New Orleans woman accused of killing Westport woman receives not guilty verdict

FALL RIVER, MA / NEW ORLEANS, LA – A woman accused of killing a Westport woman has been found not guilty.

According to NOLA.com, in a July trial in New Orleans, Louisiana, jurors ruled that the death of 55-year-old Amber Mello was a tragic accident and not a felony.

Orleans District Attorney Leon Cannizzaro’s office back on September 3rd of 2021 secured a murder indictment against a then 26-year-old Asrielle Wise of New Orleans.

Mello, who was a French Quarter tourist with her husband, was struck by Wise’s car in March of 2020.

Wise was charged with the second-degree murder of Mello and with obstructing justice in a homicide investigation in the two-count indictment handed up by an Orleans Parish grand jury. She was facing a mandatory lifetime prison sentence if found guilty of the murder charge, and up to 40 years if convicted on the obstruction count.

Mello, a physician assistant from Westport, was visiting New Orleans with her husband and friends. According to New Orleans police, Mello was nearly struck by a gray 2010 Hyundai Sonata driven by Wise in the 700 block of St. Louis Street just after midnight on March 16, 2020.

The near miss ignited an argument between Mello’s husband, friends, and Wise, the alleged driver. Wise reportedly got out of her car and threw a cup at the group. According to witnesses and surveillance video images, Mello’s husband threw a glass beer bottle at Wise and punched her while a friend pinned her. The altercation was broken up by Amber Mello, who directed her group back to the sidewalk.

However, Wise got back into her car, put the vehicle in reverse and accelerated strongly backward, crushing Amber Mello between her car and a car behind Wise’s. Surveillance video showed Wise’s car accelerated backward so fast, its rear bumper, wheels and undercarriage went on top of the other car’s hood, with Amber Mello underneath. Jeff Mello admitted during the trial that he should not have punched Wise, but that the punch didn’t justify Wise backing up and crushing Amber.

Wise immediately sped away, and Amber Mello died at the scene despite the efforts of New Orleans EMS.

The defense argued that Wise fled the scene scared and didn’t look at the gearshift when she was fleeing from her attackers.

NOLA.com stated that “Wise said she knew she hit the sedan behind her, but she thought the accident was minor because her own car suffered only scratches. She traveled to Lafayette to visit a friend, she said, where she saw the news that Amber Mello had been crushed to death in the crash. She didn’t know that DNA, left on the cup she had tossed at the tourists, connected her to the scene.”

According to testimony, Wise drove to Texas, and was planning on killing herself, being distraught after finding out that she killed someone. A friend persuaded her to turn herself into police.