Autopsy reveals meningitis killed Sun Chief of Police

Michael Felix Raymond Jr., the cigar-chomping blues musician turned Sun police chief who died in January this year, was infected with meningitis an autopsy has revealed, St. Tammany Parish Coroner spokesman Mark Lombard said this month.

The confirmation comes months after rumors surrounded the 62-year-old’s cause of death.

Meningitis, a bacterial or viral infection, inflames the membranes that cover the brain and spinal cord and is often spread from infections that are contagious.

Sometimes meningitis can be spread via drops of tiny fluid expelled by a cough or by a sneeze.

Raymond was thought to be caring for an infected family member when he died.

“It’s a medical illness that can be treated if caught earlier enough, but just like anything else …,” Lombard said.

Raymond was 62 when he died, two days shy of his 63rd birthday, Sun Mayor Barbara Gibson said.

Raymond, a 10-year Bogalusa resident who frequently visited New Orleans to play drums in a rhythm and blues rock and roll band — music he called “easy listening,” — was the grandfather of five and one of six siblings.

At the time of his death Raymond, an avid motorcycle rider, was recovering from back surgery, Gibson said. He also battled diabetes.