Funeral arrangements for the woman who was brutally murdered in Covington have been released
The funeral arrangements for the church member who was brutally murdered in Covington have been released.
Visitation for Ruth Prats will start on Friday, Dec. 9, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. and Saturday, Dec. 10, from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m.
The funeral mass will start at 11 a.m. on Saturday. The visitation and the funeral will be at the St. Peter Catholic Church in Covington.
The St. Tammany coroner identified the two victims found brutally murdered and burned earlier this week as the Rev. Otis Young and church member Ruth Prats.
Antonio Tyson was arrested on Monday and booked with first-degree murder, second-degree kidnapping, obstruction of justice, resisting an officer, and illegally possessing stolen items.
Police released a timeline of events leading up to the discovery of Young and Prats' bodies.
Timeline:
On Nov. 27, Covington police responded to a report of a hit and run near St. Tammany Bike Trace and Bogue Falaya Towers Condominiums.
Officers were given Ruth Prats' license plate from a witness on the scene. When officers tried to contact Prats, they couldn't find her. Police then contacted her family, who said they also couldn't get in touch with her.
Covington police reviewed footage of the hit-and-run that showed Prats' car involved. Her phone was pinged inside a dumpster nearby, and a criminal investigation was then launched.
Prats was also entered as a missing person and reported her car as stolen.
On Monday, officers found Prats' car in a Walgreens parking lot. According to police, Tyson and another white female, who was not Prats, were taken into custody.
After police found Prats' car, they learned that Young was with Prats on Sunday. When officers went to Young's apartment, they found he was not there.
Two bodies were then found in the 600 block of East Gibson Street Monday around 5:49 a.m.
The bodies were found burned behind the building.
Video obtained by police showed Tyson riding a bicycle past Prats' home around 3:53 p.m. on Sunday.
According to Sgt. Edwin Masters, Tyson went to several homes in the area before knocking on Prats' house.
Tyson is seen on video speaking to both Prats and Young for a few minutes.
Around 3:55 p.m., police say Tyson leaves and parks his bike on the side of a grocery store.
At 4 p.m., police say Tyson was seen walking up to Prats' front door with what appeared to be a knife behind his back in a crouched position.
Police say Tyson was then seen entering Prat's home.
Prats' car is seen around 5:14 p.m. backing out of the driveway of the home and out of the camera's view.
Prats' car is then seen driving away from the home.
Covington police say Tyson was seen at multiple businesses on Nov. 27 and Nov. 28 in Prats' car. He was also found on security footage at a gas station filling up a container of fuel while in Prats' car, according to police.
Prats' car was then seen on security camera footage entering the crime scene on Gibson Street.
Police say Tyson has no association with St. Peters Church or the school.
About the suspect:
Tyson was arrested Monday and faces two counts of first-degree murder, two counts of second-degree kidnapping, two counts of obstruction of justice, one count of illegal possession of stolen things, and one count of resisting an officer by giving a false name.
Tyson has a violent criminal history.
Tyson was recently released from Rayburn Correctional Facility prison after pleading guilty in 1993 to one count of forcible rape, one count of armed robbery, and one count of burglary.
He was sentenced to 40 years and served 31 years, according to Covington police.
Police reports from the St. Tammany District Attorney's office shed light on the violent rape that Tyson was convicted of. Police said he was 18 at the time of the crime.
According to the court documents, the victim, a 54-year-old, said she woke up to two men in her bedroom. She said she was pistol-whipped, tied up, and a pillowcase was placed over her head, and she was then raped by both men.
Documents say she was told she would be killed if she opened her mouth.
According to the documents, the suspects stole her car, and the victim was able to break free after they left.
She then ran to a neighbor's home and called police before being taken to a hospital.
Tyson was tracked down in the victim's car and arrested, according to the documents.
The documents also said that a black belt used to tie up the victim was linked to Tyson through a fingerprint.
Both Tyson and the other man involved were convicted of the rape.
The Louisiana Department of Corrections issued the following statement regarding Tyson's time in prison:
"In 1993, a state district judge sentenced Antonio Tyson to 40 years for Forcible Rape, 40 years for Armed Robbery, and 30 years for Aggravated Burglary, all to run concurrently.
"Sentence Time computation is determined according to the applicable Louisiana laws in effect at the time of the commission of the offense(s). Per the requirements of Act 138 of 1991, he was required to serve 50 percent of the sentence in prison before releasing via goodtime onto goodtime parole supervision. Tyson’s original goodtime release date under this calculation was February 1, 2012. However, due to his conduct in prison, Tyson lost 4,219 days of goodtime. He also earned 360 days of goodtime for courses and programming he took while incarcerated. He released from prison on August 21, 2022. Since his release, and up to his arrest, he has complied with the conditions of his goodtime parole including employment and having a place to live."
About the victims:
Young, 71, was a longtime priest in the Covington community.
He was retired at the time of his murder.
The Rev. Gregory Aymond, archbishop of New Orleans, said Young was a beloved pastor who touched many with his faith in the community.
Young's funeral Mass will be held Monday at noon in St. Peter Catholic Church.
Aymond will be the celebrant. Visitation will be from 9 a.m. to noon.
The Mass will also be live-streamed.
Prats worked for St. Peter Catholic Church and did a lot of work in the community.
Early Wednesday, the church community gathered with members for counseling.
WDSU spoke with a woman who said she knew both Prats and Young. She said Prats was a dear friend to her since the '70s.
She shared a story about the last time she saw Prats.
"We were trying to put in to give one of the teachers a Christmas present. She handed me 20 bucks. She signed 'best wishes, you are a wonderful friend.' That's it. She gave me a big hug and said, 'I will always love you,'" she said.
Parish President Mike Cooper issued the following statement regarding the murders:
“There are no words to describe the magnitude of this loss for our community. They were longtime friends who will be missed dearly. In this time of tremendous grief, I encourage our citizens to look to the faith that Fr. Otis helped build in Covington and his church parish. While we endure this incredibly challenging time, please join me in lifting up the family, friends and loved ones of Fr. Otis Young and Ruth Prats in prayer.”
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