A Louisiana hunting trip turned tragic when a father described as having a “heart of gold” was accidentally shot and killed last month.

Garret Verdun, 45, died when a hunting rifle accidentally discharged as he and his hunting partner were walking to their hunting spots in Lafourche Parish around 4 p.m. on Nov. 29, the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) said in a news release.

Verdun’s partner told LDWF the two had just crossed a cattle guard when Verdun passed him the rifle and it went off. The .308-caliber round struck Verdun, killing him before first responders arrived, officials said.

His body was turned over to the Lafourche Parish Coroner’s Office. LDWF is assisting the Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Office with the investigation.

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Verdun is survived by his 19-year-old  daughter Chloe, his son Ethan, and his fiancée Tiffany Hunter.

Chloe paid tribute to her father on Facebook, writing, “I wish more than anything I wouldn’t be making this post, but I’m so blessed to have shared 19 years with you. I love you forever, Dad, and always will.”

She added: “You will forever be my role model and favorite person. Until we meet again, forever will be your love bug.”

An online obituary remembered Verdun as a man with a “heart of gold” who was “ready to lend a hand or offer a comforting word,” noting that “his life, though too short, was rich with deep relationships and a boundless capacity for love.”

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It said his greatest joy came from time spent with his children, fiancée and family.

“Garret was an avid outdoorsman at heart,” the obituary continued. “He was gifted with hands of a craftsman and enjoyed carpentry and building things. Above all else, his family was his passion, always putting them first. He will be missed by all who knew him.”

The family asks that those wishing to honor Verdun to donate in his name to the Wounded Warrior Project rather than send flowers.

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LDWF reminded hunters to keep firearms unloaded and safeties engaged while traveling to and from their hunting locations.

The guilty plea by former Colleton County Clerk Becky Hill may draw questions surrounding Alex Murdaugh’s bid for retrial, but it is unlikely to sway the state’s highest court as it considers whether he deserves a new trial, according to former South Carolina Attorney General Charlie Condon.

Hill, who oversaw jury management and courtroom logistics during Murdaugh’s 2023 murder trial, pleaded guilty Monday to perjury, obstruction of justice and misconduct in office. She also admitted to showing journalists sealed exhibits, misusing public funds and promoting her book about the trial while in office. A judge sentenced her to three years probation.

Hill’s long-awaited plea comes less than two months before the South Carolina Supreme Court is scheduled to hear arguments in February on Murdaugh’s bid for retrial. His defense team has pointed to Hill’s misconduct as evidence that jury integrity was compromised.

“I do think it will be one of their grounds, and it does have some appeal to the public,” Condon told Fox News Digital. “But from a legal standpoint, I really don’t think it’s the strongest grounds [for a retrial]. In fact, I think it’s their weakest one.”

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Hill became central to Murdaugh’s bid for retrial after several jurors alleged she made improper comments during the trial and took members of the media into the courthouse after hours to review exhibits. The allegation led to an evidentiary hearing before former Chief Justice Jean Toal in January 2024, who questioned all 12 jurors.

“Eleven of the twelve clearly stated under oath that none of this affected their verdict whatsoever. There was one juror called juror Z, and she was very ambivalent. She first said that it did affect her verdict, then later on in her testimony, she said she stuck by her affidavit where she said that the other jurors pressured her into her verdict, which of course happens all the time in a jury situation, which wouldn’t be a grounds for an appeal,” Condon said.

“I think when our Supreme Court hears this, it will not be an effective ground to get a new trial,” he said.

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While Hill’s behavior was “disappointing,” Condon said, the Palmetto State’s law requires that a defendant show either actual prejudice or probable impact on the jury’s decision. Condon argued that Murdaugh’s defense team, led by Dick Harpootlian, couldn’t meet the state’s threshold to guarantee a new trial.

“The judge was right to focus on the fact that there’s no evidence it affected the actual process,” Condon said. “Given her lack of a prior record, what she’s done for the community, and that no jury tampering had any effect on the outcome, I think the probation sentence is appropriate.”

Condon said that he thinks the defense may find more traction in arguing about the trial judge’s decision to allow extensive evidence related to Murdaugh’s financial crimes.

In the six-week 2023 trial, prosecutors spent nearly two weeks presenting testimony on Murdaugh’s financial wrongdoing that was not directly tied to the murder charges but was offered to establish motive.

“One could argue that that was just way too much,” Condon said. “But even on that ground, the record will show that if it rises to a level of concern, the court may end up saying it’s a harmless error or that the defense opened the door.”

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Condon, who sat through Murdaugh’s murder trial, said that even if a second trial were granted, he still believes the disgraced attorney would be convicted.

“I do think that, from an appellate standpoint, given the Himalayan mountain of evidence against Alex Murdaugh, he is unlikely to receive a new murder trial. At the end of the day, I don’t think Murdaugh gets that new trial. And even if he did, which I doubt, he is going to remain in prison for the rest of his life—either in state or federal custody.”

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Even if Murdaugh were granted a retrial, he would remain incarcerated due to his lengthy state and federal sentences related to his financial crimes. But Condon believes Murdaugh is “highly motivated” to clear the murder conviction, in part because of the stain on his family’s legacy.

“My expectation is that this court is going to affirm these murder verdicts,” he said. “Alex Murdaugh will not only remain in prison, but he’ll remain in prison for being a murderer.”

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Murdaugh was convicted in March 2023 of killing his wife and son and sentenced to life in prison without parole.

In a statement to Fox News, Murdaugh’s defense attorney said: “The guilty plea is not surprising. More importantly, the agency expected to impartially investigate these charges has a vested interest in avoiding any outcome that would question the verdict of the initial Alex Murdaugh murder trial. If Becky admittedly perjured herself in the jury tampering hearing held by Judge Toal, what else could she have lied about?”

Fox News Digital has reached out to Hill’s attorney, Will Lewis, for comment. 

Education has been on my mind a lot lately as I continue my Walk Across America through the gentle hills of North Carolina. Part of why I’m doing this walk is that I have seen how the lowering of education standards over the last 60 years has devastated Black communities, such as the one I live in on the South Side of Chicago. Without a proper education, one cannot go far in life in America. It is my ambition to reverse this insidious and life-sucking trend everywhere in America and when I reached the city of Raleigh I decided to visit two schools that I heard were successful.

The school for the boys is called Iron Academy and the girls’ school is called Academy31. They both sit on the same campus in separate buildings and yet their mission is the same: Raise kids the way God designed for them, strong in faith and ready for life.

When I walked into Iron Academy, the boys looked me in the eye and shook my hand like men. They talked about responsibility like it was normal. I’m so used to stressing responsibility to my own youth that it is sometimes startling when I see it ingrained in a child. All of these kids were regular boys who understood that the purpose of school was to go home each day having learned something of consequence.

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The small classes (15:1 ratio) were led by Christian teachers who actually knew each student’s name. Their mission is to “develop young men of biblical manhood and integrity.” Each student is required to lead an initiative of some sort, and that is core to the program. In addition to the books, there is a heavy emphasis on physical training, public speaking, working with their hands and using Scripture as the guiding foundation.

The results show improvement: grades jump, attitudes straighten and young men start acting like somebody’s counting on them, because somebody is. Every year, Iron Academy publishes outcome data that shows an average 8.7-point IQ increase after the first year of enrollment.

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Then I walked the path across the campus to Academy31. The vibe in the air was different but the strength and conviction were the same. The girls greeted me with quiet confidence. They resembled the Proverbs 31 woman: smart, capable, kind and fearless.

I saw these girls studying Latin, logic and literature right alongside cooking, finances, and how to run a home or a business. They were surrounded by mentors who were the older students discipling the younger ones. The school felt like a house full of sisters who decided the world doesn’t get to tell them who they are — God already did.

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What I loved about these two North Carolina schools was that there was no co-ed chaos, no watering down of standards or behavior to keep everybody comfortable. Boys get to be boys and figure out what it means to strive for biblical manhood without apology.

Girls get to be girls and grow into biblical womanhood without competition. Growth is the key word here. Both the boys and girls are given the time and space to grow into their own selves and that allows their roots to grow strong and firm. And because the schools sit right next to each other, the boys learn to respect the girls and the girls learn to respect the boys — the old-fashioned way that still works.

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I stood there on that campus thinking about the kids back on the South Side. Fatherless boys wandering the block, looking hard because nobody ever showed them how to be strong the right way. Girls raising babies while they’re still babies themselves because nobody taught them their worth. We keep throwing money at programs that treat symptoms and wonder why nothing changes.

This is the answer I’ve been praying for.

We don’t need another government report or celebrity PSA. We need places where boys become men of God and girls become women of God, separate when it helps them grow, together when it teaches them honor.

North Carolina already has the blueprint. Iron Academy and Academy31 are proving it works, one young man and one young woman at a time.

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When I get back to Chicago, Project H.O.O.D. is starting two schools of our own, one for boys and one for girls. Small at first. Biblical from the foundation. No excuses, no shortcuts. We’ll teach reading, writing and arithmetic, but more than that, we’ll teach character, courage and Christ.

Because strong boys and strong girls don’t just happen. Somebody has to build them on purpose.

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