Charles Mayeux sentenced to life in prison

Charles Mayeux, convicted on Sept. 2 for the March 2015 murder of his wife, was sentenced to life in prison without benefit of parole in 12th Judicial District Court on Sept. 12.

District Judge William “Billy” Bennett denied a defense motion for a new trial.

The life sentence was mandatory for the 2nd degree murder conviction.

Mayeux, 38, was the police chief of Evergreen when his wife Shelly St. Romain Mayeux, was killed at their Evergreen home. They had been married for less than a year.

A 12-member jury voted 10-2 to find Mayeux guilty of the crime. Since then, several supporters of Mayeux have sent letters and posted comments on social media claiming the prosecution had no physical evidence to prove his guilt.

Mayeux had originally also been charged with aggravated arson and obstruction of justice. District Attorney Charles Riddle said the decision was made to focus only on the murder charge and not to prosecute Mayeux on the other charges.

Assistant District Attorneys Michael Kelly and Tony Salario handled the prosecution while Allen L. Smith III represented Mayeux.