Slayings Of Little Gianni And Mom On Garnsey Avenue: Prosecutors File Murder Charges

JOLIET, IL — Joseph D. Johnson, who comes from University Park, has been charged with several counts of first-degree murder in connection with Sunday's killings of little Gianni Reyes and his mother Joselynn Diaz-Garcia on Joliet's east side. Charges were filed Wednesday just before noon.

Court documents actually listed Johnson as living at the house at 718 Garnsey Avenue where the shootings happened. He is 29 years old. Court files show that a total of six charges of murder have filed.

Joliet Police Spokesman Dwayne English issued the following press release in response to Joliet Patch's inquiry about the filing of charges at the Will County Courthouse.

"Earlier this morning, Joliet Police detectives obtained an arrest warrant for Joseph D. Johnson (29, Joliet) on six counts of First-Degree Murder in connection with the shooting deaths of Joselynn Diaz-Garcia and her four-year-old son on Sunday, January 25, 2026. Johnson remains hospitalized under police guard at Loyola Medical Center in Maywood. Upon his release from medical care, Johnson will be transferred to the Will County Adult Detention Facility."

Since Sunday, Johnson has remained at the Loyola Medical Center in Maywood where he has been recovering from significant injuries to one of his legs where he was shot. Joliet police say that Johnson's gunshot wounds were self-inflicted after he ended the lives of the little boy and the boy's mother. Joliet Police said that the family had only been living at the house on Garnsey for about a month.

Joliet Patch will update this story as more details are known.