Judge ends 'The First 48' debate in Gentilly triple homicide case (2024)

A New Orleans judge on Friday (July 17) shot down an attempt by a Gentilly triple homicidedefendant's attorneys to punish producers of "The First 48" television show for allegedly lying to the court about footage that wasn't aired.

Criminal District Court Judge Laurie White also opined on the complications the TV show has caused in the case of Shawn Peterson, 43. He is charged with three counts of first-degree murder in the Sept. 11, 2013 deaths of Christine George, 39, their son, Leonard George, 18, and her daughter, Trisa George, 20.

Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty, a punishment that brings a higher level of judicial scrutiny. Peterson's attorneys have been fighting on several fronts to have the death penalty barred in the case. And, White said, the involvement of "The First 48" in the case has only complicated matters.

"I wish that the city would never contract with 'The First 48,' and I hope in the future they would think through that," White said. "I now have a death penalty case in which three people were alleged to have been murdered. It causes the court great concern to have to deal with the additional problems."

'The First 48,' whose crews embed with police departments and air episodes on cable TV, was present for the Gentilly triple homicide investigation that led to Peterson's arrest. Before it could tag along, the production company contracted with the city and New Orleans Police Department.

Peterson's attorneys, Anna Van Cleave and Christopher Murell, last year asked the New York production company, Kirkstall Road Enterprises, for any footage that was not aired on TV. They sought footage that could benefit their client. The company said in sworn affidavits that there was none.

Then, the attorneys found footage of an interview with a friend of Christine George on an Internet social media site. The attorneys accused the producers of lying to White and wanted an executive in New York to be hauled in court.

White was skeptical. "If I held everyone in contempt that lied to me, this would be a 24-hour court," she said.

Kirkstall's local attorneys, Harry Rosenberg and Mary Ellen Roy, denied their clients lied. Rosenberg said the video in question was posted on YouTube in March 2014 and "was available to tens of thousands of people."

Rosenberg also called it "a total diversion" and"nothing but a side show for the defendant's attorneys, and it should stop today."

White agreed and denied the defense attorneys their request. She also ruled the video interview is not evidence prosecutors are required to provide to defense attorneys. Besides, Assistant District Attorney Jason Napoli, who is prosecuting Peterson, said he knew nothing about the video.

Peterson's attorneys also asked White to bar the death penalty because of possible misconduct that, again, involved "The First 48." The defense team alleged a witness who could not identify Peterson as the killer said so on video that might have been destroyed.

The attorneys also sought permission to subpoena the videographers, to question them in court about what they filmed.

White called it "a rabbit hole of conspiracy business." She declined to bar prosecutors from pursuing a death penalty or order videographers to testify.

It is at least the second time this week "The First 48" has come up in a murder case at the courthouse at Tulane Avenue and South Broad Street.

The show also was involved in covering the investigation of Dion "Nupea" Johnson's death at an eastern New Orleans carwash last year. Tyrone "Tee Boy" Daniel, the defendant, accused the detective who arrested him of manufacturing evidence at the crime scene to bolster chances "The First 48" would put the officer and his investigation on television.

Daniel, 21, was convicted of second-degree murder Tuesday. He faces life in prison.