Louisiana
Couple find poison stashed inside “hidden compartment” of Louisiana house
A couple were shocked to discover what was inside a hidden compartment in the bathroom of their 80-year-old home.
Bo Grant lives in Louisiana with her husband in a house they bought nine years ago. The property was originally built in 1948 and, to the surprise of the couple, there was a hidden part in which old items had been stored.
“We thought the wall was open to our attic,” Grant told Newsweek. In a video posted to @marriedtoalunatic on TikTok, which has received over 902,000 views since it was shared on October 30, Grant’s husband can be seen opening the compartment above the shower that had been covered up by previous owners.
@marriedtoalunatic/TikTok
Once the compartment had been unveiled, the couple discovered 21 items inside. The video shows what the couple found, including scrolls of what appears to be decorative wallpaper and old bank checks.
“The oldest dated items we found were from 1941 and 1940,” Grant says in the video. “It was super cool to find some old antique stuff.”
Then, the finds take an eerie turn as the couple find a box labeled as poison tablets and a bottle labeled as poison.
“We do know the original owner’s wife outlived him, for people thinking he used it to kill his wife and hide the evidence,” Grant said. “The original owners have passed away so there is no one for us to contact for more information on the odd things found in there.
“We plan to preserve the historical pieces and frame the wallpaper to keep as heirlooms to share the fascinating story.”
@marriedtoalunatic/TikTok
Grant and her husband are among the many people in the U.S. who bought an existing home rather than a new build; in this case in Louisiana, where the average house price is $198,951, according to Zillow.
In 2023, 4 million people bought existing homes across the country, compared to the under 1 million who bought new builds.
Many were impressed by the couple’s finds and took to the comments of Grant’s video to share their thoughts.
“You should look back in records if there was any past unexplained deaths in your home,” a TikTok user with the name Winter Wonderland said.
“Don’t dispose of it! pass it off to historians to study and preserve,” posted @PandoraPanther. Meanwhile, joseecousineau371 commented: “I’m 65 and I remember when I was young, and I had a knee scrape or cut, my mom would put an antiseptic that was red and it was call mercury chrome.”
Renee Hughes-Bourass wrote: “Everyone loving the wallpaper, it’s cool, but I’m loving the poison bottles!! as a vintage bottle collector to find them with intact labels is amazing. highly collectible! Great finds.”
Have you transformed your house into something you are proud of? Whether it’s a DIY project or a full-scale renovation, share your success stories with us. Let us know via life@newsweek.com, and your dream home could be featured on Newsweek.
Louisiana
After redistricting battles, Southern gathers for Juneteenth celebration: ‘Continue the fight’
Hundreds of community members, alumni and students gathered Thursday to observe Juneteenth on the Southern University campus in Baton Rouge.
The theme of the festivities was “celebrating freedom through culture and community,” but weeks after Louisiana’s bitter redistricting battles, the speakers Thursday morning had one message driving their remarks: Get out and vote.
“Freedom does not come in on the wheels of inevitability,” Louisiana Supreme Court Associate Justice John Michael Guidry said to the crowd. “But it takes the prodigious work and the tireless efforts of those who are willing to continue the fight.”
Great Beginnings summer camper Myni, 4, gets a hello kitty face painting during Southern’s Juneteenth celebration on Thursday, June 18, 2026 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Staff photo by Michael Johnson
The speech kicked off a day of discussions and cultural events centered on the holiday of Juneteenth, which commemorates June 19, 1865, when Union Gen. Gordon Granger brought news of emancipation to enslaved people in Texas more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation was issued.
Speakers at Southern emphasized the need for protection of hard-won rights for Black Americans in the context of redistricting. The sentiments followed a contentious state legislative session that ended with the elimination of one of Louisiana’s two majority-Black congressional districts after the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Louisiana v. Callais.
“That Voting Rights Act is under attack,” Guidry said. “There’s voter intimidation, there’s voter suppression, there are voter ID laws and all types of laws and legal decisions that are trying to deny us our right to vote, and we are the ones who have to go forward and litigate these issues.”
The day opened with a libation ceremony and a rendition of “Lift Every Voice and Sing” by Southern University student Claire Floyd.
Southern University alumnus Jeanet Cazenave said she felt it was important to celebrate Juneteenth on campus as not only a relative of the first dean of Southern University but also a descendant of the GU272, a group of enslaved individuals who were sold to plantations in Louisiana in 1838 by Jesuit priests to pay the debts of what is now Georgetown University in Washington, D.C.
Juneteenth “means everything,” Cazenave said. “It means the past, the present and the future.”
Louisiana
Gov. Landry declares state of emergency after flooding, severe weather across Louisiana
BATON ROUGE, La. (KLFY) — Governor Landry has officially declared Louisiana under state of emergency.
The state emergency declaration covers Avoyelles, Lafourche, Pointe Coupee, St. Landry, St. Tammany and Terrebonne parishes.
The declaration was issued Thursday following the impacts of Tropical Storm Arthur, which brough rainfall and strong storms to parts of the state on June 17 and 18.
Officials said the National Weather Service has confirmed three tornadoes tied to the storm system.
Officials also reported record or near-record rainfall totals in Avoyelles and Pointe Coupee parishes over a 12-hour period.
The order allows the Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness to coordinate resources and provide assistance to local governments if needed.
Certain state purchasing and bidding requirements have been temporarily suspended to speed up emergency response efforts.
The declaration took effect immediately and will remain in place through July 18 unless it is lifted or extended.
State officials are urging residents to stay weather aware, avoid flooded roadways and follow guidance from local emergency managers.
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