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October 13, 2023October 13, 2023: 16th Judicial District Attorney Bo Duhé announces that:
In July of this year, Jayden Vongchanh, 18, was found guilty of manslaughter. Vongchanh was a juvenile at the time of the offense, but due to the seriousness of the charges, he was tried as an adult.
Vongchanh’s conviction stems from the murder of Liam McDuff, a 19-year-old LSU student. On December 13, 2020, Vongchanh and his friends went to a party in Iberia Parish. After Vongchanh’s group became disruptive, they were told to leave the property. As Vongchanh’s group was getting in their car to leave, Vongchanh pulled out a handgun and shot McDuff. McDuff died as a result of his wounds. Shortly after, Vongchanh made a social media post boasting about the shooting.
At the time of the shooting, Vongchanh had escaped from a juvenile facility in Baton Rouge and had been on the run for almost 60 days. Further, as a juvenile, Vongchanh was prohibited from possessing a handgun.
A sentencing hearing was held on October 12, 2023, before the Honorable Curtis Sigur. In addition to victim impact statements from Liam McDuff’s family, evidence presented at sentencing included that Vongchanh had been previously convicted of first-degree robbery as a juvenile and, while in the custody of a juvenile facility awaiting trial in this case, was convicted of second-degree battery. Both of those juvenile convictions were for crimes of violence.
Judge Sigur sentenced Vongchanh to forty years at hard labor for the murder of Liam McDuff. Because Vongchanh was a juvenile at the time of the offense, he will be parole eligible after twenty-five years.
Assistant District Attorney Ashley Hammons prosecuted the sentencing. The Iberia Parish Sheriff’s Office investigated the case, with assistance from multiple other agencies including the Attorney General’s Office, Louisiana State Police, and the New Iberia Police Department.
