Trigger Warning: This article contains references to the alleged domestic abuse that some readers may find distressing.

A Manhattan man was sentenced to 26 years in prison on Wednesday, August 12, 2026, for the horrific murder of his ex-girlfriend.

Justin Williams, 27, killed his ex-girlfriend, D’Asia Johnson, 22, in her New York apartment on August 21, 2022. He stabbed Johnson in the torso and back multiple times. He used a meat cleaver to dismember her corpse and stuffed the body parts in garbage bags, which he stored in the apartment’s bathroom for nearly a month.

During the entire stretch, he kept living in the Brooklyn apartment and kept profiting off her life while she decomposed a few feet away. He used towels and cleaning supplies to mask the odor of the decomposing body. Moreover, he left the windows open in an attempt to get rid of the smell of the rotting flesh. 

According to the District Attorney’s office, Williams impersonated Johnson to call out of her job so her paychecks would keep coming, and used money from her bank account to pay women engaged in pr****tution whom he brought into the same apartment. He used Johnson’s public benefits to buy himself food and, at one point, even brought his adolescent son during the period. 

When Johnson’s concerned family came looking for her, Williams pretended to be her to convince them she was alive, according to courtroom evidence.

It wasn’t until building staff, concerned that they hadn’t seen Johnson in several days, conducted a wellness check and discovered her corpse. Police were called, and Williams was taken into custody and charged with various felonies.

The two had been romantically involved for several years before the murder. Their relationship was tumultuous as Williams repeatedly abused her. She had a protection order in place against him. He was supposed to stay away from her; however, he ended up killing her.


Following his June trial, Williams was convicted of second-degree murder, concealment of a human corpse, fourth-degree grand larceny, and fourth-degree criminal possession of stolen property. He was also found guilty of second-degree criminal impersonation and fifth-degree welfare fraud.

After his sentence, Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez released a statement: “D’Asia Johnson suffered horrific violence at the hands of this defendant, who then compounded that cruelty with conduct that showed a staggering disregard for her life, her dignity, and the loved ones desperately searching for her.” “He has now been held accountable for that horrific brutality, and I hope D’Asia’s family can find some measure of solace and justice in today’s sentence,” stated Gonzalez.

Disclaimer: The Inquisitr could not independently confirm the facts of this incident and is reporting based on the information available within the public record.