On a tragic afternoon in Richmond, Virginia, the life of 26-year-old Jawanda F. Johnson was cut short in a devastating act of domestic violence. On June 22, 2017, Johnson, who was five-and-a-half months pregnant, was fatally shot multiple times inside a South Richmond apartment on Chalfont Drive. The horrifying incident unfolded in front of her three children. When police responded to reports of a shooting, they found Johnson with life-threatening injuries.
She was rushed to a local hospital, where she ultimately succumbed to her wounds.
The suspect in the fatal shooting was identified as Johnson's 28-year-old estranged husband, Terrell D. Cook. Accounts from the day of the tragedy indicate that Cook followed Johnson and her family home from a grocery shopping trip. When Johnson attempted to close her apartment door to prevent him from entering, he overpowered her and opened fire. The incident was the culmination of a history of domestic turmoil. In the week leading up to the shooting, police had been called to the residence for three domestic-related issues. Johnson had reportedly sought a restraining order against Cook, but her request was denied by a magistrate just a day before her death.
Following the shooting, an immediate search for Cook was launched. He was considered the sole suspect in Johnson's murder. The manhunt came to a close when U.S. Marshals and Virginia State Police tracked him to a residence in Christiansburg, Virginia. There, authorities discovered Cook deceased from what appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound. His death concluded the active investigation into Johnson's murder, leaving a community to mourn the loss of a young mother and her unborn child, and to grapple with the circumstances that led to the tragedy.
