ST. FRANCISVILLE — A former St. Francisville Police officer who was arrested after a woman was found dead in a hotel bathtub was formally charged with manslaughter Tuesday. 

Richard Parsons Jr. was arrested and charged with negligent homicide in the 2022 death of Renee Hinze. On Tuesday, a grand jury decided to charge Parsons with manslaughter. District Attorney Sam D'Aquila was seeking second-degree murder charges. 

Sources told the WBRZ Investigative Unit that Hinze's death was originally investigated as an accidental overdose on her own medication, but new evidence came to light the second time her toxicology results were analyzed.

One or two days before her death, Hinze was allegedly riding around in Parsons' marked police unit, which is a violation of St. Francisville Police Department policy.

He was arrested and booked into jail for malfeasance in office in August 2025. Through further investigation, Parsons was formally charged with negligent homicide.

According to Parsons' employment history, he resigned from St. Francisville PD shortly before he was arrested and was hired at the Slaughter Police Department. He worked there until he was fired in 2024, following an arrest for domestic violence.

Documents obtained by the WBRZ Investigative Unit show Parsons was arrested in Brusly on April 13, 2024, for false imprisonment when the offender is armed with a dangerous weapon and domestic abuse battery.