By ROBIN SHANNON

L’Observateur

LAPLACE – A St. John the Baptist Parish grand jury on Monday indicted Earnest Joseph III in the death of 15-year-old Taylor Adams, found murdered inside her LaPlace home in December.

St. John District Attorney Tom Daley said Monday that the grand jury returned a true bill for second-degree murder in the case against Joseph. Daley said Joseph, 27, of LaPlace, is scheduled to be arraigned Jan. 12 before 40th Judicial District Judge Madeline Jasmine.

If Joseph is convicted, Daley said the maximum penalty for second-degree murder is life in prison without the benefit of parole, probation or suspension of sentence. Joseph remains in jail on a $2 million bond. St. John Chief Public Defender Richard Stricks has been appointed to represent Joseph in court.

Joseph is accused of beating Adams to death inside her own home in the 2500 block of Yorktowne Drive in the early morning hours of Dec. 5. Adams’ mother Gaylyn discovered her daughter’s body after returning from work at about 6:30 a.m. that morning. Gaylyn Adams told detectives she had not seen or spoken to her daughter since about 9 p.m. Dec. 4 and that she expected her daughter to be home by herself. The mother had worked as a security guard in LaPlace and often worked a 12-hour shift overnight.

An autopsy report indicated the victim sustained “blunt force trauma to the head,” but did not specify a murder weapon. Detectives suspect the incident took place sometime after 1 a.m. Dec. 5 based on Adams’ Facebook activity that evening.

Joseph and Adams lived on the same street and within a couple of blocks. Authorities said the two knew each other. Detectives have not released a motive in the killing, but evidence showed that an intense struggle took place inside the home.

St. John Sheriff Wayne Jones said tips from the community aided the investigation and helped detectives pinpoint Joseph as the suspect. U.S. Marshals captured Joseph in Gulfport, Miss., just three days after the murder took place.