Man found guilty of kidnapping and brutalizing girlfriend in Gretna home

JEFFERSON PARISH, La. (WVUE) - A Jefferson Parish jury on Wednesday found Darryl Vinson, 60, guilty of multiple charges related to the brutalization and captivity of his girlfriend in her Gretna home for three days in 2021.

Vinson was convicted of attempted second-degree murder, second-degree kidnapping, second-degree sexual battery, and false imprisonment with a dangerous weapon. The verdict was reached on Wednesday (May 3) after the jury deliberated for about one hour.

According to Assistant District Attorney Lindsay Truhe, Vinson hogtied the victim, a 48-year-old woman, and forced her to sleep on the cold tile floor in a closet. He made her crawl on all fours when he let her leave the closet, kicked her, and inserted the barrel of her pistol into her body. He also stabbed her in the forehead and left lacerations from a serrated knife blade just below her neck.

To prevent her from making noise, he stuffed dirty underwear and socks into her mouth and used duct tape to keep them in place. He forced her to eat cat food and injected methamphetamine into her body. Vinson strangled her at least three times using a chord, causing her to lose consciousness.

The victim’s injuries included brain bleeding, a fractured eye socket, fractured ribs, a bruised lung, and numerous lacerations and ligature marks on her neck, wrists, and ankles. She was hospitalized for 12 days, four of which were spent in an intensive care unit.

Vinson, who was homeless, met the woman outside a Gretna-area drugstore and moved in with her after their platonic relationship evolved into a romantic one. On Jan. 27, 2021, he accused her of having sex with another man and the physical abuse began, continuing until Jan. 29, 2021.

After flashing a pistol at her, Vinson forced the victim to walk to Manhattan Boulevard and the Westbank Expressway in Harvey to panhandle motorists. Witnesses began calling 911 to report Vinson beating the victim, and the Gretna police, which investigated the crimes, found much of her home in disarray, except for the master bedroom that smelled of bleach because of Vinson’s attempt to clean it.

Vinson’s attorney argued that his client and the victim both struggled with substance abuse problems and that her recollections about what occurred might not be as clear as she now asserts.

Judge Ray Steib of the 24th Judicial District Court is scheduled to sentence Vinson on June 15.

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