Maryland

Maryland Father Confessed to Killing His 2-Year-old Daughter & Her Mother, Court Documents Say

Daron Boswell-Johnson had been ordered to pay the mother of his daughter $600 in monthly child support, sources said.

The Maryland man charged with murdering his 2-year-old daughter and her mother confessed to lying in wait for the mother and child outside their home early Tuesday and then shooting them each multiple times, court documents show.

Daron Boswell-Johnson, 25, was charged Wednesday in the deaths of NeShante Davis, 26, a beloved elementary school teacher, and their daughter, Chloe Davis-Green. The mother and daughter were shot outside their townhouse about 7 a.m. Tuesday in Fort Washington, Maryland.

Boswell-Johnson, of Forestville, Maryland, was angry over $600 in monthly child support he had been ordered to pay, sources tell News4. He was confirmed to be Chloe's father in December through a DNA test conducted as part of a paternity suit, sources said. 

According to the preliminary investigation, Boswell-Johnson went to Davis' and their daughter's home early Tuesday to confront Davis about the child support, officials said Wednesday evening at a news conference.

NeShante Davis and Chloe Davis-Green
NeShante Davis and her daughter, Chloe Davis-Green.

"This is another tragic case of domestic violence," Prince George's County State's Attorney Angela Alsobrooks said. "These are issues that have to be resolved in our families, in this community."

Boswell-Johnson was arrested Tuesday in Montgomery County, Prince George's County Interim Police Chief Hank Stawinski said.  Boswell-Johnson waived his Miranda rights and provided a statement to Prince George's County police on Tuesday in which he confessed to the crime, according to court documents. 

He told police he drove to Davis' home, parked down the street and waited for her to exit. Boswell-Johnson told police he then approached Davis at gunpoint and demanded she drop the petition he pay her $600 per month in child support. He then shot her and the toddler multiple times, he told police, court documents say. 

Witness statements and surveillance video corroborate the confession, police said in court documents.

Boswell-Johnson was escorted outside Wednesday by police. He expressed little emotion, walking in a white jumpsuit with his head down and ignoring reporters' questions.

Boswell-Johnson faces two counts of both first- and second-degree murder. He's expected to be held without bond. Information on his lawyer was not immediately available.

Davis and her little girl were found shot in the parking lot of their townhouse on the 1300 block of Palmer Road after a witness said he heard yelling and then multiple gunshots.

Davis' body was found right away, next to her car, Prince George's County police said. The injured toddler then was spotted through the tinted windows of her mother's blue Chevrolet.

Chloe was rushed to a hospital, where she died.

Davis' mother, Carolyn Turner, learned from News4 on Wednesday that a suspect had been arrested in the killing of her daughter and grandchild.

"Did they catch him?" she asked.

"Yes, ma'am. He's in custody. They have charged him," News4's Tracee Wilkins replied.

Turner's eyes widened and she wept, her head in her hand.

She said she didn't know Chloe's father and that Davis hadn't spoken much about him. He didn't appear to be a big part of their lives, Turner said. She said she wanted to ask him "why?"

"Why? You didn't have to shoot her or my grandbaby," she said.

Davis was a second-grade teacher at Bradbury Heights Elementary School in Capitol Heights, according to the school's website. She worked for years as a teacher's aide at the school and was in the middle of her first year teaching after recently graduating from Bowie State University.

Davis likely was headed to drop Chloe off at day care and then head to work when they were shot, school officials said.

A friend of Davis' for more than a decade, Melonie Parker, said at an emotional service Tuesday night that she was heartbroken.

"Who can shoot a child?" she asked. "How could you look a child in their face and shoot a child? I don't understand."

Davis' mother, sister and other loved ones mourned their deaths at Community Temple Bibleway Church in Cheverly, Maryland. Members of the crowd prayed and cried together.

"I'm going to miss her. And Chloe," Turner, said Tuesday night, unable to speak any longer.

Investigators searched for evidence at the crime scene for hours Tuesday, with the county's acting police chief and chief prosecutor on hand to ensure nothing was overlooked.

"This is absolutely unacceptable in any civilized community that a child should be killed," Alsobrooks said Tuesday. "We are absolutely enraged."

On the scene, Stawinski told reporters Tuesday that investigators were pursuing viable leads.

"This is a profoundly sad day, and my prayers go out to the family for a crime that, frankly, shocks the conscience," he said.

A parent at the school where Davis taught, Tiffany Byrd, said Tuesday afternoon she was preparing to speak with her son about why he would not see his teacher again.

"I have no idea how he's responded knowing she won't be back now and he'll have a new teacher," she said.

"Miss Davis was awesome. She really, really helped him to improve a lot," Byrd said, saying her son had struggled at another school but earned all As and Bs since entering Davis' class.

The father of a student at the school wiped away tears as he spoke about Davis.

"It really hurt me. The school called this morning," Erik Hines said. "Miss Davis was an excellent teacher."

Counselors were available at the school Tuesday to help students and staff members coping with the tragedy.

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