On a crisp November evening in 2018, the life of 17-year-old Johni Dunia was tragically cut short on a bike path in Cohoes, New York. A junior at Albany High School, Johni was a refugee from the Democratic Republic of Congo who had settled in the Capital Region with his family after initially moving to Massachusetts. He was described by his mother as a friendly and smart young man who could easily make friends and was proud of his good grades.
On the night of November 16th, he was found fatally shot on the Mohawk-Hudson bike path.
The investigation into Johni's death moved swiftly, and within days, authorities announced the arrest of 22-year-old Thomas Slivienski of Watervliet. The Cohoes and State Police worked together, utilizing technical assistance from the Capital Region Crime Analysis Center and the FBI to identify Slivienski as the suspect. It was revealed that the victim and the suspect were acquainted with each other. The motive, as presented by prosecutors, was revenge. It was alleged that Johni and his friends had robbed Slivienski of marijuana on two prior occasions. In an act of deadly retribution, Slivienski reportedly lured Johni to the bike path under the pretense of a drug deal and then shot him.
Following his arrest, Thomas Slivienski was charged with second-degree murder and criminal possession of a weapon. An Albany County grand jury indicted him on these felony counts. He pleaded not guilty and was remanded to the Albany County Jail without bail. In September 2019, a jury took only about two hours to convict Slivienski on both charges. He was subsequently sentenced to 25 years to life in prison for the murder of Johni Dunia. An appeal was later filed on behalf of Slivienski, arguing that his statements to police were improperly admitted as evidence during his trial, but as of early 2022, he was serving his sentence at a maximum-security correctional facility.
