Suspect in New Orleans tour guide murder in US illegally, has criminal history: ICE

At least one of the three suspects arrested in connection with the shooting death of a French Quarter tour guide in New Orleans is an illegal immigrant with a criminal history on American soil, according to immigration authorities. 

The immigration status of the other two suspects was not immediately clear.

New Orleans police arrested Joshua Bonifacio-Avila, 19, Jerben Albarec, 17, and Kevin Nunez, 15, the day after the slaying of 43-year-old Kristie Thibodeaux in her car on St. Peter Street, the morning of June 30.

Nunez is accused of pulling the trigger. And Aviala-Bonifacio, a Honduras national, is accused of entering the country illegally, Immigration and Customs Enforcement told Fox News Digital.

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Kristie Thibodeaux in a selfie photo posted to her Facebook page. The well-liked French Quarter tour guide was shot and killed in her car in New Orleans. Three teens have been arrested. (Kristie Thibodeaux/Facebook)

“On May 11, 2019, U.S. Border Patrol encountered Bonifacio near Hidalgo, Texas, and determined him to be inadmissible into the U.S. pursuant to the Immigration and Nationality Act,” an ICE spokesperson said. “On multiple occasions, Bonifacio has been arrested for theft and contributing to the delinquency of juveniles. Since February 2024, Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office has booked Bonifacio for five local violations.”

ICE does not have purview over juveniles, so the immigration status of the other two suspects was not immediately clear.

The agency’s Enforcement and Removal Operations division, ERO, has lodged a detainer request for the suspect.

Crowds in the French Quarter during Mardi Gras 2013 in New Orleans, Louisiana. Mardis Gras in the French Quarer was one of Kristie Thibodeaux favorite experiences, according to an online obituary. (iStock)

The slaying took place around 4:30 a.m. on June 30 as part of an armed robbery, New Orleans police said. They arrested all three suspects on July 1. The Orleans Parish Coroner’s Office identified Thibodeaux as the victim on July 2.

Police were asking anyone with information on the case to contact homicide detectives at 504-658-5300.

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Nunez had an active arrest warrant at the time and was wearing an ankle monitor, according to the New Orleans-based FOX 8.

Joshua Aviala-Bonifacio pictured in a booking photo. The Honduras national is one of three suspects charged in the murder of Kristie Thibodeaux, a 43-year-old New Orleans woman who worked as a tour guide in the French Quarter. (Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office)

Aviala-Bonifacio also had a criminal history, including arrests for alleged theft and contributing to the delinquency of juveniles, according to ICE. He also used the alias Joshua Avila.

“This man should have never been in Louisiana,” Gov. Jeff Landry wrote on X. “Enough is enough. We must close our borders and keep our communities safe.”

Nunez’s criminal record on American soil included seven counts of aggravated assault, illegal possession of a handgun and domestic battery, WVUE-TV reported. Nevertheless, Chief Juvenile Court Judge Candice Bates-Anderson sentenced him to house arrest.

Crowds fill Bourbon Street during Mardi Gras in New Orleans, Louisiana. The city’s French Quarter, a tourist hot spot, was where Kristie Thibodeaux spent years giving tours and enjoying the live music culture, according to an online obituary. Then she died in an attempted robbery after three teens approached her with a gun as she sat in her car on St. Peter Street. (iStock)

He allegedly violated the terms in May but was walking free, without real-time digital monitoring, because his ankle monitor had been deactivated, according to the outlet.

The Orleans Parish District Attorney’s Office could not immediately be reached for comment before business hours Thursday. 

Jeff Landry, then the Louisiana attorney general and now the governor, speaks during a news conference outside the Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Monday, Sept. 9, 2019. Landry this week called for an end to unsecured, open borders after authorities revealed at least one of the teen murder suspects in a New Orleans slaying is an illegal immigrant. (Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

“With no guardrails from OJJ and OPJC, we as a city have to seriously consider shutting down electronic monitoring until we can be confident in the competence of the administrators to conduct real monitoring and the commitment of judges to ensure actual accountability for young defendants for violations and noncompliance,” prosecutors said in a statement to local media.

Jerben Albarec, 17, is one of the three teenage suspects charged in the murder of Kristie Thibodeaux, a 43-year-old French Quarter tour guide. (Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office)

The incident reportedly attracted intense scrutiny upon the city’s juvenile justice system and the company that provides ankle monitoring services.

Jill Dennis, of the Assured Supervision Accountability Program, a competing contractor, told FOX 8 the failure to properly monitor violent offenders like Nunez “is chaotic and insane.”

Bourbon Street swells with people celebrating Fat Tuesday, the final day of Mardi Gras, in the French Quarter of New Orleans. Murder victim Kristie Thibodeaux was a French Quarter tour guide. (iStock)

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Immigration and Customs Enforcement did not immediately respond to a request for more information on the suspects.

Thibodeaux would have turned 44 next month. She is survived by her husband, her parents, four siblings and eight nieces and nephews, according to an online obituary.

Thibodeaux loved dogs, motorcycling, her Jeep, her old Mustang convertible and watching the sunset over Lake Pontchartrain with her husband, Jase.

A memorial service was held Wednesday.