ST. FRANCISVILLE — The WBRZ Investigative Unit has learned new details about the day a woman was found dead in a St. Francisville hotel bathtub in 2022.

Former St. Francisville Police officer Richard Parsons Jr. was arrested in connection to the death Monday.

He posted a $150,000 bond and walked out of the West Feliciana jail after turning himself in on a negligent homicide charge. Parsons was in jail for about an hour before bonding out. The WBRZ Investigative Unit waited outside for him to appear.

Parsons had been walking free for the last four years, despite being the last person to see Renee Hinze alive. Authorities found Hinze dead in a bathtub in a hotel room in March 2022.

The district attorney's office did not charge Parsons in connection with her death until last year. District Attorney Sam D'Aquilla charged Parsons with negligent homicide after they learned new information about the case.

That information likely included that Hinze and Parsons had been together the night she died and that she allegedly had a date-rape drug in her system. But the WBRZ Investigative Unit has learned that information may not have been new.

A source close to the investigation says Parsons was on scene when deputies arrived that day. He was wearing his police department-issued pants and just an undershirt.

Sources said the hotel room was littered with alcohol and pill bottles. The victim was found lying on her right side in a half-empty bathtub. There was no water on the ground by the tub, and it didn't appear that any lifesaving measures had been taken.

A copy of the autopsy report from the coroner's office says that Hinze drowned from an accidental drug overdose.

Multiple drugs were found in her system, but the exact kinds were not listed on the coroner's report. 

Personnel from the sheriff's office and police department responded to the initial call of an unresponsive female. At the time, Hinze's death was treated as an accidental overdose and not a homicide scene.

The WBRZ Investigative Unit attempted to get a copy of the initial report written that day in 2022, but WFSO instead provided us with a report that simply says "drowning" with Parsons' updated arrest added. The sheriff, district attorney, and coroner say they can't answer any questions due to the active investigation.