On Christmas morning in 2005, a tragic and violent event unfolded in Great Falls, Virginia, ending the life of 50-year-old Janina C. Price. A jewelry designer and devoted mother, Price was among the victims of a shooting rampage carried out by 27-year-old Nathan Cheatham of McLean.
The events of that Christmas Day began when Cheatham first killed his own mother, Sheila Cheatham, at her home. He then drove to the Great Falls residence where Janina Price was living with her sons.
Despite being told he could not come over, Cheatham proceeded to the house on Sycamore Springs Lane. Upon his arrival, he opened fire on the home before forcing his way inside.
Once inside, Cheatham methodically moved through the house, shooting and killing Janina Price, her 19-year-old son Adam Sebastian Price, and a houseguest, 20-year-old Christopher Buro. Janina was found in the master bedroom, while her son Adam was discovered in a closet in his bedroom. Janina's other son, Alex, who was 20 at the time, managed to survive the horrific ordeal by hiding in the basement and alerting the police. After killing the three individuals in the Price home, Nathan Cheatham took his own life.
Friends remembered Janina Price as a vibrant, intelligent, and witty woman who was deeply devoted to her family. She had faced challenges in the years leading up to her death, including the loss of her husband to cancer and her own struggles with prescription painkillers. The motive for Cheatham's violent actions remained a subject of investigation, with one theory being his obsession over a potential arrest for a prior drive-by shooting he had allegedly committed with Adam Price. The Christmas Day massacre was a devastating end to the lives of four innocent people, leaving a community in shock and a surviving son to grapple with the immense loss.
