BATON ROUGE — A Baton Rouge man has just been found guilty of first-degree murder after killing a woman while live on video on social media, District Attorney Hillar Moore confirms. First-degree murder carries a mandatory life sentence in Louisiana.
His trial started earlier this week, with jury selection taking over two days. After nearly two days of evidence, jurors deliberated for about an hour Friday before delivering their guilty verdict.
An East Baton Rouge Parish grand jury indicted Earl Lee Johnson in August 2022 on first-degree murder, second-degree kidnapping and four additional charges. However, an amended indictment from Sept. 8, 2025, shows that Johnson was only being tried on a charge of first-degree murder.
Johnson, who was 35 at the time, is accused of killing Janice David, 34, on April 18, 2022. Authorities said part of the killing was streamed on social media.
Moore said that during Johnson’s trial, the 16 minutes of video streaming footage was shown to the jurors. While the district attorney was initially concerned about showing the gruesome footage, he ultimately decided that jurors needed to see how egregious the crime was.
“They were visibly crying, shaking, putting their hands in front of their face with their fingers open, because we asked them to look at it all. But they took the job seriously and came up with the right decision,” Moore said.
Johnson did not take the stand in his defense, and his team did not produce any witnesses.
Janice David’s family and loved ones were present during the trial and also struggled through the footage and photographic evidence presented, Moore said.
The district attorney said that while David had struggled with addiction much of her life, “she just so happened to run into a monster at the wrong time and circumstance. In just three days of meeting him, she’s dead. It’s just unfortunate.”
Killing livestreamed on social media
Johnson allegedly stabbed David before 2 p.m. on April 18, 2022, in Baton Rouge. That killing was streamed live on social media with law enforcement confirming the full video lasted about 15 minutes.
Sources confirmed David was stabbed a dozen times to her head and had several other stab wounds all over her body. Johnson then allegedly tried to set the vehicle on fire, but did not succeed.
David’s body was found in the 3600 block of South Sherwood Forest Blvd.
UWK learned that Johnson had been released from prison on Jan. 27, 2022, not even three months before David was killed. When he was released, he had finished serving all of his sentence for his prior convictions.
Tracking Johnson’s whereabouts after the killing through sources & neighbors, it appears Johnson ran through the Afton Oaks neighborhood for incidents on Newcastle & Schlayer avenues and eventually into Woodland Ridge.
Because Johnson was injured, he eventually went to an area hospital. Sources said while there, Johnson started telling the hospital staff that he had stabbed and killed someone. Staff at the hospital assumed he may be a mental health patient and were waiting on a psychiatrist to come see Johnson.
Around the same time, a deputy with the East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office had already been alerted by the State Police’s Fusion Center about the live video and murder. Someone who watched the video live reported it to Facebook who turned it over to the Louisiana State Police. That deputy had already seen the video so when he saw Johnson, he told the hospital staff that what the man was saying was actually the case. Sources said that’s when Johnson told the deputy everything he allegedly did and the location of the car where David’s body was found on S. Sherwood Forest Blvd.
When deputies arrived to the S. Sherwood Forest location. around 10 p.m. that night, they realized the scene was within the city limits of Baton Rouge and handed the case over to BRPD.
‘The most egregious case I’ve seen’
District Attorney Hillar Moore said that although 2022 was a particularly “bloody year” with homicides, this case in particular was horrible: “This probably was the most egregious, bloodiest one that was shocking. In my time as DA, I don’t think I’ve ever seen the likes of this before.”
Johnson had pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity and was evaluated by three medical professionals— two psychiatrists and a psychologist—who determined that he was competent to stand trial and knew right from wrong, Moore explained.
In addition to the murder and kidnapping charges, the grand jury indicted Johnson in August 2022 on obstruction of justice in the homicide investigation of Janice David, unlawful posting of criminal activity for notoriety or publicity, theft of a motor vehicle valued at more than $25,000 & aggravated flight from an officer.
Judge Carson Marcantel with the 19th Judicial District presided over the trial, and Johnson is represented by assistant public defenders Hafiz Folsom and Rob Ray, according to court records.
Johnson’s sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 10, 2025.
Download the Unfiltered with Kiran app from the Apple App Store and Google Play to stay updated on the latest news across the Capital area.
Support UWK and its mission to deliver The News You Deserve. Unfiltered. Become a monthly patron on Patreon today!
