SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The family of Janiah Johnson has some closure after Rashawn Anderson was arrested in Chicago, Illinois.
Anderson will face homicide charges for the death of the 22-year-old, who was shot at the Natomas Speedway on the 2600 block of Gateway Oak back on Aug. 3.
A native of San Diego, Janiah, perhaps better known as rapper Niah Jae, was killed just a week after her 22nd birthday. Her father, Jeremiah Johnson, shared a portion of his daughter's journal as she self-reflected on why she wanted to rap.
“Why do you want to rap? I like to rap because it’s home for me when I’m lost, when I need comfort or don’t have nowhere to go,” said Johnson reading from his daughter’s journal.
Her family now has a small bit of the comfort that she spoke of.
“I cry a lot all the time. Sometimes, it’s just little cries. Sometimes, it’s real big cries, but they are all cries of sadness. The day Rashawn Anderson got caught was a cry for happiness - that’s the only cry of happiness that I’m going to share with Janiah,” said Nowling.
The family went to their daughter’s grave to tell her that he’d been caught. For Janiah’s grandmother Regina Davis, it means her granddaughter can finally rest in peace.
“I couldn’t look at her pictures. I couldn’t think of her because it would hurt too much. It still does, but I can talk about her now. I say, 'Good morning, Niah. Good night, Niah,” said Davis.
The grandmother also plans to get involved with domestic violence outreach resources for young women after what happened to her granddaughter in her honor.
The family says they plan to return to Sacramento for Anderson’s court appearance once he is extradited from Illinois.
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