House burned following investigation to be up for hearing

Published 9:00 am Friday, July 23, 2021

The house that was the site of an investigation by local law enforcement and subsequently burned has been put up for a public hearing that could lead to its demolition by the New Iberia City Council.

Building inspector Jimmy Landry said his department has received multiple complaints about the house due to the fact that children are going into the house and playing in it.

The house is located at 427 Field St., and was sealed off by law enforcement. The home had previously been the home of a boyfriend of Kitty Rideaux, whose body was found a month ago in the backyard of another abandoned house two blocks away on Robertson Street.

Shortly after the investigation, a fire occurred at 3 a.m. July 6. The Louisiana State Fire Marshal’s is in charge of that investigation.

Councilwoman for District 5 Deedy Johnson-Reid said that the house was causing problems in the neighborhood due to trespassing and needed to go.

“It recently burned, it wasn’t safe before and it definitely isn’t now,” Johnson-Reid said at Tuesday’s City Council meeting.

Mayor Freddie DeCourt said a lot of kids had been entering the home probably out of curiosity due to the notoriety it has recently elicited.

“We kind of rushed it on the list because we had problems with kids going there,” DeCourt said. “The police flagged it off and we added it at a fast pace.”

After Tuesday’s approval, city officials will begin the process of contacting the owner of the home for a public hearing in October. The council will ask the owner if he has any plan for renovating the building, and if not the council may ultimately decide to demolish it.

“This one has to go,” Johnson-Reid said.