Families of Murdered Insurance Investigators to Get State Compensation

State lawmakers have agreed to give compensation to the families of two unarmed Louisiana insurance fraud investigators who were shot and killed earlier this month while looking into a fraud case.

Existing law will be expanded to make the investigators’ families eligible for payments the state makes to survivors of law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty. Spouses can receive a $250,000 payment and dependent children $25,000.

Kim Sledge and Rhett Jeansonne had been on what appeared to be a routine assignment to collect records from a suspended insurance agent in Ville Platte, when state police say the agent shot the investigators and then shot himself.

The compensation bill was given final passage with a unanimous Senate vote.

Senate Bill 271 can be found at www.legis.state.la.us