EDGARD – As the four-day LaPlace Feed Store homicide trial reached its conclusion late Thursday night, Connie Finckbeiner felt thankful but mostly at a loss from words.

The man she recalls killing her husband, Steven Finckbeiner, and firing a bullet into her face during a February 2014 armed robbery is facing life in prison.

An emotional scene erupted in the Edgard Courthouse shortly after 10 p.m. Thursday when a petit jury found defendant Charles McQuarter III guilty of second degree murder and armed robbery with a firearm. The verdict came after close to two hours of deliberation.

The verdict led to a tense scene that included a thrown object in the courtroom gallery, shouts of profanity from family members and heartbreaking devastation from McQuarter’s mother, who collapsed between sobs and had to be carried out of the courtroom.

Those in attendance were kept in the courtroom for approximately ten minutes while law enforcement secured everyone’s safety.

Connie Finckbeiner was frazzled as more than five years of waiting came to an end. As teary-eyed family members surrounded her, she said, “I’m just glad it’s over.”

The vote to convict McQuarter of second degree murder was 11 in favor, one against. Since the homicide occurred prior to Jan. 1, 2019, a new Louisiana law requiring a unanimous jury to convict did not apply.

While second degree murder carries a life sentence, McQuarter is also charged with armed robbery with a firearm, which carries an additional 10- to 99- year sentence.

Judge J. Sterling Snowdy set sentencing for 2 p.m. April 17 at the LaPlace Courthouse, and a habitual offender bill may open the door to a lengthier sentence.

Prosecuting attorney Lea Hall said he is satisfied with the outcome of the trial.

“I couldn’t be more happy for the family considering the length of time it took to give this case closure,” Hall said. “I feel justice was served.”

Prosecuting attorney Hugo Holland did not feel justice was served to its full extent, which he believes should have been the death penalty.

“We did what we could given the law,” Holland said.

Steven FInckbeiner’s sister, Fay Finckbeiner St. Germain, and family friend Rosemary Correia were relieved at the outcome.

Correia referred to the prosecuting team as “the dynamic duo.” St. Germain said the jury made the right decision to find McQuarter guilty.

Exiting the courtroom, McQuarter’s supporters showed clear disappointment while proclaiming his innocence.

Over the course of the week, both families heard testimony from past and present St. John Sheriff’s Office investigators, expert witnesses and an account from Dracier Dewey, who said he accompanied McQuarter to the Feed Store the day of the homicide.

Day 4 Testimony

Proceedings opened Thursday morning with a brief testimony from the St. John Sheriff’s Office deputy who retrieved crucial video surveillance from Warren’s Auto on Main Street.

Her account was followed by autopsy and forensics testimony from expert witnesses, starting with Dr. Michael DeFatta, chief deputy coroner in St. Tammany Parish.

DeFatta shared his professional interpretation of three gunshot wounds identified during an autopsy performed on Steven Finckbeiner.

According to DeFatta, the bullet that entered through Finckbeiner’s right upper chest cut diagonally through the body, passing through the right lung, the heart, the left lung and into the soft tissue of the lower back. Two bullets fired near Finckbeiner’s right ear came into contact with his skull and traveled into the neck, one touching the spinal cord.

DeFatta could not draw conclusions on the range of fire, the positions of the shooter and victim or the probability of blood spatter staining the shooter’s clothes, factors defense attorneys Lisa Parker and Randy Dukes said cast reasonable doubt on McQuarter’s connection to the crime.

No blood spatter was found on McQuarter’s belongings obtained through a search of his residence. Additionally, the defense argued the absence of DNA, a murder weapon, gun residue and fingerprints at the crime scene left holes in the prosecution’s case.

It isn’t uncommon for bullets to be recovered without firearms or gunshot residue, according to Patrick Lane, a recently retired forensic pathologist who worked 40 years in the Louisiana State Police crime lab.

Tests for gun powder residue are not typically considered more than four hours after a shooting, Lane said. Through investigation, however, he was able to gain information on the gun that shot the bullets found on scene.

The bullets could not have come from the Finckbeiner’s Smith & Wesson firearm kept at the Feed Store “unless the gun was significantly altered from its factory condition,” according to Lane.

“Theoretically, there is a possibility I could be wrong, but I would bet my life I’m not,” Lane said.

Despite a lack of scientific evidence, the jury was able to look to physical evidence from a series of sequential crime camera videos placing McQuarter and Dewey near the Feed Store at the time of the crime.

The videos started with a view of Homewood Place in Reserve, where McQuarter and Dewey resided at the time. Two figures were seen entering a white Crown Victoria, which drove down Airline Highway to Main Street in LaPlace.

Images of two men came into focus in behind-the-counter security camera footage in Mini Hui Mart, where the main case investigator Christy Chauvin identified as McQuarter is seen wearing a black, screen-printed shirt.

Behind him, Dewey was seen in a black-hooded red sweatshirt, listening to music through earbuds.

The men were identified by their clothes in surveillance footage from Redwood Street shortly following the Feed Store killing. Dewey was seen walking, while the man identified as McQuarter ran through the frame carrying what appeared to be the money box of a cash register.

While the cash register was never recovered, Dewey testified to owning the red sweatshirt seen in the video and later discovered in the trash can of a nearby residence. The shirt and shoes found in McQuarter’s residence also aligned with the video, according to Chauvin.

Much of the evidence presented by witnesses was corroborated by Finckbeiner and Dewey’s accounts.

Dewey was indicted alongside McQuarter by a St. John Parish grand jury in May 2014. He is represented by public defender Shannon Battiste, and his trial will be handled separately at an undetermined date.

Two motions for mistrial were made by the defense Thursday, first concerning questions directed to Lane and later to address a disgruntled comment from one of Finckbeiner’s children in the gallery.

Snowdy denied both motions.