Danielle Cherakiyah Johnson’s X, formerly Twitter, account was full of conspiracy theories about Jews, vaccines and the apocalypse
A mum-of-two murdered her partner and threw her kids out of a moving car before crashing into a tree.
Monday’s solar eclipse was fast approaching, and for Danielle Cherakiyah Johnson, 34, this was ‘the epitome of spiritual warfare’.
Hours later, the Los Angeles woman’s partner and one of her children were dead.
A self-proclaimed ‘divine healer’ and R&B recording artist known as Ayoka, she recently shared a post warning her 104,000 followers not to look at the eclipse as ‘something big is coming’.
Last week she posted on X: ‘The world is very obviously changing right now and if you ever needed to pick a side, the time to do right in your life is now.
‘Stay strong you got this.’
Then she stabbed her partner, Jaelen Allen Chaney, 29, to death during an argument in the kitchen of their flat early on Monday as her daughter looked on in horror.
Neighbours heard Air Force mechanic Jaelen Allan Chaney arguing with Johnson (Picture: Facebook)
She left a trail of blood leading to the lift when she fled the scene, bundling her two daughters – aged eight months and nine years – into a Porsche Cayenne.
After ramming the apartment complex gates with the black car, she then sped down the highway where she chucked both daughters out of the car.
She continued flying down the highway faster than 100mph for 30 minutes before claiming a third life – her own.
The rampage ended before sunrise when she crashed into a tree while driving towards Redondo Beach, which police are treating as a possible suicide.
Her eight-month-old was found dead on the road.
Just her older daughter – who was holding her sister at the time – survived.
The mangled remains of Johnson’s car after she smashed into a tree at high speed (Picture: FOX 11 LA)
She escaped with moderate injuries and the image of her mother as a murderer.
Police didn’t initially link the abandoned girls to the murder at home.
They had found Chaney’s body face down in puddles of blood, wearing nothing but socks and underwear, after neighbours saw a trail of red coming from the open door as they travelled to work.
Detectives were about to issue an amber alert appealing for help locating the missing girls.
Then the push alerts started.
News outlets were reporting on the baby found dead on the road, and the homicide unit started to join the dots.
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Guy Golan, an LAPD officer leading the investigation, said: ‘I was like, “Oh, there’s two young girls who were stranded on the 405 Freeway”.
‘That is such a random and terrible thing to hear about. And we knew there were two young children.’
Johnson’s motive for the killings is unclear.
She had no felony criminal record in California or a documented history of domestic violence.
Police had never previously been called to the couple’s apartment.
Without being able to interview her, police have little insight into her state of mind at the time.
But posts on X, formerly Twitter, in the days leading up to the killings suggest Johnson – known by the alias Ayoka – was on edge.
‘Wake up, wake up, the apocalypse is here’, she posted on April 5.
‘Everyone who has ears listen. Your time to choose what you believe now.
‘If you believe a new world is possible for the people [repost] now.’
Her social media was a jumble of astrological predictions and positive affirmations, mixed with antisemitism and conspiracy theories about vaccines and the eclipse.
Once interviewed by music magazine The Fader as an astrological personality, Johnson advertised ‘zodiac healing work’, an ‘alcohol balancing system’ and an ‘aura cleanse’ on her website.
Detectives found candles, tarot cards and black feathers in her flat.
But police are unsure whether any of this played a role in the murders.
Golan said: ‘We’ve taken all the facts we can, but without being able to interview her and without having something more tangible than a post on X, I don’t know how much weight you can give to somebody (saying) there’s an apocalypse and attribute it to one of the most horrific murders we’ve had in LA.’
He added: ‘We just don’t know why she did what she did.’
Need support?
For emotional support you can call the Samaritans 24-hour helpline on 116 123, email jo@samaritans.org, visit a Samaritans branch in person or go to the Samaritans website.
If you’re a young person, or concerned about a young person, you can also contact PAPYRUS Prevention of Young Suicide UK. Their HOPELINK digital support platform is open 24/7, or you can call 0800 068 4141, text 07860039967 or email: pat@papyrus-uk.org between the hours of 9am and midnight.
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
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