A male exotic dancer and barber has pleaded guilty to shooting a woman and setting her car on fire with her body in the trunk, officials said.Thayon Samson, 33, pleaded guilty Friday to manslaughter and other charges in the death of 31-year-old Lindsay Nichols.Prosecutors with Orleans Parish District Attorney Leon Cannizzaro's office said Samson's DNA was found on bloodstained running shorts in the trunk with Nichols' body.In 2015, Nichols went out with friends on a Saturday after moving into her new home in Des Allemands. When her friends were ready to leave, Nichols wanted to stay out longer. She was found dead the next morning in her burned-out car in New Orleans East.Nichols died from a gunshot wound, the Orleans Parish Coroner’s Office said. Nichols was from Des Allemands, and her family approved the agreement, including the maximum 40-year sentence for manslaughter, the district attroney's office said in a statement.A co-defendant remains scheduled for trial."This truly was one of the most horrific crimes seen in New Orleans in recent years," Cannizzaro said. "While this guilty plea cannot bring this young woman back to her loved ones, it does at least spare them the agony of hearing her anguished final moments recounted at trial. I'm proud of the work that NOPD detectives and our diligent prosecutors put forth to bring this killer to justice."Nichols' child is being cared for by his grandparents.Keep up with local news, weather and current events with the WDSU app here. Sign up for our email newsletters to get breaking news right in your inbox. Click here to sign up!

A male exotic dancer and barber has pleaded guilty to shooting a woman and setting her car on fire with her body in the trunk, officials said.

Thayon Samson, 33, pleaded guilty Friday to manslaughter and other charges in the death of 31-year-old Lindsay Nichols.


Prosecutors with Orleans Parish District Attorney Leon Cannizzaro's office said Samson's DNA was found on bloodstained running shorts in the trunk with Nichols' body.

In 2015, Nichols went out with friends on a Saturday after moving into her new home in Des Allemands. When her friends were ready to leave, Nichols wanted to stay out longer. She was found dead the next morning in her burned-out car in New Orleans East.

Nichols died from a gunshot wound, the Orleans Parish Coroner’s Office said.



Nichols was from Des Allemands, and her family approved the agreement, including the maximum 40-year sentence for manslaughter, the district attroney's office said in a statement.

A co-defendant remains scheduled for trial.

"This truly was one of the most horrific crimes seen in New Orleans in recent years," Cannizzaro said. "While this guilty plea cannot bring this young woman back to her loved ones, it does at least spare them the agony of hearing her anguished final moments recounted at trial. I'm proud of the work that NOPD detectives and our diligent prosecutors put forth to bring this killer to justice."

Nichols' child is being cared for by his grandparents.

Keep up with local news, weather and current events with the WDSU app here. Sign up for our email newsletters to get breaking news right in your inbox. Click here to sign up!

