Mandeville man convicted of second-degree murder

St. Tammany News

A Mandeville man was sentenced to life in prison Thursday after being convicted of second-degree murder.

William Wayne Lee, 34, was found guilty in the 22nd Judicial District Court in Covington on Feb. 9 after a five-day trial. His conviction made life imprisonment mandatory under Louisiana law.

Lee was arrested nearly four years ago, following the death of his girlfriend, Audra Bland, 38 of Hammond on Sept. 12, 2003. An autopsy later revealed she had been bludgeoned to death.

The two had fought over Bland's behavior at a party at a Mississippi gulf coast casino.

"He believed she was behaving in a flirtatious manner," Rick Wood, spokesman for the District Attorney's office, said.

The two returned to Lee's parent's house in Mandeville and Bland was found dead later that day.

Lee turned himself in, but told police Bland had fallen and hit her head. The St. Tammany Parish Coroner's Office said she died from multiple blows to the head.