Janiah B. Thomas was a 20-year-old mother of two young children who was looking forward to welcoming a third. A Black woman from Decatur, Illinois, she was described as a loving presence in the lives of her 4-year-old daughter and 2-year-old son.
On the afternoon of March 8, 2023, Janiah was inside a residence in the 1300 block of North Woodford Street. At approximately 4:52 p.m., while she was sitting on a couch, multiple gunshots were fired into the home from outside.
Janiah was struck by the gunfire and fatally wounded. She was 26 weeks pregnant, and her unborn baby girl, who was to be named Ja'Nylah Brielle Thomas, did not survive. Janiah’s 4-year-old daughter, who was with her at the time, was also shot in the eye. The child survived with non-life-threatening injuries but faced a long recovery that included therapy and an eye replacement.
The Decatur Police Department launched a homicide investigation that soon led to several suspects. Within weeks, investigators had arrested a 17-year-old and a 15-year-old in connection with the shooting. Police also identified and arrested another man, Mattarion A. Anderson, charging him as an adult with first-degree murder.
Anderson’s case proceeded to a bench trial in Macon County Circuit Court. After hearing a day and a half of testimony and evidence, the presiding judge found Mattarion A. Anderson guilty of the first-degree murder of Janiah Thomas and her unborn child.
Janiah is survived by her son and daughter. In the wake of the tragedy, community members organized a fundraiser to help her family with funeral costs, medical bills for her daughter, and to establish a trust for her surviving children. With the conviction of a principal offender, the case is considered solved.
