Earl Johnson, 40, was arrested in August on suspicion of fatally stabbing his ex-girlfriend’s daughter, Antoinette Mitchell. Johnson is awaiting a possible grand jury indictment.
According to charging documents, Johnson barged into Mitchell’s apartment in the 3200 block of 13th Street Southeast shortly after midnight on Aug. 22 and began arguing with her mother, who had called him earlier that evening to break up with him.
Antoinette Mitchell, 29, who was sleeping in the apartment at the time, was awakened by the arguing and approached Johnson and asked him to leave. According to charging documents, Johnson left the apartment and Mitchell grabbed an iron and followed him down the stairs toward the front door of the apartment building.
Suddenly Johnson turned around and entered the building again and pulled a knife from his pocket. He began to approach Mitchell with the knife pointing toward her, and she hit Johnson in the head with the iron. Johnson then allegedly attacked Mitchell and stabbed her multiple times. When her mother attempted to push him away and force him out of the apartment, she suffered a stab wound in her right arm.
The Washington Post reported that Mitchell’s mother, Michelle Mitchell, who is called Molly in court documents, had broken up with Johnson after a two-year-long relationship that she says was abusive.
Mitchell said she met Johnson about three years ago, adding that they were from the same neighborhood in Southeast Washington and that she knew many of his relatives. They dated for more than two years. It did not go well, she said.
In March 2011, Mitchell called D.C. police after an argument in which, she alleged in court documents, she was punched twice in the chest and pushed against a bed’s headboard so hard that it broke.
Police charged Johnson with misdemeanor simple assault, according to court records. But prosecutors declined to pursue the matter. Bill Miller, a spokesman for the U.S. attorney’s office, declined to comment on the case.
Two months later, in May of last year, Mitchell filed for a protective order against Johnson, alleging a pattern of abuse dating back to August 2010.
“Respondent frequently tells petitioner that he is going to kill her, including making such statements several times in . . . church,” an affidavit says. Mitchell said in the sworn document that Johnson threw a cup of liquid in her face in August 2010 and threw a chair at her in September 2010.
Antoinette Mitchell was taken to Howard Hospital, where she succumbed to her injuries and died. Her mother told the Post that Antoinette, her second daughter, was “the best. She was my number one girl.”
Charging documents are below.
Note: Due to staffing, Homicide Watch DC did not publish between mid-August and mid-October. This is among the cases we are going back to cover and we apologize for the delay in publishing.
