Azsia Johnson’s ex-boyfriend arrested in slaying of 20-year-old NYC mom
By Joe Marino, Larry Celona, Jack Morphet and Patrick Reilly
The ex-boyfriend of the 20-year-old woman who was fatally shot while walking her 3-month-old infant in a stroller on the Upper East Side has been taken into custody, according to police sources.
The 24-year-old man, who police have been hunting down as a person of interest in the slaying of Azsia Johnson, was taken to Manhattan’s 19 Precinct on Friday night, sources said.
No charges have been announced.
The ex-boyfriend was on law enforcement’s radar over allegations that he abused and “stalked” Johnson in the past, sources and relatives have said.
Johnson was on her way to meet her ex when she was shot in the head at point-blank range Wednesday night near Lexington Avenue and East 95th Street, law enforcement sources have said.
The tragic young woman reported to the cops on New Year’s Day that her ex had assaulted her at his home in Jamaica, Queens, while she was six-months pregnant with his child, according to her mom, Lisa Desort, and police sources.
Desort told The Post she has been desperately waiting to hear her daughter’s killer has been arrested, saying she would feel “a little safer” once he’s in custody.
When reached by phone Friday night, Desort said she was still waiting to hear from cops for confirmation on the arrest.
“If he has been arrested, my baby will have got a little justice,” Desort said on Friday.
“It doesn’t bring my daughter back and doesn’t change the fact the Queens police failed to protect her but I’ll deal with that another day.”
Neighbors told The Post Johnson had been living at a domestic violence shelter in East Harlem with her baby daughter.
She had recently started selling her personal belongings in order to afford a place to live, one neighbor said.