CLEVELAND — Sunday marked the one-year anniversary of the homicide of Destiny Johsnon, a 24-year-old woman shot and killed in the stairwell of a Cleveland apartment. Her family is pleading for answers as the case remains unsolved.
"I'm not okay. I'm not okay and I haven't been since Feb. 6, 2021," said Crystal Newkirt, Johnson's mother.
On that day, Johnson was attending a large party held in two apartments in an East 12th Street building. During the party, a fight broke out between a group of women and Johnson left.
Police believe the shooter chased Johnson and shot her as she entered the stairwell.
Johnson was transported to a nearby hospital where she was later pronounced dead.
But a year after her death, there have been no developments in getting Johnson the justice her family is seeking.
"This person's still out here and to think that I could go through this three more times because I have three other children, which is the sad part," Newkirt said. "I'm constantly suffering from anxiety when they leave, I always want to know where they are at all times, I'm scared for them to go out of the house because who knows, they might not ever come back."
As the family pleads for answers in the case, they also remember Johnson and the impact she had on those around her, as a "community leader, honor student, college graduate, loving daughter, sister, auntie, loyal friend, and honorary National Guard veteran."
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