Authorities on Monday announced charges against a man who allegedly dismembered his girlfriend and stuffed her body in two suitcases.
The Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office said that defendant Justin Williams, 24, lived in the apartment of victim D’Asia Johnson, 22, for a month, masking the decaying smell with towels and cleaning products.
“The defendant allegedly fled the apartment following a wellness check by building personnel who became concerned because they had not seen the victim in a while,” authorities said. “They then called police, who discovered the body.”
Neighbors told local outlets in the Cypress Hills neighborhood that they often heard loud noises from the apartment before Johnson’s death.
A neighbor said he often heard loud noises from the apartment, and that police arrived there several times before.
“A lot of fighting. Arguing, like I said,” the man, who only identified himself as Jeremy, told NBC New York. “You hear arguing, banging, loud stuff, regular stuff. But you can’t—like I said, if you try to interrupt and stuff, you’re putting yourself in a problem you can’t solve.”
Williams inflicted physical abuse on Johnson, said another neighbor, Stephanie Harris.
“He broke her ribs, her legs, a couple months ago,” the neighbor told The New York Daily News. “She came back, she was on crutches. And he broke her apartment down, broke the TVs in her apartment. And I cried to her, like ‘Listen, I don’t want to see you on the news.'”
Building employees discovered Johnson’s apartment blood-soaked on Sept. 21.
A man is accused of killing his 22-year-old girlfriend whose dismembered body was found stuffed in two suitcases in Brooklyn nearly two months ago, police said Monday.
Justin Williams, 24, was charged with murder and concealment of a human corpse in D’Asia Johnson’s death. pic.twitter.com/NYiq4m08Dk
— PIX11 News (@PIX11News) November 7, 2022
#JustinWilliams charged with the brutal murder of D’Asia Johnson in Brooklyn, NY. Her dismembered body was discovered 6 weeks ago in multiple suitcases.@NYDailyNews @rparascandola @JohnAnnese #justice #brooklynhttps://t.co/HceesJpiwW
— Julie Rendelman (@jrendelmanlaw) November 7, 2022
It was determined that Johnson died of stab wounds to her torso. Williams allegedly killed her the early morning of Aug. 22 by stabbing her nine times.
From prosecutors:
The District Attorney said that, according to the investigation, the victim, D’Asia Johnson, went home after work on August 21, 2022, entered her apartment on Linwood Avenue in East New York, and never exited the apartment again. Furthermore, according to the investigation, in the early morning hours of August 22, 2022, the defendant allegedly stabbed the victim nine times – five times to the front of her torso and four times to the back. The defendant and the victim had dated for several years.
Williams was held without bail at an arraignment on Monday. He is scheduled for another hearing to take place Jan. 25, 2023. If convicted, he faces 25 years to life in prison, prosecutors said.
“This defendant is accused of the horrific murder and dismemberment of his former girlfriend,” Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said. “While we can’t erase the tragic and cruel death of D’Asia Johnson, we are fully committed to bringing this defendant to justice. I hope that this prosecution brings a measure of solace to D’Asia’s family and friends.”
[Screenshot via WABC]
