Suspect's girlfriend arrested as accessory in Lynn killing

LYNN - Two days after State Police issued an Amber Alert for an alleged killer accused of abducting his girlfriend and their four children, authorities yesterday arrested the girlfriend on charges that she helped him elude arrest and conceal his crimes, prosecutors said.

Less than 48 hours after the arrest of Rodlyn Petitbois in New York, police in Brooklyn arrested Louna Eveillard of Lynn and charged her with being an accessory after the fact in the murder of Greenland Etienne, according to the Essex district attorney's office.

Petitbois, 25, has been charged with fatally stabbing Etienne.

Eveillard initially told police that Petitbois had forced her and the children, who had been staying with Etienne for several weeks, to go with him to New York. But authorities now allege she lied to investigators and went willingly with Petitbois.

"The version of events Ms. Eveillard gave investigators clearly contradicted the facts of what happened," according to a police report.

Police responded to a call from Etienne's second-floor apartment on High Rock Street at about 1:06 a.m. Wednesday. They found Etienne suffering from a stab wound to the eye. She was pronounced dead a short time later at Massachusetts General Hospital.

Petitbois, Eveillard, and their children - who range in age from 11 months to 3 years - were found Wednesday evening in New York.

During questioning by investigators that night, Petitbois denied stabbing Etienne and said the victim was injured after trying to break up a knife fight between Petitbois and an unnamed person in her apartment early Wednesday, according to the report. He said Eveillard was also cut on the hand while trying to break up the fight.

Petitbois told investigators that Etienne, 33, "tried to get in between them as he was swinging his knife," and then "staggered back and fell down."

"He said he dropped his knife and went to see if she was injured badly," according to the report. "He said that she was not speaking but was making noise. He said the other guy ran from the apartment and chased him."

Petitbois said he returned afterward to his apartment, got some belongings, and went to an unnamed location where his wife and children were staying. In the morning, he said, he told his wife they should take the bus to Brooklyn, where relatives live.

"He said she agreed and left with him," according to the report.

On Thursday, when investigators questioned Eveillard at a precinct in Brooklyn, she denied that she ever had problems with Petitbois.

Witnesses had previously told police that Eveillard was staying with Etienne to avoid being abused by Petitbois.

Eveillard, who is 26, also told police that after arguing with Petitbois, it was Etienne who first grabbed what she described as a serrated bread knife

Eveillard also told authorities she tried to break up the fight and that when she pulled the knife away, she sustained a cut on her hand.

But investigators noticed that she had two cuts on her hands. Also, her description of the timing of the events didn't correspond with what police found.

After the stabbing, she said, she returned to where she and Petitbois lived and watched a movie. But police said they visited the apartment and found no one there at the time.

"Investigators repeatedly asked her about her times and locations," according to the police report. "She repeatedly insisted these times and locations were correct. Investigators told her that they knew she was lying."

Police said they tracked the couple through surveillance cameras at MBTA stations and by a card Eveillard used to take money out of a public assistance account provided by the state Department of Transitional Assistance.

Petitbois will be arraigned Monday in Lynn District Court on charges of murder and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon.

If Eveillard chooses not to fight extradition, she is expected to face arraignment in the same court sometime next week.

David Abel can be reached at dabel@globe.com.