Woman tied to steering wheel was fatally stabbed on Facebook Live, Louisiana cops say
A man is facing murder charges in the death of a Baton Rouge woman found bound to a steering wheel after a stabbing attack that was streamed on Facebook Live, according to Louisiana authorities.
Earl Lee Johnson Jr., 35, was arrested and charged with first-degree murder after the fatal stabbing on April 18, Baton Rouge police said in a news release.
The body of Janice David, 34, was discovered in a car parked in the 3600 block of South Sherwood Forest Boulevard just before 10 p.m.
She was found naked after she was choked, beaten and stabbed during the nearly 15-minute social media livestream, police told WAFB. Johnson also tried setting the car on fire, the news station reported.
Investigators said the two may have been on a days-long drug binge before the deadly attack.
“Apparently they were involved in some drug usage together ... and the end result — as everyone has seen on Facebook Live — is a very gruesome, very evil act,” BRPD spokesman Sgt. L’Jean McKneely told WBRZ.
Someone saw the livestream and Louisiana State Police was alerted, Baton Rouge authorities said. Troopers reached out to deputies with the East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff’s Office, who then contacted Baton Rouge police.
Johnson had been arrested hours earlier on a charge of stealing a vehicle, according to a police news release. While he was in custody, officers learned of the fatal stabbing, The Advocate reported.
Johnson was booked into the East Baton Rouge Parish Prison.
Police said the incident remains under investigation.
This story was originally published April 19, 2022 at 11:33 AM with the headline "Woman tied to steering wheel was fatally stabbed on Facebook Live, Louisiana cops say."