Current:Home > NewsMom who threw 2 kids onto LA freeway, killing her infant, appeared agitated by impending eclipse-InfoLens
Mom who threw 2 kids onto LA freeway, killing her infant, appeared agitated by impending eclipse
View Date:2025-01-11 18:03:24
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A woman who authorities say fatally stabbed her partner at their Los Angeles apartment Monday then threw her two children from a moving SUV onto the freeway, killing her infant daughter, was an astrologer who called the impending solar eclipse “the epitome of spiritual warfare” in an online post days earlier.
Los Angeles police believe Danielle Cherakiyah Johnson, 34, posted on X as an astrology influencer and recording artist with the moniker “ Ayoka,” in the days leading up to the violence, which began hours before the eclipse peaked in Southern California, said Lt. Guy Golan.
While detectives have reviewed Johnson’s posts, police are not considering the eclipse to be a precipitating or contributing factor to the slayings “because we just don’t know why she did what she did,” Golan told The Associated Press on Wednesday.
“We’ve taken all the facts we can, but without being able to interview her and without having something more tangible than a post on X, I don’t know how much weight you can give to somebody (saying) there’s an apocalypse and attribute it to one of the most horrific murders we’ve had in LA,” Golan, who is head of the homicide unit investigating the case, said.
Authorities say Johnson and her partner, 29-year-old Jaelen Allen Chaney, had an argument around 3:40 a.m. Monday in their apartment in Woodland Hills, about 25 miles (42 km) northwest of downtown LA. Johnson stabbed Chaney and fled with her kids, an 8-month-old girl and her 9-year-old sister, in a Porsche Cayenne.
Johnson then drove along Interstate 405 in Culver City and threw her daughters out of the moving SUV around 4:30 a.m., police said. The baby was pronounced dead on the road, but the older daughter — who witnessed the stabbing — survived with moderate injuries.
Johnson traveled southwest to Redondo Beach, where a half-hour later she was driving over 100 miles per hour (160 kph) and crashed into a tree. The LAPD is investigating whether the solo crash was an apparent suicide.
The Los Angeles Times first reported on Johnson’s social media activities in connection with the killings.
“Get your protection on and your heart in the right place,” she posted April 4 to more than 105,000 followers on X. “The world is very obviously changing right now and if you ever needed to pick a side, the time to do right in your life is now. Stay strong you got this.”
On April 5, she posted in all caps, “Wake up wake up the apocalypse is here. Everyone who has ears listen. Your time to choose what you believe is now.”
Her social media also included a mix of antisemitic screeds, conspiracy theories about vaccines and warnings about the end of the world alongside astrological predictions and positive affirmations. Also on April 5, she posted the word “LOVE” dozens of times. Her personal website offers a variety of services including “zodiac healing work,” “alcohol balancing system” and an “aura cleanse.”
Johnson’s internet presence and online following dates back years. The Fader, a music magazine, interviewed her in 2016 as an astrology personality.
Golan said there were no calls for police to respond to the couple’s apartment prior to Monday’s killing, when neighbors called 911 after seeing the door open. Johnson did not have a felony criminal record in California and there were no indications of reported domestic violence.
Detectives did not immediately link the Woodland Hills slaying to the daughters, Golan said. He was in the San Fernando Valley neighborhood when he started getting push alerts from news organizations on his cellphone about the infant’s death on the roadway in Culver City. Investigators realized there might be a connection between two missing children from the family’s apartment and the tragedy on the interstate.
“I was like ‘Oh, there’s two young girls who were stranded on the 405 Freeway.’ That is such a random and terrible thing to hear about. And we knew there were two young children,” Golan continued. “We were setting up an Amber Alert.”
Golan said detectives discovered candles and cards inside the apartment, but he was not sure whether they were tarot cards.
“They didn’t look like your standard deck of cards that you would play poker with,” he said.
The solar eclipse’s path of totality stretched from Mazatlán, Mexico, to Newfoundland, Canada, a swath approximately 115 miles (185 kilometers) wide. Revelers were engulfed in darkness at state parks, on city rooftops and in small towns when the moon blocked out the sun, though Southern California only saw a partial eclipse that peaked at 11:12 a.m.
Across the globe, the celestial event spawned fears of the apocalypse and other suspicions rooted in religion and spirituality. But Golan noted that others who posted online about their eclipse-related worries did not commit violence like Johnson.
“How many people wrote about it,” he said, “and didn’t go out and murder somebody?”
veryGood! (61)
Related
- Tech consultant testifies that ‘bad joke’ led to deadly clash with Cash App founder Bob Lee
- United Airlines rolling out plan that lets passengers in economy class with window seats board first
- Game on: Netflix subscribers can test out new video games in limited beta trial
- Fear, frustration for Israeli family as 7 believed to be held by Hamas
- Utah AD Mark Harlan rips officials following loss to BYU, claims game was 'stolen from us'
- Kourtney Kardashian's Daughter Penelope Disick Hilariously Roasts Dad Scott Disick's Dating Life
- Nearly 200 bodies removed from Colorado funeral home accused of improperly storing bodies
- Mega Millions numbers from Tuesday's drawing: Jackpot reaches $69 million
- Here's Your First Look at The White Lotus Season 3 With Blackpink’s Lisa and More Stars
- Former US officials ask Pakistan not to deport Afghans seeking relocation to the United States
Ranking
- Waymo’s robotaxis now open to anyone who wants a driverless ride in Los Angeles
- California tech CEO convicted in COVID-19 and allergy test fraud case sentenced to 8 years in prison
- Activists turn backs on US officials as UN-backed human rights review of United States wraps up
- Two Kansas prison employees fired, six disciplined, after injured inmate was mocked
- Natural gas flares sparked 2 wildfires in North Dakota, state agency says
- As home costs soar, Massachusetts governor unveils $4B proposal to build and preserve housing
- Tropical Storm Tammy forms in tropical Atlantic heading toward group of islands, forecasters say
- Florida Democrat Mucarsel-Powell gets clearer path to challenge US Sen. Rick Scott in 2024
Recommendation
-
Stressing over Election Day? Try these apps and tools to calm your nerves
-
'The House of Doors' offers an ingenious twist, exploring how literature works magic
-
Chicago’s top cop says using police stations as short-term migrant housing is burden for department
-
Florida men plead guilty to charges related to a drive-by-shooting that left 11 wounded
-
MLS Star Marco Angulo Dead at 22 One Month After Car Crash
-
'Dimple maker' trend is taking over TikTok, but could it cause permanent damage?
-
New York Jets trading Mecole Hardman back to Kansas City Chiefs
-
Tropical Storm Norma could become Category 3 hurricane before hitting Mexican resorts at Los Cabos