Authorities have identified Benita Robinson, but major questions remain about how she died and how her remains reached the waterway.
NEW ORLEANS — More than a month after a bag containing human remains was recovered from Bayou St. John near City Park, authorities have identified the person as 44-year-old Benita Robinson of New Orleans but have not determined how she died.
The Orleans Parish Coroner’s Office announced Robinson’s identity Sept. 2, moving the investigation beyond one major unknown while leaving the circumstances of her death unresolved. New Orleans police have not announced a cause of death, a suspect, an arrest or a motive, and the case has not publicly been classified as a homicide.
The investigation began after a resident in the 5100 block of Bancroft Drive encountered the bag shortly before 5 p.m. Aug. 2. Police said the bag was found in Bayou St. John and pulled from the water by the resident. The location is in the Filmore area near City Park.
NOPD described the investigation at the time as an unclassified death. That classification reflected the limited information available after the discovery and did not establish whether Robinson died from natural causes, an accident or criminal violence.
The location of the discovery was also clarified after the first police account. Authorities initially reported that a body in a bag had been found in a backyard, but police later revised the information and said the bag had been recovered from the Bayou St. John waterway by a resident living nearby.
Robinson’s identification provides investigators and the public with a confirmed name, but officials have not released a timeline explaining when she died or when her remains entered the bayou. No public information has established how long the bag had been in the water before it was found.
Authorities likewise have not disclosed evidence showing how the bag reached that portion of Bayou St. John. No person has been publicly accused of placing it there, and police have not released information connecting another individual to Robinson’s death.
The determination of Robinson’s cause of death remains a key unanswered issue. Such a finding could help clarify the direction of the police investigation, but officials have not said when the coroner’s examination will be completed or when additional results will be made public.
For now, the case remains under investigation with Robinson identified but the manner and cause of her death still unresolved. Authorities have released no further findings about the events that preceded the Aug. 2 discovery.
Author note: Last updated September 3, 2026.