A man convicted of murdering his influencer girlfriend before setting her car on fire has been sentenced to spend the rest of his life behind bars.
Eugene Louis-Jacques, 24, was found guilty over the killing of 22-year-old social media star Beauty Couch following a trial in Georgia, in the United States.
Couch, known online as Beauty Katera, had built a large following through roller-skating and dance videos, amassing more than 140,000 Instagram followers before her death in 2023, as reported by Need To Know.
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Jurors convicted Louis-Jacques of malice murder, felony murder, aggravated assault, arson, concealing a death and tampering with evidence.
Judge Kimberly Childs sentenced him to life without parole plus an additional 20 years immediately after the verdict was returned.
During the trial, jurors heard allegations that Couch had been stabbed 81 times before her body was discovered near her burning car.
Emergency crews had responded to reports of a vehicle fire in Austell, Georgia, on August 23, 2023.
Prosecutors said Couch’s body was later found in a wooded area nearby, as reported by Court TV.
The case centred heavily on circumstantial and electronic evidence.
Jurors heard that investigators recovered a traffic citation bearing Louis-Jacques’ name close to Couch’s body, which police used to help trace him to Louisiana after the killing.
Authorities later arrested him there after tracking his vehicle.
The court also heard Louis-Jacques initially gave officers a false name following his arrest.
During the trial, defence attorney Bryan Lumpkin argued there was no direct forensic evidence linking his client to the killing, including no blood evidence found in his vehicle or on his clothing.
He also questioned evidence recovered near the scene and urged jurors to consider whether reasonable doubt remained.
However, prosecutors argued Louis-Jacques fled the state following Couch’s death and pointed to electronic evidence placing him near the scene around the time she disappeared.
After the guilty verdict, prosecutor Jared Horowitz urged the court to impose the maximum punishment.
Following the discovery of Couch’s body in 2023, Cobb County Police said “foul play is suspected” after officers located a body matching her description near the burned vehicle.
Her mother, Kimberly Couch, previously described her daughter as “a friend to everybody”.
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