Man charged with murder of Brooklyn girlfriend dismembered and stuffed in suitcases; lived with decomposing remains for a month
A murderous boyfriend who killed a young Brooklyn woman in her apartment and stuffed her dismembered body into two suitcases lived with her decomposing remains for a month, prosecutors said Monday.
Justin Williams stabbed 22-year-old D’Asia Johnson nine times — five in the chest, and four in the back — after she came home from work on Aug. 21, prosecutors said.
He then chopped up her body and used towels and cleaning products to mask the smell while he lived in her apartment until Sept. 21, when building security knocked on Johnson’s door because they hadn’t seen her in a while, according to prosecutors.
Williams, 24, was indicted Monday on charges of murder and concealment of a human corpse in Johnson’s slaying.
He admitted to stabbing her and cutting her up during a nearly two-hour interview with police at the 75th Precinct in Brooklyn on Oct. 1.
“This defendant is accused of the horrific murder and dismemberment of his former girlfriend,” Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said Monday. “I hope that this prosecution brings some measure of solace to D’Asia’s family and friends.”
Johnson’s life came to a horrific end after months of beatings and broken bones she suffered at the hands of Williams, neighbors previously told the Daily News.
Police found Johnson’s decomposing remains in her blood-splattered bathroom on Linwood St. near Atlantic Ave. in Cypress Hills.
She was living in a supportive housing unit for women in crisis, and security staff with the organization running the housing program, HousingPlus, were the ones checking into her well-being on Sept. 21, neighbors said.
Her dismembered body was found jammed into the suitcases, next to a meat cleaver.
Police believe she was killed in an apartment bathroom, and cops also found a serrated knife in the apartment, cops said.
When friends came over to visit, Williams kept the windows wide open, and had his guests use a different bathroom in the apartment.
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 Aug. 17 and 21. They had broken up, but he returned to her for those few days, he said.
She worked at the Macy’s at Queens Center Mall, and was seen on video returning home on Aug. 21, Essig said.
“And then we never see her again,” he said.
Williams was silent at his arraignment in Brooklyn Supreme Court Monday as his lawyer, Erin Darcy of the Legal Aid Society, entered a not-guilty plea on his behalf. Judge Danny Chun ordered him held without bail.
Darcy reserved the right to apply for bail at a later date. She declined comment after the proceeding.
Johnson’s boyfriend would routinely beat her in the hallway, the woman’s friend and neighbor told the Daily News.
“He broke her ribs, her legs, a couple months ago,” Stephanie Harris said after the grisly find. “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.’”
Police arrested Williams on Oct. 1 on an unrelated assault, grand larceny and bail jumping case in Nassau County. He’s been locked up since that arrest, and Nassau County Assistant District Attorney Brittany Gurrieri revealed in court that Williams was a person of interest in Johnson’s slaying.
Williams’ appearance in Nassau court also revealed that he had another girlfriend who was using Johnson’s benefits card after her death.
That other girlfriend, Tatiana Hackett, used the card seven times since the killing, spending more than $500, mostly at supermarkets in Brooklyn, according to a criminal complaint.
She was arrested on Oct. 1 and charged with identity theft, welfare fraud, criminal impersonation and other offenses, and released without bail the next day.
Cops released photos of several people they wanted to question in the killing. They’ve spoken to five of those people, Essig said, and detectives don’t believe Hackett took part in the murder.
“We have no reason to believe that either [Hackett] or any of the other people had any participation in the homicide,” he said.
