Crime & Safety
Slain Toddler's Father Admits Shooting Girl, Mom: Police
Prince George's County Police say the father of a toddler has admitted killing the child and her mother, an elementary school teacher.
Updated at 6:30 p.m.
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FORT WASHINGTON, MD — One day after the grisly murders of a Prince George’s County teacher and her two-year-old daughter left students in tears, authorities have charged the girl’s father with both slayings.
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On Twitter, the Prince George’s County Police Department said Tuesday that Daron Maurice Boswell-Johnson, 25, of Forestville was arrested Tuesday and has admitted his involvement in the mother/daughter homicide.
Elementary school teacher Neshante Alesha Davis, 26, and her two-year-old daughter, Chloe Nichole Davis-Green, both of the 1300 block of Palmer Road in Fort Washington were shot to death.
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Davis was found in a parking lot at her home and the little girl was found in a nearby car, both with gunshot wounds. Davis was pronounced dead at the scene; her daughter died at an area hospital.
Investigators believe Boswell-Johnson went to Davis’ townhome to confront her about child support issues.
According to Maryland online court records, Davis took the suspect to court last year; a paternity test found that Boswell-Johnson was the child’s father. A Prince George’s County judge in December 2015 ordered Boswell-Johnson to pay $600 a month in child support.
He faces two counts of first- and second-degree murder. He’s expected to be held on a no-bond status.
The Prince George’s County Educators’ Association said in a statement that Davis was a teacher at Bradbury Heights Elementary School in Capitol Heights. According to the school’s website, she taught second grade.
Tiffany Byrd told The Washington Post her son, who was a student in Davis’s class, improved his reading scores with extra help from the teacher.
“She was really kind and very patient,” Byrd said. “Everything she did, she did with extra care and attention.”
Byrd’s son said he and his classmates cried when they were told that their teacher would not be coming back.
Interim Police Chief Hank Stawinski said Tuesday, “This is a profoundly sad day and my prayers go out to the family of the victims of this crime that frankly shocks the conscience. The notion that someone would be bold enough take the life of a child and take the life of a young woman and not think that there would be consequences is simply unacceptable in Prince George’s County.”
Angela Alsobrooks, state’s attorney, said, “We are absolutely grief stricken, I am enraged that another baby lost a life here in our community.”
The prosecutor said it is unacceptable that a child should be killed in this way, and her office will hold the perpetrator accountable.
PGCEA President Theresa Mitchell Dudley said of Davis’ death, “This is a great tragedy. The violence in our community affects everyone, our educators, our children, our families. PGCEA is devastated by this heinous act and will remain vigilant in educating residents and our students about the need to stop the violence in Prince George’s County.”
»Screenshot of homicide victims Neshante Alesha Davis and Chloe Nichole Davis-Green from WUSA; photo of Daron Maurice Boswell-Johnson, 25, of Forestville courtesy of Prince George’s County Police
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