Naman Shrestha
On the night of January 6, 2024, two cold-blooded murders sent shockwaves across New Orleans, Louisiana, as 27-year-old Cayla Kelley and Eddie Matthews were found deceased just a few hours apart. The CCTV footage of the area and the people in the community played a crucial role in the capture of the suspect just a few days later. All the intricate details of the two homicides and the investigation that followed are covered in the episode titled ‘In Cold Blood’ of A&E’s ‘Homicide Squad New Orleans.’
Cayla Kelley Was Found Dead on a New Orleans Sidewalk
The beloved daughter of Cleveland, Cayla Alivia Kelley, was a free-spirited individual who lived life on her own terms. At a young age, she became fascinated with the art of transforming people’s looks and eventually enrolled in a makeup artistry program in a beauty school. After earning her diploma, she shaped her passion into a profession by taking up gigs as a beautician in the local makeup industry. She was quite proud of her talent and poured herself into every job she took on. As the years passed, Cayla gained immense experience in the field through hard work and determination. By 2024, she had been leading a fulfilling life in Uptown New Orleans, particularly in the neighborhood of Central City. In January 2024, Cayla worked as a beautician in the French Quarter, in the heart of the state.
Renowned for its vibrant nightlife, the Crown Jewel of New Orleans was surrounded by music and lights and proved beneficial for Cayla, as it likely brought her a steady stream of clients seeking makeup services. On the personal front, she was seeing someone she was reportedly eager to build a future with. Unfortunately, Cayla could never realize her dreams as her life took a tragic turn in the first week of the year. Around 6:13 pm on Jan 6, the police were called to a residence in the 2700 block of Washington Avenue regarding a shooting incident. At the scene, they discovered Cayla lying unresponsive on the sidewalk. The police recovered several shell casings and determined she had been shot at least 7 times, including on her hand, arm, and head. The 27-year-old succumbed to the injuries sustained from the multiple gunshot wounds and was declared dead on the scene.
Eddie Matthews Was Killed About Four Hours After Cayla Kelley
The same night Cayla Kelley’s remains were found, the authorities received another call about a shooting at Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and South Liberty Street, around 10:13 pm. When they reached the scene, they found 64-year-old Eddie Lee “Keebler” Matthews in critical condition with multiple gunshot wounds. Born in 1959 in New Orleans, Louisiana, the beloved son of Jeanetta and Arthur Matthews was rushed to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead. He was brought up in New Orleans alongside several siblings, including five sisters — Debra, Elaine, Rita, Denise, and Michelle Matthews — and three brothers — Charles, James, and Kevin Matthews. Besides being a brother and a son, Eddie was also a doting father to his two daughters, Jeanette Matthews and Lakevia Baker, and four stepchildren, Tiffany, Recardo, Redmon, and Michael.
Described as a positive and compassionate individual, he graduated from the Orleans Parish Public School System and worked as an interior tech for Blackwell Chevrolet in Canton, Mississippi. Later, he moved up the ranks and became the mechanical service tech in the company. Eddie also dabbled in other jobs after parting ways with the dealership, such as an assembler and landscaper. After the love of his life and life partner passed away around 2023, he drowned in grief and stopped taking care of himself. He began living on the streets of New Orleans while frequently visiting his grandchildren. At the crime scene, the authorities also found three spent shell casings near his remains. Little did they know that the murders of Cayla and Eddie were connected.
The Alleged Killer of Cayla and Eddie Was Apprehended With the Help of Security Footage
While the authorities were canvassing the area near Cayla Kelley’s remains, they were approached by a couple who claimed to know the deceased woman. Since the couple knew who it was before the detectives even knew Cayla’s identity, they were questioned separately at the station. Their alibis placed a man named Earl Michael Simmons at the crime scene with Cayla. In the days that followed, the investigators went door-to-door to ask if any witnesses had heard or seen something of importance and reviewed the surveillance footage of the area, allowing them to find video proof of Earl arguing with Cayla moments before the shooting.
While they were trying to obtain an arrest warrant for Earl, the detectives were shocked when the shell casings found at Cayla’s crime scene matched the ones found at Eddie Matthews’ crime scene. It indicated that both murders, which occurred about four hours apart from each other, were committed using the same gun. According to the security footage near Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, the detectives saw a man resembling Earl walking towards Eddie and shooting him multiple times before fleeing the scene on foot. Armed with enough evidence against the suspect, the investigators arrested Earl Michael Simmons on January 18, 2024, at his brother’s residence in Central City without incident and charged him with two counts of second-degree murder for the January 6 shooting deaths of Cayla and Eddie.
Earl Michael Simmons is Yet to Stand Trial For the Two Homicides
After booking Earl Michael Simmons into the Orleans Parish Justice Center, the police executed a search warrant of his property, where they found a gun inside the closet, buried under layers of clothes. During his interrogation, he acknowledged knowing Cayla Kelley but denied having anything to do with her murder. He also refused to take responsibility for Eddie Matthews’ killing. Once he was left alone, handcuffed in the interrogation room, the suspect became agitated and turned the table over. A few days later, he was officially indicted for the two murders. However, Earl is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in the court of law. As of today, he is awaiting his trial behind bars at a Louisiana County jail.
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