Cresson woman enters plea for moving body in 2021 Johnstown murder

Nov. 22—EBENSBURG, Pa. — A Cresson woman pleaded guilty on Tuesday in Cambria County court for her role in disposing of the body of a man who'd been killed while robbing her then-boyfriend, according to authorities.

Janayah Precious Smith, 25, entered guilty pleas to misdemeanor charges of disorderly conduct and abuse of a corpse before President Judge Norman A. Krumenacker III.

Noah Turous, 20, and Dashawn Green robbed Dionte Demond Jones, 29, during a drug deal in January 2021 inside Jones' home on C Street in Johnstown's West End, which he shared with Smith, Assistant District Attorney Joe Green said during Turous' sentencing hearing in October.

According to authorities, as the pair fled, Jones grabbed a handgun and shot Green in the back of the head, killing him. Green's body was found by a PennDOT worker on Jan. 21, 2021, in a culvert along an Indiana County road.

Joyce Ann Smith, 59, and Joshua K. Edmonds, 29, were charged along with Janayah Smith with abuse of a corpse and hindering apprehension and prosecution, including by providing false identification and destroying evidence. The Smiths and Edmonds are accused of allegedly helping to move Green's body to Indiana County and dumping him in a culvert.

Jones entered a guilty plea to voluntary manslaughter before Judge David Tulowitzki on Oct. 3 and was sentenced to six to 16 years in state prison, with four years of probation.

Turous entered a guilty plea to recklessly endangering another person before Krumenacker last month and was sentenced to 23 months of probation for his role in the robbery that led to the shooting.

The cases of Joyce Smith and Edmonds are currently pending in Cambria County court.