Darnesha Arabella Johnson, a 26-year-old Black woman from Cleveland, Ohio, was killed in March 2021. Her life was cut short in an act of violence that left her family and community seeking answers.
In the early morning hours of Saturday, March 20, 2021, multiple drivers on Interstate 77 called 911 to report a body on the side of the highway. Shortly before 1 a.m., Cleveland police arrived at the scene on the northbound berm near the Woodland Avenue exit.
They found Darnesha on the ground, unresponsive. She had sustained multiple gunshot wounds to her head and neck and was pronounced dead at the scene.
The Cleveland Division of Police immediately began an investigation into the homicide. The case moved quickly, and just four days later, authorities made an arrest. On Wednesday, March 24, the U.S. Marshals' Northern Ohio Violent Fugitive Task Force located their suspect, 26-year-old Deandra Chisholm, at a home in Cleveland’s Clark-Fulton neighborhood. He was discovered hiding in the attic of a residence on the 3300 block of Meyer Avenue and was taken into custody.
Following the arrest, U.S. Marshal Pete Elliott commented on the case. “A senseless act of violence such as this will not be tolerated in the city of Cleveland or anywhere in our communities in Northern Ohio,” he stated. “Our task force will continue to work together with our local partners to ensure that as soon as violent fugitives such as this are identified, they are arrested and brought to justice.” As of the arrest in March 2021, the case against Chisholm was proceeding.
