A Louisiana man tied a woman to a BMW's steering wheel then knifed her in the neck on a Facebook Live stream until she died, prosecutors allege.
Earl Lee Johnson Jr, 35, of Baton Rouge, has been charged with the first-degree murder of of 34-year-old Janice David, whose naked body was found by Baton Rouge police on in the partially-torched white BMW 5-Series on Monday night.
Someone who saw video of the attack on a Facebook Live feed notified Facebook, which in turn contacted authorities, according to the reports. The 15-minute video has also been described as 'gruesome,' and has been removed from social media.
During a news conference Tuesday to announce the arrest, police said Johnson and David had been on a dayslong 'drug binge' before he allegedly choked, beat and stabbed her.
A horrific clip showing part of the incident, which is too disturbing to reproduce, shows Johnson accuse his alleged victim of stealing drugs, while she mutters in agreement.
'Apparently they were involved in some drug usage together for a couple of days and the end result — as everyone has seen on Facebook Live — is a very gruesome, very evil act,' police spokesperson L'Jean McKneely said.
Autopsy results are pending on David, 34, who was a Domino's Pizza employee in Louisiana's capital.
This photo provided by Baton Rouge Police Department shows suspect Earl Lee Johnson, 35, who was arrested on a charge of first-degree murder on Tuesday, April 19, 2022, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. He was initially charged with theft of a motor vehicle, and aggravated flight form an officer after a chase with police on Monday
A live streamed fatal stabbing of a 34-year-old woman, Janice David (pictured), on Facebook led police to her naked body in an office building parking lot in Baton Rouge, where she was found attached to a BMW's steering wheel with jumper cables
In a snippet of the gruesome video, shared by Unfiltered with Kiran, Johnson is seen sweating while being shirtless in the BMW's passenger seat, accusing David, who is heavily breathing besides him in the driver's seat, of 'stealing my s***, jump out of the car with drugs.'
The suspect continues to rant on before looking at the cellphone camera, saying: 'and guess what?' before stabbing David in the leg with a knife wrapped in an orange handkerchief.
Right before the video snippet ends, David can be heard panting heavily from the wound and repeatedly begging Johnson to stop, saying 'please' several times.
Johnson Jr recorded the murder on Facebook Live before it was taken down after someone saw the video on social media. In a snippet of the video, the suspect accuses David of stealing his belongings and wanting to flee from him
Baton Rouge police said Johnson and David had been on a dayslong 'drug binge' before he allegedly choked, beat and stabbed her in a BMW that he stole
Meanwhile, investigators added that Johnson tried to light the stolen car up on fire and that he was already in custody when David's body was found, leading to his confession of the gruesome murder.
'We launched our investigation had a recording of the video, already had him in custody, we interviewed him, he admitted to committing the killing,' said Sargeant L'Jean McKneely McKneely, of Baton Rouge Police.
Johnson, possibly David's boyfriend, was initially charged with theft of a motor vehicle, and aggravated flight form an officer after a chase with police on Monday.
He was taken to a local hospital before being incarcerated. If found guilty, Johnson could face anytime between 30 years to life imprisonment behind bars.
The suspect's criminal record further shows that he's already been in trouble with the law after committing several armed robbery arrests in 2005.
As of Tuesday evening, Johnson is booked into the East Baton Rouge Parish Prison although no court date has been decided yet.
