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Investigative·By Bridget Sielicki
Louisiana man faces life in prison for 2019 murder of pregnant woman
A Louisiana man was found guilty on September 14 in the 2019 murder of a pregnant woman and her preborn baby.
Zachery Holmes was convicted of second degree murder and second degree feticide after shooting Tychelle Ridgley and her preborn child in 2019.
Ridgley was eight months pregnant at the time of her death.
Ridgley's boyfriend, Melvin Boudreaux, was the intended target of the shooting. He also was shot, but survived.
Zachery Holmes, 36, was convicted of second degree murder and second degree feticide, along with several lesser charges, after killing 28-year-old Tychelle Ridgley and her preborn child, Me’Lo Alexander in 2019.
Ridgley was inside a home when Holmes, along with two other men, drove up and started shooting at Ridgley's boyfriend, Melvin Boudreaux, who was standing outside. Boudreaux was shot but survived his wounds.
Ridgley, hit by a stray bullet which traveled through the front door, succumbed to her injuries. She was eight and one-half months pregnant at the time of her death; her preborn baby, Me’Lo Alexander, also died.
District Attorney Jason Williams referenced Me’Lo Alexander in a statement Monday.
“We never said that this was a case about perfect people,” Williams said. “But that little, baby boy that was in his mother's belly, he was perfect. And the jury understood that he was completely innocent. He never got to breathe life."
According to NOLA.com, Holmes was found guilty of "second-degree murder, second-degree feticide, attempted first-degree murder, obstruction of justice and a handful of gun charges," but "[t]he jury acquitted him on counts of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and illegal carrying of a firearm by someone previously convicted of a felony, court minutes show."
Holmes is scheduled to be sentenced November 13. He faces a mandatory life sentence without parole.
Sadly, cases like this one have become more common. Pregnant woman are at especially high risk of violence, and homicide is a leading cause of death for pregnant women, exceeding all the leading health-related causes of maternal mortality.
According to research published by the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine in January 2025, between 2005 and 2022, of 20,421 maternal deaths, 1,407 were due to homicide.
Research published in 2021 found that women were more likely to die by homicide than maternal illness.
“Homicide during pregnancy or within 42 days of the end of pregnancy exceeded all the leading causes of maternal mortality by more than twofold,” researchers concluded.
Live Action News is pro-life news and commentary from a pro-life perspective.
Our work is possible because of our donors. Please consider giving to further our work of changing hearts and minds on issues of life and human dignity.
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·Investigative·By Bridget Sielicki
Louisiana man faces life in prison for 2019 murder of pregnant woman
A Louisiana man was found guilty on September 14 in the 2019 murder of a pregnant woman and her preborn baby.
Zachery Holmes was convicted of second degree murder and second degree feticide after shooting Tychelle Ridgley and her preborn child in 2019.
Ridgley was eight months pregnant at the time of her death.
Ridgley's boyfriend, Melvin Boudreaux, was the intended target of the shooting. He also was shot, but survived.
Zachery Holmes, 36, was convicted of second degree murder and second degree feticide, along with several lesser charges, after killing 28-year-old Tychelle Ridgley and her preborn child, Me’Lo Alexander in 2019.
Ridgley was inside a home when Holmes, along with two other men, drove up and started shooting at Ridgley's boyfriend, Melvin Boudreaux, who was standing outside. Boudreaux was shot but survived his wounds.
Ridgley, hit by a stray bullet which traveled through the front door, succumbed to her injuries. She was eight and one-half months pregnant at the time of her death; her preborn baby, Me’Lo Alexander, also died.
District Attorney Jason Williams referenced Me’Lo Alexander in a statement Monday.
“We never said that this was a case about perfect people,” Williams said. “But that little, baby boy that was in his mother's belly, he was perfect. And the jury understood that he was completely innocent. He never got to breathe life."
According to NOLA.com, Holmes was found guilty of "second-degree murder, second-degree feticide, attempted first-degree murder, obstruction of justice and a handful of gun charges," but "[t]he jury acquitted him on counts of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and illegal carrying of a firearm by someone previously convicted of a felony, court minutes show."
Holmes is scheduled to be sentenced November 13. He faces a mandatory life sentence without parole.
Sadly, cases like this one have become more common. Pregnant woman are at especially high risk of violence, and homicide is a leading cause of death for pregnant women, exceeding all the leading health-related causes of maternal mortality.
According to research published by the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine in January 2025, between 2005 and 2022, of 20,421 maternal deaths, 1,407 were due to homicide.
Research published in 2021 found that women were more likely to die by homicide than maternal illness.
“Homicide during pregnancy or within 42 days of the end of pregnancy exceeded all the leading causes of maternal mortality by more than twofold,” researchers concluded.
Live Action News is pro-life news and commentary from a pro-life perspective.
Our work is possible because of our donors. Please consider giving to further our work of changing hearts and minds on issues of life and human dignity.
Contact editor@liveaction.org for questions, corrections, or if you are seeking permission to reprint any Live Action News content.
Guest Articles: To submit a guest article to Live Action News, email editor@liveaction.org with an attached Word document of 800-1000 words. Please also attach any photos relevant to your submission if applicable. If your submission is accepted for publication, you will be notified within three weeks. Guest articles are not compensated (see our Open License Agreement). Thank you for your interest in Live Action News!
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