Home Care In Monroe, LA

WEST MONROE, La. (KNOE) - UPDATE: The Ouachita Parish Sheriff’s Office has arrested three other suspects in this case.

Justin Cowart, 26, one of the aforementioned husbands, was arrested on charges of aggravated battery and first-degree rape.

Caleb Frisby, 28, also one of the husbands, was arrested on a charge of aggravated battery.

Tommy Allen, 54, was charged with one count of aggravated battery.

This makes four arrests made in the case.

This is an update to an ongoing story. Read below for additional details.

A West Monroe woman was arrested after an investigation found she was accused of rape and battery, along with performing what officers say were ritualistic acts.

The Ouachita Parish Sheriff’s Office began the investigation on Sept. 21, 2023. The alleged victim was interviewed by a forensic investigator on Sept. 27, 2023. According to arrest records, the victim told the investigator that they were in a polyamorous relationship with Hannah Frisby, who was described as the head of the group, along with three other men who were described to be the husbands of the relationship.

Documents show the victim was told Frisby “does not do long-distance,” so the victim needed to live with the group. Upon first moving in, the victim was allegedly told they had to denounce their religion as the rest of the group practiced other religions such as witchcraft, satanism, and vikingism.

The victim told investigators they got in trouble by the second week of living there, and their punishment was to get in a scalding hot bath and scrub themself with a bristled brush covered in bleach in front of other people, which was meant to rid the victim of ”evil spirits.”

According to arrest records, Frisby allegedly put a puppy on a table for the victim and held a large knife to the puppy’s chest, telling the victim it was ”a sacrifice to the gods.”

The affidavit states the victim said the abuse got worse as time went on, and they were eventually told they are nothing more than a slave and was to give sex to the husbands of the group on demand. The victim also told investigators that in order to “move up ranks” in the family, they needed to help reproduce.

Documents show Frisby allegedly told one of the husbands to release the victim from the house as they were not a good partner but the husband refused.

The affidavit states the victim’s sibling visited the house at one point, and the victim said they told their sibling to help them get out of the house. The sibling allegedly told the victim they would help the victim leave.

According to documents, the victim’s mother contacted Frisby to let them know about the victim’s upcoming appointments. Frisby allegedly told the mother that the victim had their phone taken away but could call when one of the husbands got back.

The affidavit states Frisby allegedly invited the victim’s entire family over for dinner. The victim said their sibling came to the house, and OPSO was at the door a short time later to take the victim.

According to arrest records, Frisby told officers the victim was the only one in the residence to have their phone taken away. Frisby alleged that is what the victim wanted.

Frisby told officers she knew about the victim’s medical history and knew the victim received SSI each month, but never took money from the victim.

On Dec. 14, Frisby was arrested and booked into the Ouachita Correctional Center on charges of first-degree rape, ritualistic acts, and aggravated battery.

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A beloved vestige of Old Hollywood has been spared from destruction—at least, for now. Last week, the New York Post reported that the Marilyn Monroe’s Brentwood Spanish Colonial was on its way to being demolished. The publication claimed that the new owner of the storied residence, where Monroe’s body was found in 1962 after an alleged barbiturates overdose, recently filed for a demolition permit. Thanks to a unanimous City Council vote on Friday that halted the process, the 2,900-square-foot hacienda—which was the only home the Golden Age starlet ever owned—may instead be preserved and recognized as a culturally and historically significant monument, according to the Los Angeles Times.

It was reported last week that the initial stages of the demolition process had already been approved by the city’s Department of Building and Safety. Per the LA Times, the department now plans to revoke the demolition paperwork that was filed. From here, LA’s Office of Historic Resources will research and assess the home and present their findings to the Historic Cultural Commission, which will then make their recommendation to the City Council. The entire bureaucratic process has a deadline of 75 days.

“Immediately my team and I sprung into action,” 11th District Council Member Traci Park said prior to the City Council meeting on Friday. “But unfortunately, the Department of Building and Safety issued a demolition permit before my team and I could fully intervene and get this issue resolved.” Following the meeting, Park told the LA Times that the motion to evaluate the structure for monument status is only the first step in saving it.

“What is most important about what we achieved today is that this automatically and immediately triggers a temporary stay on all building permits while this matter is under consideration by the cultural heritage commission and the City Council,” Park said. She shared that “hundreds of people from all over the world” have contacted the office to note their concerns about the home’s future. “For people all over the world, Marilyn Monroe was more than just a movie icon. Her story from her challenging childhood growing up in orphanages and foster homes to becoming a global sensation is a shining example of what it means to overcome adversity.”

Built in 1929, the L-shaped house changed hands in 2017 when an undisclosed buyer purchased it for $7.25 million, a whopping $350,000 over the asking price. This August, a new buyer scooped it up for $8.35 million. Unsurprisingly, the dwelling has been pretty popular with house hunters over the years, with six unique offers placed on the property immediately after the blonde bombshell’s death, per the Post. Monroe paid $77,500 ($790,000 adjusted for inflation) for the estate.

Louisiana officials expect to move the state’s most disruptive incarcerated youth to a revamped, high-security facility in north Louisiana next month.

Construction on a new Swanson Center for Youth at Monroe will be finished by the end of the year, and incarcerated youth from other parts of the state will be transferred to the site in January, said Krystal Stevens, executive management adviser for the state Office of Juvenile Justice.

“We don’t foresee any barriers to the transition of the youth and to the completion of the new facility,” Stevens said Friday at a meeting of the Juvenile Justice Act Implementation Commission.

Swanson already houses 73 boys and young men, Stevens said, but an additional, new 72-bed facility has been rebuilt to make it harder for young people to escape. Each person incarcerated in this section of Swanson will be housed in an individual room, instead of a dormitory setting where several people bunk together. Portions of Swanson have been closed since they were destroyed during riots two years ago. The violence at Swanson and Louisiana’s other incarcerated youth facilities prompted legislators to demand tougher security measures at such buildings. The new Monroe facility is expected to be used for youth who are considered higher risk. It will include the Cypress Unit, an intensive therapeutic program for the system’s most troubled young people.

When Gov. John Bel Edwards made the controversial decision in 2022 to open a juvenile facility at Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola — a maximum-security adult prison — he said the move was only temporary until the high-security facility at Monroe came online. The young people initially placed at Angola would eventually be sent to Monroe, juvenile justice officials said at the time.

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A federal judge shut down the Angola juvenile facility in September, finding that its conditions and lack of services violated incarcerated youths’ constitutional rights. The Office of Juvenile Justice now houses some of the young people originally assigned to Angola at a correctional center in Jackson Parish. In an interview Friday, Stevens said it’s expected that the young people at the Jackson Parish location will be moved to the new Monroe building. The opening of the new Monroe facility will allow the Office of Juvenile Justice to fully implement a “tiered-approach” to incarceration, Stevens said. For several years, the Office of Juvenile Justice was supposed to make an effort to incarcerate young people in facilities closest to their homes, so it would be easier for their families to visit. Under the tier-system, incarcerated youth will be assigned to facilities based on the perceived risk they pose. Those deemed the highest-risk will go to Monroe. Moderate-to-low risk youth will be housed at the Acadiana Center for Youth in Bunkie. There are also plans to build a new juvenile justice center for lower-risk youth in Baker on the site of the old Jetson Center.

Sen. Heather Cloud, R-Turkey Creek, said she is helping the Office of Juvenile Justice find a location for an intake center that is necessary to make the tier-system work. Youth coming into the system must undergo a risk assessment so they can be placed appropriately, she said.

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Andy Warhol's portrait of Marilyn Monroe sells for record $195M

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Marilyn Monroe's former Los Angeles home has been saved from demolition — temporarily, at least.

The Hollywood legend's 1929 Spanish Colonial in Brentwood was on the chopping block to be demolished until the L.A. City Council rushed to save it.

On Sept. 8, the council voted unanimously to temporarily suspend a demolition permit filed by the home’s current owner, Glory of the Snow Trust, according to the Los Angeles Times.

The homeowner did not submit plans explaining what the home would be used for after it was torn down, according to councilwoman Traci Park, who held a press conference on Sept. 8 prior to the vote.

The "Some Like It Hot" star purchased the home in the early 1960s for $75,000, after her divorce from playwright Arthur Miller, according to The Times.

During the press conference, Park revealed that she and her team “sprung into action” after learning just two days before that Monroe’s “beloved final residence” was scheduled for demolition.

“For people all over the world, Marilyn Monroe was more than just a movie icon,” Park said. “Her story, from her challenging childhood, growing up in orphanages and foster homes, to becoming a global sensation, is a shining example of what it means to overcome adversity.”

The Brentwood home, the only home Monroe ever owned herself, “stands as a touching reminder of her final days, a place where she found peace and expressed her personal style,” Park said.

Monroe personally chose “each detail of the home, from its wooden beam ceilings to the tiles that she hand-picked on her journeys from around the world,” Park described.

“She deeply valued this home,” she added.

The Office of Historic Resources and the Historic Cultural Commission must now evaluate the home to see if it qualifies for historic preservation, according to the Times. The process takes 75 days.

“The global concern that has flooded my office over the last couple of days about the potential demolition of this historic site reaffirms its significance," Park said at her press conference. "The overwhelming sentiment here is clear: This home must be preserved as a crucial piece of Hollywood’s and the city of Los Angeles’ history, culture and legacy.”

The councilwoman also quoted Monroe, saying, “Sometimes good things fall apart so that even better things can fall together.”

Gina Vivinetto

Gina Vivinetto is a writer for TODAY.com.

Barred from shutting off power to customers during the ongoing stretch of heat advisories across the state, Entergy Louisiana disconnected a number of customers in the Monroe area as soon as temperatures there fell slightly Tuesday. Public complaints prompted the company to reconnect those customers that evening.

Electric utilities in Louisiana are prohibited from disconnecting their customers for nonpayment during extreme weather such as dangerous heat, for which the National Weather Service issues an advisory when temperatures reach 103 degrees or heat indices reach 108 degrees.

Much of Louisiana has consistently been under heat advisories since late June in what has been one of the hottest summers ever recorded, prompting Gov. John Bel Edwards to declare a state of emergency last week.

Areas of north Louisiana saw a temporary break from the heat Tuesday as temperatures in Monroe fell to about 91. It was the first time in several days the area wasn’t under a heat advisory with scorching temperatures above 103 degrees. Entergy then started disconnecting customers who hadn’t paid their bills.

Louisiana Public Service Commissioner Foster Campbell said he first learned of the situation when an Entergy customer called his office. He said he quickly sent a memo to the company telling them to restore the customer’s power.

Campbell lashed out at Entergy executives during Wednesday’s commission meeting.

State regulator will ask Louisiana power companies to pause shut-offs in extreme heat

A state energy regulator wants all electric utilities in Louisiana to pause shut-offs and refrain from disconnecting anyone’s power while residents are forced to shelter from extreme heat conditions. Louisiana Public Service Commissioner Davante Lewis said he plans to ask the state’s utility companies to commit to pausing all customer disconnections for as long as … Continue reading State regulator will ask Louisiana power companies to pause shut-offs in extreme heat

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“I think you ought to be ashamed,” he said. “When it’s been 100 degrees for 15 days in a row, you find one day that’s cool and you cut them off.”

Entergy Louisiana executive Larry Hand said he and other company leaders ordered the power reconnected and suspended any further disconnects as soon as they found out what had happened.

Hand explained the company was technically following regulations. Entergy has systems in place to follow the LPSC rules as they are written, which is why disconnections commenced when a heat advisory was not in effect, he said.

“We built processes around your rules, and that’s how we normally operate,” Hand said. “But when it was elevated to our attention, we reversed it. And so we have suspended disconnects even though the order doesn’t require it.”

It’s unclear how many Entergy customers had their power shut off Tuesday. Hand said it was only a small number, and their electricity was restored by that evening.

Commissioner Davante Lewis said members should consider revising the regulation.

Separately, Lewis asked all the utility companies to commit to suspending disconnects for as long as the state remains under the governor’s emergency order.

Louisiana unofficially has 12 seasons, according to the National Weather Service. Temperatures for north Louisiana are forecast to climb back up later this week as the state is currently experiencing what the service calls “false fall,” a brief period when temperatures dip slightly before entering the “second summer.”

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