MONROE, La. — The long-awaited murder trial of Quinton Tellis has been postponed again because of inclement weather, with Ouachita Parish courts announcing closures for Monday and Tuesday and a new start date set for Wednesday.
The Ouachita Parish Fourth Judicial District Court will remain closed through Tuesday due to hazardous travel conditions from winter weather. As a result, all scheduled proceedings, including the Tellis trial in the 2016 death of Meing Chen Hsiao, have been pushed back, officials said.
The trial is now slated to begin Wednesday, according to court documents. This marks yet another delay in a case that has been pending since 2016 and has seen multiple trial dates set and rescheduled over the years. Court filings and previous news reports show several scheduled trial dates in 2022 and a December 2025 setting before the latest postponement three weeks ago.
On Nov. 29, expert witness Brig. Gen. Paul Rowlett was killed when Jonathan Daryl Morrow ran two stop signs at a high rate of speed and hit his vehicle on Highway 98 as he traveled to Monroe from his home in Florida. That postponed the Dec. 1 court date.
Earlier this month, the court date was postponed again when Assistant District Attorney Holly Jones came down with the flu.
Judge Larry Jefferson set the date again at that time for Monday, Jan. 26.
Tellis, 38, of Panola County, Mississippi, is accused of murdering Hsiao in Monroe in 2015. Prosecutors allege she suffered multiple stab wounds and that Tellis used her debit card after her death. The case has drawn attention in part because Tellis was previously tried twice in Mississippi in the 2014 burning death of Jessica Chambers, with both trials ending in hung juries.
The Ouachita Parish Court closure announcement said all hearings scheduled for Monday and Tuesday are postponed and will be rescheduled once court operations resume. Court is expected to reopen Wednesday morning, weather permitting.
