[StBernard] Wayne Landry One of Last People to See "Treme" Actor Michael Showers Alive

[Westley Annis]

Surveillance video reveals new details in death of "Treme" actor

wwltv.com

Posted on September 29, 2011 at 10:21 PM

Updated today at 6:36 AM

Monica Hernandez / Eyewitness News

NEW ORLEANS -- 4 Investigates has learned new details in the death of an
actor on the show, "Treme," whose body was found in the Mississippi River
last month.

4 Investigates obtained surveillance video never before seen by the public.
It shows Michael Showers on the last night he was seen alive.

The video shows Showers ordering a drink, and speaking with several people
inside a Bourbon Street bar, Funky 544, in the early morning hours of Aug.
23.

The next day, investigators found Showers' body in the Mississippi River.
His death was ruled a drowning, but Eyewitness News has learned that doesn't
mean the case is closed.

Showers' death remains unclassified, and NOPD is still looking into whether
it was an accident, suicide or something else.

New Orleans police wouldn't go into details or speak on camera, but a
spokeswoman said, "There is no suspicion of foul play at this time, but
we're investigating all the circmustances of Mr. Showers' death."

Through a public records request, 4 Investigates also obtained an in-depth
follow-up to a missing persons report from the St. Bernard Sheriff's Office.
Showers had lived in Chalmette for about a year with his girlfriend, who
first reported him missing in St. Bernard.

The report shows Showers' girlfriend told authorities Showers wasn't
supposed to drink, because he was on a number of medications after being
diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis a few months earlier.

Still, investigators said Showers drank at two bars with a friend, Michael
Richards, that night.

The first was Desi Romano's in Chalmette, where, according to the report,
Showers asked a bartender he knew if she could watch his dogs the next week
because he was going out of town.

The second was Funky 544, where Richards introduced Showers to Wayne Landry,
a candidate for sheriff in St. Bernard Parish.

Landry said in a statement Thursday, "I absolutely have no recollection of
meeting Michael Showers. It seems to me if the authorities saw the tape,
they would have approached me to see if I know the guy."

According to the police report, Showers and Richards left Funky 544 around 2
a.m. Aug. 23. In the report, Richards said they were followed by two women
who had agreed to go to to a hotel with them.

The report said outside surveillance cameras revealed the four outside the
bar. It said Showers could barely walk, stumbling into a wall on Toulouse
Street, between Bourbon and Royal. One of the woman helped him along.

But according to Richards' statement, when one of the women made a sexual
move toward Showers, he took off running toward the river, rounding the
corner at Royal Street. It was the last time he was seen alive.

Now, Shower's death remains a mystery, and his girlfriend said she hopes
NOPD is doing all they can to find answers to what really happened.