A jury in Louisiana convicted a 39-year-old man of beating and stabbing a lady while streaming the incident on Facebook Live before setting fire to the car while the victim was still inside.
Earl Lee Johnson was convicted of first-degree murder in the 2022 death of 34-year-old Janice David in Baton Rouge. According to a courtroom report from local CBS affiliate WAFB, jurors returned the decision in just over an hour following a five-day trial during which they watched the 16-minute livestream video of the brutal crime.
“In the video, he told you exactly what he was doing, and he did it in front of you, and he wanted to do it that way, but that doesn’t mean he is insane,” prosecutor Dana Cummings told the jury during closing statements. “You watched him kill Janice David. I did not create this evidence; he did. And he wanted everyone to see it because he wanted to be famous, just like his son.”
Cummings went on: “You watched him say, ‘She was going to say I raped her, and they’re going to believe her over me. “If I go down, I’ll live forever.”
However, Johnson’s defenders stated during their closing arguments that he was not in his right mind at the time of the murder. He and David were on a multi-day drug binge. Johnson was suffering from a “severe mental defect,” according to his attorney, Hafiz Folami.
As previously reported by Law&Crime, David was found dead in a vehicle at 3636 South Sherwood Forest Boulevard about 9:52 p.m. on April 18, 2022. State police informed the East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office about a Facebook Live video in which a guy stabbed a woman. Deputies discovered the vehicle, according to police.
Johnson was initially detained for vehicle theft, according to officials. He was additionally charged with homicide, theft of a car, and aggravated fleeing an officer.
Lt. L’Jean McKneely, a police spokesman, told The New Orleans Advocate that Johnson and David took drugs heavily several days before the murder. He provided evidence, including Johnson’s statements to police.
Someone watched a video of the incident on Facebook Live and informed Facebook, he said. The corporation then alerted the Louisiana State Police. McKneely referred to the alleged murder as a “very gruesome, very evil act” in which Johnson suffocated, beat, and stabbed David. McKneely stated he then attempted to set fire to the car.
Sentencing is scheduled for December 10.
