Man booked in killing of 76-year-old St. Helena man
Authorities arrested a man Friday night accused of killing a 76-year-old Greensburg resident Aug. 7, St. Helena Parish Sheriff’s Office Chief of Detectives Joe Chaney said Saturday.
Michael Lynn Halford, 32, 44 Chuck Lane, Greensburg, was booked with first-degree murder around 7 p.m. Friday, Chaney said.
Halford is accused of killing John Hornsby.
A mail carrier who arrived at Hornsby’s Rohner Road home around 10 a.m. Aug. 7 found Hornsby’s home burned.
St. Helena deputies called to the scene found Hornsby’s body lying in the front yard.
Chaney said Hornsby died as a result of blunt-force trauma to the head.
“He was beaten to death, killed, and the house was burned,” Chaney said Saturday.
Chaney said the motive for the killing is unclear and the case is still under investigation.
Chaney said Halford is not related to Hornsby, but that detectives know he had worked on Hornsby’s truck.
“We always kind of suspected him,” Chaney said of Halford.
Hornsby also said there could be more arrests connected to the death.