In the winter of 2017, the life of 25-year-old Janaya Lee, a pregnant woman from Jersey City, New Jersey, was tragically cut short in a brutal act of violence that also claimed the lives of two other individuals. On the night of January 16th, police responded to a call of gunshots on Fulton Avenue. Upon arrival, they discovered a grim scene inside an apartment. Lee, along with 26-year-old Ishear Bailey and 31-year-old Quadel Chisolm, had all been fatally shot.
Lee was found to have sustained multiple gunshot wounds to her upper body.
The initial investigation into the triple homicide led authorities to believe the attack was not random. Surveillance footage from the area showed several suspects arriving in a stolen U-Haul truck. The Hudson County Prosecutor's Office released images and video to the public in an effort to identify the individuals involved. The footage showed the men entering the residence, and later abandoning the truck nearby before returning to the same area. It was a complex case that pointed towards an organized and targeted assault, leaving a community in shock and searching for answers.
For three years, the investigation continued as part of the Jersey City Violent Crime Initiative, involving local police, the county prosecutor's office, and the FBI. A breakthrough came in 2020 when two men, identified as Markell “Sayboy” Brown and Terence “Sweet Meat” Shaw, were charged in connection with the murders. Investigators determined that the killings were gang-related. The primary target was believed to be Ishear Bailey, a rival gang member. Authorities alleged that Brown and Shaw used Chisolm, an associate of theirs, to gain access to the apartment. After shooting Bailey and Lee, they then killed Chisolm, presumably to eliminate a witness. The charges brought against Brown and Shaw included conspiracy to commit murder in aid of racketeering and murder in aid of racketeering, reflecting the calculated and violent nature of the crime that ended three lives, including that of an expectant mother.
