ST. FRANCISVILLE — The parents of a woman found dead in a St. Francisville hotel bathtub are speaking publicly for the first time about their daughter's death and why they believe the investigation wasn't taken seriously.

Debbie and Carl Hinze's daughter Renee died in 2022. Her death was ruled an accident due to drowning, but the case was reopened as a homicide investigation last year. 

"She had three beautiful kids. She was very active in our business," said Debbie. "She loved to hunt and fish. She took the kids to their baseball games. She was at every game that the kids had at school."

The Hinzes say they want to set the record straight about who Renee was. "[Media coverage] just seems to paint Renee as a drug head, and she couldn't have been further from that," said Debbie.

The West Feliciana Sheriff's office received a tip last year that led them to arrest former St. Francisville police officer Richard Parsons in connection with Renee's death. He was charged with negligent homicide and malfeasance in office.

Parsons told investigators he was with Renee the night of her death but that she had fallen and hit her head while taking a shower.

"He just bold-faced lied to us," said Carl.

Debbie says once she got the courage to look at Renee's autopsy report, something stuck out.

"Wait a minute, something stinks here, and there had to be some foul play," she said.

In the report, a list of drugs in her system included TMFPP, a drug known to reduce locomotor activity and cause confusion.

"When I did a little research and found out that drug could be used as a date rape drug, that kind of opened our eyes up to what the heck's going on," said Debbie.

Debbie says she called West Feliciana authorities last summer to bring that fact to their attention. Within weeks, the Sheriff's office arrested Parsons for malfeasance in office. Two months later, the district attorney charged him with negligent homicide. He was formally arrested earlier this month. 

"That's pretty bad when your own parents have to take control, I guess you'd say, and try to get something going," said Debbie. "I don't know if they were trying to just, because it was a police officer, smooth it over so the department or the town would not have any attention, exposure brought to them for this reason."

Sheriff Brian Spillman, District Attorney Sam Daquilla, and the coroner say they can't answer any questions about the case due to the active investigation.