A mother’s desperate search for her missing daughter ended in heartbreak when she learned the unthinkable: her daughter’s body had been at the New Orleans coroner’s office the entire time.
Danielle Leviege had been missing for weeks. Her mother, Yolanda McPherson, shared her emotional journey in a powerful interview with WDSU investigative reporter Aubrey Killian.
She described the pain of calling, texting, and searching frantically for her daughter, never knowing Danielle had already been found dead and brought to the coroner’s office.
“I just know right before the call the phone rang and when I heard it ring, I felt like I couldn’t breathe,” her mother said through tears.
According to the investigation, Danielle’s body was discovered in a field—“like a piece of trash,” her mother painfully recalled—and taken to the Orleans Parish Coroner’s Office.
However, no one informed the family. Flyers were hung across neighborhoods. Questions went unanswered. Yet the daughter she longed to find had been identified and held in a government facility, without her knowledge.
Left in the Dark
Even more troubling: Danielle’s mother says she only learned of the suspect’s prosecution after her interview with WDSU. She says she had no idea charges had even been filed.
“We need more people to just speak out because my daughter can’t speak out on this anymore,” she said. “She can’t. But as long as I have breath in my body, I’m gonna speak for her.”
McPherson is now demanding answers—and accountability—from multiple agencies, including the New Orleans Police Department, the coroner’s office, and the District Attorney’s office. She says she’s been left in the dark at every stage of the investigation.
A Demand for Systemic Change
The story, which aired as part of a WDSU investigative report, has sparked outrage across social media and calls for greater transparency in how missing persons and unidentified remains are handled in the city.
“DAMN. Who dropped the ball???? Praying 🙏🏾 for this mother,” someone commented on Instagram.
While details about the suspect’s identity or exact charges have not yet been made public, the news outlet reports that the man linked to Danielle’s case could face additional jail time. Still, for Danielle’s mother, the damage is irreparable.
