Who is Justin Williams? D'Asia Johnson's ex-BF, 24, charged with murder in the 22-year-old brutal killing
Warning: This article contains a recollection of crime and can be triggering to some readers. Discretion is advised.
BROOKLYN, NEW YORK: A 24-year-old man, suspected of butchering his ex-girlfriend with a meat cleaver and then living with her dismembered remains stuffed in two different suitcases in her Brooklyn home for more than a month, has finally been arrested. Justin Williams, 24, was charged on Monday, November 7, with murder and concealment of a human corpse in the brutal killing of 22-year-old D'Asia Johnson, the NYPD said. Williams stabbed Johnson nine times, five times in the front of her torso and four times to the back.
On October 1, 2022, Williams was tracked down by the authorities and was arrested on an unrelated assault, grand larceny, and bail jumping in Nassau County, officials said. According to Nassau County Assistant District Attorney Brittany Gurrieri, Williams remained behind bars as he was a person of interest in Johnson's slaying. It was revealed during a court appearance that Williams' current girlfriend used his Johnson's federal benefits card for purchases in New York City.
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Police discovered Johnson's decomposed remains in the bathroom of her apartment on September 21, on Linwood Street near Atlantic Avenue in the Cypress Hills section of Brooklyn.
Neighbors said that Williams would often beat Johnson in the hallway for months before her murder. “For two years he [was] beating on her, broke her apartment down, broke her legs, broke her ribs,” neighbor Stephanie Harris said, according to New York Post. “Her mom was complaining, ‘I want to get her away from this building. She’s gonna end up dead, please get her away from this building.’ Nobody wants to listen.” Harris said she cried to Johnson trying to warn her about Williams and told her, "Listen, I don't want to see you on the news."
Photos: Justin Williams allegedly charged with murder in the dismemberment death of his girlfriend D’Asia Johnson in East New York on Sept 21. #LloydMitchellPhotography #onthestreetsinBrooklyn #NYPD #AMNewYork #AMNY #photojournalism #journalism #crime #homicide #EastNewYork. pic.twitter.com/eTztufYBwL
— Lloyd Mitchell (@Lloydphoto) November 7, 2022
NYPD Chief of Detectives James Essig on Monday said Johnson had an active order of protection against Williams, but the two were caught on video together between August 17 and 21. They had broken up, but he returned to her for those few days, he said.
Johnson worked her shift at a Queens Macy’s on August 21, returned home, and was never seen alive again. “He has exclusive opportunity into that apartment and then after the 22nd, which we believe is the day the homicide occurs, we never see her again,” Essig told reporters Monday, referring to Williams and the victim. “After the 22nd, Justin Williams’ new girlfriend shows up."
Concerned building security guards tried to check on Johnson before her body was discovered. But Williams turned the guards away at the door and ran off before police made the grisly discovery. Cops also released photos of the five women and one man in October who they said “are being sought as witnesses in connection” to the murder. The surveillance photos were “obtained from the incident location,” cops said.
Williams will face life in prison if he gets convicted on the charges.