On March 20, 2022, 24-year-old African American woman Deja Daniels was fatally shot in Jacksonville, Florida, in what authorities described as a road rage incident. Daniels was found with multiple gunshot wounds to the head while seated in the driver's seat of her SUV on Welland Road. She was transported to UF Health Jacksonville, where she succumbed to her injuries several days later. Surveillance footage from the area showed Daniels' vehicle being closely followed by a small black sedan.
Investigators later connected the black sedan to a triple homicide that occurred on April 29, 2022, involving the deaths of Jonisha, Jordan, and Jamonica Williams at the River City Landing apartments in Jacksonville. The suspect in both cases was identified as 37-year-old Terrell Lewis. Lewis was in a relationship with one of the April victims and had an 8-year-old son with her. After the triple homicide, Lewis took his son from the scene, prompting an Amber Alert. The child was later found unharmed.
Further investigation revealed that Lewis' son had witnessed both the triple homicide and the earlier shooting of Deja Daniels. The child informed authorities that his father became angry after Daniels' SUV cut him off in traffic, leading Lewis to shoot her. Ballistic evidence linked shell casings from both crime scenes, and cell phone records placed Lewis at the location of Daniels' shooting.
In August 2023, Terrell Lewis pleaded guilty to four counts of second-degree murder, including the killing of Deja Daniels. He was sentenced to 50 years in prison for the triple homicide and an additional 25 years to life for Daniels' murder. Daniels' family expressed a desire for the sentences to run consecutively, emphasizing the impact of the loss on her 8-year-old son and the community.
