Murders of Keona Holley and Justin Johnson: Difference between revisions - Wikipedia
Article Images
Content deleted Content added
Queen of Hearts 29,985 edits |
Queen of Hearts 29,985 edits |
||
Line 69: }} In the early morning of December 16, 2021, '''Keona Schannel Holley''', a 39-year-old officer with the [[Baltimore Police Department]], and '''Justin Johnson''', a 38-year-old, were fatally [[gunshot wound|shot]] one and a half hours apart in the [[Curtis Bay, Baltimore|Curtis Bay]] and [[Yale Heights]] neighborhoods of [[Baltimore]], respectively. Holley had served the department since 2019, previously being employed at the [[Clifton T. Perkins Hospital Center]], a psychiatric hospital in [[Jessup, Maryland]].{{Efn|Reports conflict on Holley's position at Clifton T. Perkins Hospital; while her friends claimed she was a [[nursing]] assistant, officials reported that she worked security at the hospital.<ref name="Costello et al. 2021" />|name=hospital}} The perpetrators were identified as Elliot Knox,{{efn|name=Knox}} a 31-year-old, and Travon Shaw, Johnson was declared [[Dead on arrival|dead at the scene]], while Holley was sent to the [[University of Maryland Shock Trauma Center]], remaining on [[life support]] for a week, being removed on December 23 and declared dead soon after. After the shooting, [[License plate reader|license plate readers]] identified Knox's car, and he was questioned. While he initially claimed his car was stolen, he later admitted he was at the scenes of the murders, but was not involved in either. He led detectives to a backpack in his house which contained the guns used, a [[Glock 22]] and an [[Armalite rifle|AR]]-style [[pistol]], and several accessories; DNA evidence on the pistol matched with both Knox and Shaw. Knox was found guilty on eight of nine [[Criminal count|counts]] in March 2024, with Shaw being found guilty on all counts in Johnson and Holley's killings in October 2023 and March 2024, respectively. Holley was the first Baltimore police officer to be killed on duty since [[Sean Suiter]], a detective implicated in the [[Gun Trace Task Force]] scandal, who died in 2017. Line 75: == Background == {{stack|[[File:Keona Holley.png|thumb|Keona Holley]]}} Keona Schannel Holley<ref>{{Cite news |last=Kazanjian |first=Glynis |last2=Graf |first2=Heather |date=May 2, 2022 |title=Fallen officers, first responders honored at St. Patrick's 'Blue Mass' on Tuesday |url=https://wjla.com/news/local/saint-st-patrick-catholic-church-blue-mass-washington-dc-us-capitol-police-officer-brian-sicknick-honored-28th-annual-tuesday-may-3-2022 |access-date=August 17, 2024 |work=[[WJLA]]}}</ref> (1981 or 1982{{snd}}December 23, 2021), also known as "KeKe" and the "Mom from the West Side",<ref name="Costello et al. 2021" /> worked her first job at a [[McDonald's]] in [[Baltimore County, Maryland|Baltimore County]] at the age of 16, before pursuing a healthcare career.<ref name="'That was KeKe': Baltimore Pol...">{{Cite news |last=Condon |first=Christine |date=January 9, 2022 |title='That was KeKe': Baltimore Police Officer Keona Holley, fatally shot in her patrol car, remembered during viewing |url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/2022/01/09/that-was-keke-baltimore-police-officer-keona-holley-fatally-shot-in-her-patrol-car-remembered-during-viewing/? |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240120093718/https://www.baltimoresun.com/2022/01/09/that-was-keke-baltimore-police-officer-keona-holley-fatally-shot-in-her-patrol-car-remembered-during-viewing/ |archive-date=January 20, 2024 |access-date=March 17, 2024 |work=[[The Baltimore Sun]]}}</ref> She had been employed at the [[Clifton T. Perkins Hospital Center]], a psychiatric hospital in [[Jessup, Maryland]],{{Efn||name=hospital}} before leaving in 2019 and joining the [[Baltimore Police Department]] (BPD) academy, claiming her motive for joining the department was bringing change to an embattled department, serving her second year as an officer at the time of the shooting.<ref name="Lu 2021">{{Cite news |last=Lu |first=Amy |date=December 24, 2021 |title=Police: Baltimore officer injured in ambush shooting dies |url=https://www.wbaltv.com/article/baltimore-police-officer-keona-holley-shot-dies/38549233 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231003030717/https://www.wbaltv.com/article/baltimore-police-officer-keona-holley-shot-dies/38549233 |archive-date=October 3, 2023 |access-date=March 19, 2024 |work=[[WBAL-TV]]}}</ref> She attended [[Edmondson High School]] in southwestern Baltimore and had four children as well as one grandchild.<ref name="Lewis et al. 2021">{{Cite news |last1=Louis |first1=Billy Jean |last2=Anderson |first2=Jessica |date=December 16, 2021 |title=Two years after joining Baltimore Police to make a difference, Officer Keona Holley is fighting for her life |url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/2021/12/16/two-years-after-joining-baltimore-police-to-make-a-difference-officer-keona-holley-is-fighting-for-her-life/? |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240309220630/https://www.baltimoresun.com/2021/12/16/two-years-after-joining-baltimore-police-to-make-a-difference-officer-keona-holley-is-fighting-for-her-life/ |archive-date=March 9, 2024 |access-date=March 17, 2024 |work=[[The Baltimore Sun]]}}</ref><ref name="Mann et al. 2024">{{Cite news |last1=Mann |first1=Alex |last2=Mullan |first2=Dillon |last3=Costello |first3=Darcy |date=March 6, 2024 |title=Baltimore jury finds man guilty of murder in killings of Officer Keona Holley, second victim |url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/2024/03/06/keona-holley-verdict-elliot-knox-murder-trial/ |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240320014512/https://www.baltimoresun.com/2024/03/06/keona-holley-verdict-elliot-knox-murder-trial/ |archive-date=March 20, 2024 |access-date=March 6, 2024 |work=[[The Baltimore Sun]]}}</ref> {{blockquote|I didn’t want to be a Baltimore police officer before. I feel like Baltimore city police officers have a bad name about themselves. We have to change that, and change it together. The community needs Baltimore city police officers that’s{{sic}} not just here for a paycheck. They’re here because they care.|Holley, 2020<ref name="Costello et al. 2021" /><ref name="Lewis et al. 2021" />}} Justin Johnson was born in 1993 or 1994, the fourth of seven children. Johnson had five children, who were aged one to 18, at the time of his death.<ref name=" Elliot M. Knox{{efn|name=Knox}} and Travon Shaw, the two perpetrators, were == Shootings == Around 1:35{{nbsp}}a.m. [[Eastern Time Zone|EST]] on December 16, 2021, Holley, who was working [[overtime]] in the [[Curtis Bay, Baltimore|Curtis Bay]] neighborhood of [[Baltimore]], was ambushed and shot while in her [[patrol car]]. After being shot, her car rolled across the 4400 block of [[Pennington Avenue]], going through a fence before going over an embankment into a park. She was shot twice in the back of the head, damaging her brain and neck.<ref name="Lu 2021" /><ref name="Mann et al. 2024" /><ref name="Mann 2024a">{{Cite news |last=Mann |first=Alex |date=February 28, 2024 |title=Confession in Baltimore Officer Holley murder case provides new details, fails to answer biggest mystery: Why? |url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/2024/02/28/confession-in-baltimore-officer-holley-murder-case-provides-new-details-fails-to-answer-biggest-mystery-why/ |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240306012319/https://www.baltimoresun.com/2024/02/28/confession-in-baltimore-officer-holley-murder-case-provides-new-details-fails-to-answer-biggest-mystery-why/ |archive-date=March 6, 2024 |access-date=March 7, 2024 |work=[[The Baltimore Sun]]}}</ref> Holley was sent to the [[University of Maryland Shock Trauma Center]], where she was put on life support and described by a doctor as "critically ill" Around 3{{nbsp}}a.m. the same day, in the neighborhood of [[Yale Heights]], Johnson, who was sitting in his 1997 [[Lincoln Town Car]] in the 600 block of Lucia Avenue, was shot six times in the back, damaging his spine, lungs, and heart. He was pronounced [[Dead on arrival|dead at the scene]].<ref name="Mann 2024a" /><ref name="Mann et al. 2024" /> | |||