A Louisiana man who appeared to have had a days-long drug spree with a woman killed her in a car Monday in an attack he streamed on Facebook Live and showed him stabbing, choking and torturing her, authorities said.
The livestreaming led to the man, Earl Lee Johnson Jr., 35, being charged with murder in the murder of Janice David, 34, who was found in the vehicle Monday night with her hands tied and her body bloodied from more than 10 stab wounds, Sgt. L’Jean McKneely, a spokesman for the Baton Rouge Police Department, said over the phone.
“It’s a very cruel, very evil act,” he said at a news conference on Tuesday.
Sergeant McKneely said by phone that Mr Johnson did not have a lawyer as of Tuesday afternoon and could not be reached for comment.
The Baton Rouge Police Department said it learned of the attack hours after officers arrested Mr Johnson in connection with an unrelated vehicle theft as early as Monday afternoon.
The Louisiana State Police were notified Monday by Meta, the company formerly known as Facebook, about a live Facebook video showing Mr Johnson attacking Ms David, Sergeant McKneely said. Facebook learned about the violent video from a user who notified the company, he said.
State troopers later found the car in which the recorded attack appeared to have taken place, Sergeant McKneely said.
They then shared their findings with Baton Rouge Police. Sergeant McKneely said when questioned about the attack while in police custody, Mr Johnson admitted to “killing someone”.
The attack took place in the front seats of a vehicle parked in an office building parking lot, Sergeant McKneely said. Mr Johnson placed his phone on the dashboard and recorded him slapping Ms David while appearing to be “talking to people who were watching online and mentioning what he was doing,” he said.
Sergeant McKneely said Mr Johnson also attempted to set fire to the car while Ms David’s body remained inside.
Authorities said they believe Mr Johnson and Ms David had been using drugs together for at least three or four days. Sergeant McKneely said they used heroin and methamphetamine.
“He looked like he was under the influence of something,” said Sergeant McKneely.
Authorities are still investigating how they knew each other, he added.
Ms David’s family was “in shock” after detectives informed them of her killing, Sergeant McKneely said.
It was unclear how long it took Meta to remove the video and notify authorities after posting it. The company did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment on Tuesday.
Facebook has had to grapple with live videos on its platform showing shootings and other acts of violence in recent years, while the company continues to grapple with its role in monitoring content.
In 2017, three men were arrested in Sweden on suspicion of raping a woman and live-streamed the attack on a private Facebook group. In February of the same year, two radio journalists were fatally shot in the Dominican Republic while reading the news from an FM radio station during a Facebook Live broadcast.
In the Louisiana case, Sergeant McKneely said the live video helped authorities make an arrest.
“I’ve seen things like this happen all over the country,” he said. “But in this particular area, it’s the first time something like this has happened.”