In the spring of 2010, the city of New Orleans was shaken by a brutal crime that claimed the lives of a young mother and her children. Seven-year-old Jamaria 'J-Lo' Ross, her four-year-old brother, Joseph 'Poppy' Davis, their 25-year-old mother, Angel Davis, and their 17-year-old aunt, Malekia Davis, were all fatally shot on March 25, 2010. The family was discovered in their home on Dale Street in the Lower Ninth Ward, a neighborhood still rebuilding from the devastation of Hurricane Katrina.
The violent nature of the quadruple homicide sent ripples of fear and grief through the community. Jamaria was a student at McDonogh 42 Elementary School, and the loss of two young children in such a senseless act of violence was particularly difficult for the city to comprehend.
The investigation into the horrific killings quickly led New Orleans police to a person of interest. Damian Jordan, who was 22 years old at the time, was identified as a suspect. Investigators revealed that Jordan was the nephew of Angel Davis's boyfriend. He was apprehended shortly after the murders. Initially, Jordan was arrested on a charge of being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm. During the course of their investigation, authorities discovered a second gun at the location of his arrest. This second weapon was believed to be the one used in the slayings of Jamaria, her brother, mother, and aunt. While the motive was not definitively stated, police indicated that it might have been related to money.
Despite the initial arrest and the naming of a strong suspect, the legal proceedings that followed have not been publicly detailed in available online sources. Information regarding whether Damian Jordan was formally charged with the murders, the outcome of any potential trial, or if he was ultimately convicted and sentenced for the deaths of Jamaria Ross and her family members is not readily available in the public record. The narrative of this tragic event, which cut short the lives of four individuals, including two young children, remains incomplete without a clear resolution to the criminal case. The memory of Jamaria, a young girl whose life was violently taken, endures in the accounts of the crime that shocked a city.
