. The case is the latest one to roll on the Wheel of Justice.

According to the sheriff's office, around noon on Thursday, January 23, deputies responded to a call regarding an unresponsive person in the 53000 block of Crossover Road in Independence. At the scene, they found 30-year-old David Parnell dead in a bedroom.

About two weeks later, the sheriff's office announced the arrest of two officers with the Independence Police Department. The sheriff's office says one of them, Mitchell Rainey, was an acquaintance of the victim, and the other officer arrested was Mitchell Rainey's wife, Caitlyn Rainey.

The sheriff's office says Mitchell Rainey improperly removed evidence from the scene and his wife later altered it. Deputies did not got into detail on what evidence was allegedly removed.

While the officers are on leave without pay and face charges of malfeasance in office and obstruction of justice, neither is named as a suspect in the murder. So the case remains unsolved.

To see the latest Wheel of Justice report, watch the video at the top of this story. If you have information that could help the Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff's Office with the case, call Crime Stoppers of Tangipahoa Parish at 800-554-5245.

So far, more than 475 people have been booked after their cases rolled on the Wheel of Justice.

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