When David Josiah Lawson left his hometown of Riverside County for college in Arcata, California in 2015, no one could have imagined that within two years he would lose his life
After all, as carefully explored in the Crime Junkie podcast’s “Murdered: David Josiah Lawson,” he was an ambitious, bright, and caring boy with big dreams and no known enemies.
So if you want to know exactly what happened right now, along with the formal investigation that followed and the overall complex aftermath, worry not; We have the essential details for you.
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David Josiah Lawson: How did he die?
By the age of 19, Jamaican-American David, who was the first generation of his family to be born in the United States, had successfully built a good, happy, and comfortable life while he was a sophomore in criminal sciences at Humboldt State University.
In fact, not only did he share an off-campus apartment with some of his closest friends, but he was also a proud member of the Brothers United cultural group, which was predominantly black.
He was the eldest of three children raised by a single mother and as such he was responsible for helping around the house whenever he could despite living almost 700 miles away. Still, he just lived the best life he could.
However, everything changed in the early hours of April 15, 2017, when David was stabbed multiple times while attending a house party on Spear Avenue. This confused the whole nation to the core, and that’s when everything started to change.
Unfortunately, despite the fact that other partygoers called 911 as soon as they saw the teenager lying in the front yard, nothing could be done to save his life and he was rushed to a nearby hospital as soon as possible.
As a result, he was pronounced dead at 4:07 a.m., and the multiple stab wounds he received from a 10-inch kitchen knife were determined to be the official cause of death. In particular, the wound he suffered directly to his heart was considered a mortal wound.
David Josiah Lawson: Who Killed Him?
Michelle-Charmaine Lawson, David’s mother, claims her eldest son was senselessly killed after he and a group of his friends were accused of stealing a rose gold iPhone 7 that was later found.
Michelle-Charmaine Lawson is David’s mother. That group on this particular night included him, his girlfriend of almost a year, Renalyn Bobadilla, his roommate Annalicia Johnson, and two brothers named Kyle and Kristoff Castillo. All of them were students at HSU.
Although there were five of them, the fact that they left the party at 3am after only being there for an hour was irrelevant because they ran into another group of five as soon as they exited the building.
Before accusing her of stealing a cell phone and demanding that they empty all their pockets, Lila Ortega, her boyfriend Kyle Zoellner, and their three friends stopped her and demanded that they empty all their pockets. According to court records, Kyle asked Castillo at the time to tell Lila’s boyfriend to calm down, even though her phone was missing.
But right at that moment, a fight broke out between Lila and Renalyn. This obviously got her two partners in on the act as well, but it all broke down in moments with no mess; David, his girlfriend and the two brothers actually managed to escape the confrontation.
Renalyn testified that after realizing she had been pepper sprayed, she immediately turned and confronted Lila and another woman.
Despite this, Renalyn went back in time to confront Lila and the other woman. A witness heard this argument and informed David about it, only for David to declare that he would grab them so they could go; The next moment he was sort of wrestling with Kyle Zoellner.
A witness heard this argument and informed David about it. David explained that he would grab them so they could leave. David had Kyle in a choke hold when their mutual friend Paul Wright arrived to stop the fight in the front yard, but the hold wasn’t very effective because Kyle had already been stabbed by the time Paul arrived. The two fought on the front lawn.
Because of this, a bloodied Kyle was taken into custody almost immediately once authorities arrived at the scene. However, a preliminary hearing was held to determine whether or not his case would go to a jury trial. The trial began on May 1, 2017, just two weeks after the incident, and the primary objective was to determine whether there was enough evidence to reach a verdict at all.
This was done by determining whether or not there was sufficient evidence on the matter. There was testimony from friends, witnesses, police officers, and medical professionals, but the final verdict was to drop the charges against Kyle permanently on the basis of his plea of self-defense. Because he was able to protect himself from the attacker.
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David Josiah Lawson: Murder Weapon
However, the murder weapon was found under a car parked right next to where David and Kyle fought, and the DNA found on the murder weapon belonged to both men. This is an extremely important fact to keep in mind.
There are also allegations that Lila had a bag of chef’s knives at her apartment the day after the party, which she allegedly claimed was in the vehicle her boyfriend drove to the party, but one of the knives was missing.
Additionally, a witness testified that they saw David engage in a fight right outside the Spear Avenue house before hearing the phrase, “Oh shit, he’s got a knife,” though the witness didn’t identify the perpetrator could clearly identify the attack.
On the other hand, there are claims that the knife, or the area from which it was recovered, contained traces of fibers that matched the clothing worn by David’s friends and girlfriend.
David Josiah Lawson: Who Was He?
The National Police Foundation has since determined that the initial investigation conducted by the Arcata Police Department was nowhere near adequate.
At first, the Arcata Police Department didn’t even secure the entire crime scene. In addition, the lead investigator had no experience working homicides, Kyle’s vehicle was allowed to be driven home without a single search, and one witness changed her story at least three times.
The fact that many witnesses and other possible suspects were allowed to communicate with each other without a second glance or to leave the scene of the crime did not help the investigation in any way.
As if that wasn’t enough to complicate matters, Kyle was only interrogated for 15 minutes, although it was apparent that the blood on his clothing did not match his injuries; it was much, much more.
As if that wasn’t enough to complicate matters, the blood on Kyle’s clothing didn’t match his injuries; it was much, much more.
However, he has always maintained his innocence, and to this day no one has come forward to say they saw him finally stab David to death. As a result, he is still a free man and has not been found guilty of any crime.
It is important to note that David’s mother has filed a lawsuit against the city of Arcata and its police department, alleging that her investigation into her son’s murder was inadequate, incompetent and racially biased.
On the other hand, Kyle filed a lawsuit against them, arguing that they not only violated his rights but also defamed him by unlawfully arresting, detaining, and prosecuting him. The city denied the claims in the lawsuit.
Both cases have since been resolved, one for $200,000, which includes a $25,000 donation to a scholarship fund set up in David’s name, and the other for $700,000; Unfortunately, the murder case was not solved.
Murder of David Josiah Lawson: Unsolved case
- David Josiah Lawson was a black student at Humboldt State University, now known as Cal Poly Humboldt. He was tragically stabbed to death at a house party just off campus on April 15, 2017. It has been five long years for the family of David Josiah Lawson who was a victim of this tragedy.
- They allege that the case was severely marred by police mishandling of the crime scene, as well as other missteps in the evidence and testimony gathering process.
- The Lawson family has worked tirelessly to seek a solution to a case they say was marred by police abuse of the crime scene.
- After five years without a conviction for the student’s murder, the Lawson family and the community at large have witnessed the changing leadership of three Arcata police chiefs and two university presidents, heard from several investigative advisers and detectives, and witnessed a comprehensive, independent review of the police investigation.
- All of these events took place despite the fact that there was no conviction in the case. In addition to the changes and, more specifically, the challenges that the passage of time has brought to the community, the county electorate is on the verge of electing a new district attorney who could take on the case.
- During a phone interview this week, Ms Lawson expressed a mixture of hope and frustration, citing the fact that the scientific nuances further complicate the investigative process for a small-town police force already struggling to tackle complicated crimes with limited resources.
- When she spoke openly, her faint Jamaican accent was audible, and it was clear that she was expressing how happy she was at the change in leadership of the district attorney’s office. Lawson was curious to see how this might affect the ability to bring criminal charges against a suspect in her son’s murder.
- Lawson shared her thoughts with us, saying, “I want to know that you will be the voice of the victims and their families.” Whoever wins election to the position of District Attorney (DA), we will hold to the highest possible standard. We’re going to make them accountable for their actions, just like we did with Maggie Fleming.
- She continued, “I realize there is no such thing as a perfect district attorney. That makes perfect sense to me. I am aware that there is no such thing as a flawless law enforcement officer. That makes perfect sense to me.
- However, Humboldt County needs a district attorney who is honest and cares about the residents of the community, especially those who are black, brown or native. We need leadership that cares about this relatively small portion of the population of Humboldt County.
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