A Jefferson Parish jury on Friday (Nov. 8) deliberated about 35 minutes in finding Cody Labranche guilty of murdering two men in their Metairie home, including his deceased sister’s longtime companion whom he blamed for her death.

Labranche, 30 of Ponchatoula, was convicted as charged of the first-degree murders of roommates Jonathan Pizzuto, 39, and William Mitchell, 36. He additionally was convicted of obstruction of justice.

Pizzuto had been in a long-term relationship with Labranche’s sister, Brittany, who overdosed in July 2020 in their home in the 600 block of Rosa Avenue. Labranche believes that Pizzuto was responsible for her death. Mitchell became Pizzuto’s roommate about two months before he was murdered.

On Jan. 17, 2022, Labranche drove from Ponchatoula to Metairie and, upon arrival at about 9 p.m., he entered the home through the unlocked side door. He walked through the kitchen and into the living room, where Pizzuto and Mitchell sat playing video games and began shooting.

Labranche then searched the apartment for the urn containing his sister’s ashes but did not find it. He fled with the dog Pizzuto and his sister owned, Dro, and later left it in Hazelhurst, Miss. Neither Dro nor the murder weapon has been found.

One of Pizzuto’s friends who was going to the home to play video games discovered the bodies on the living room floor and called 911. The Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office developed Labranche as a suspect after learning he held Pizzuto responsible for his sister’s death.

On the night of the murders, Labranche removed the license plate of the car he acquired from his sister after her death and drove to Rosa Avenue armed with the pistol with extended magazine. He left his cell phone in Ponchatoula in an apparent attempt to avoid its location services being used to establish a record of his whereabouts.

Detectives obtained surveillance video from neighboring residences showing the car pulling up to the residence. Labranche left the engine running and went inside. About a minute after he arrived, two nearby surveillance systems recorded the gunshots. Labranche then sped away and returned to Ponchatoula with Dro.

A U.S. Marshals Service fugitive task force arrested Labranche at his home on Feb. 11, 2022. Labranche asserted self-defense, telling a detective that he went to confront Pizzuto about his sister’s death and believed Mitchell was reaching behind his back for a pistol. Labranche began shooting believing he was about to be shot, his attorneys argued at trial in asking jurors to conclude he was defending himself.

However, evidence shows that Labranche was the aggressor, and as such cannot assert self-defense. Ten .45-caliber bullet casings littered the living room floor, in a pattern indicating that Labranche began shooting as he entered the living room from the kitchen after entering the side door. He continued shooting as he crossed the room. “No hesitating in there,” Assistant District Attorney Megan Gorman told jurors.

Further, the victims’ bullet wounds to their front and back sides show they were sitting down when the gunfire began, and they turned to run. They were on the floor when Labranche finished them off, including Pizzuto, whose gunshot wounds include two the back of his neck next to a tattoo of Labranche’s sister’s name. Mitchell was shot in his front side and his back side and died holding his cell phone. All 10 of the bullets Labranche fired struck the victims in what the crime scene reconstruction expert describes as “focused fire.”

Labranche was charged with first-degree murder in part because he had the specific intent to kill more than one person, and that he did so during the commission of an aggravated burglary. The District Attorney’s Office did not seek the death penalty, meaning Labranche will receive a life sentence in prison without benefit of probation, parole or suspension of sentence.

In addition to the murder charges, Labranche was convicted of obstruction of justice because he eliminated evidence by disposing of the murder weapon, which he confessed to throwing in a river. Detectives found photos of the pistol on his cell phone, a firearm compatible with the bullet casings retrieved from the murder scene.

Judge Ellen Shirer Kovach of the 24th Judicial District Court is scheduled to sentence Labranche on Dec. 4.

Assistant District Attorneys Megan Gorman and Alyssa Aleman prosecuted the case.