Michelle Johnson was 50 and from Fresno, California. Family remembered her as a woman with a big heart who made it her purpose to help people in need; she was eagerly preparing to become a grandmother in spring 2021. On the night of April 9, 2021, Johnson went to an apartment complex on the 3200 block of East Olive Avenue to help her 21-year-old former foster daughter, Charlotte Ethridge, after a disturbance involving Ethridge’s boyfriend, Deandre Foster.

Police responding to a shots-fired call found Ethridge shot to death inside her apartment and Johnson wounded in the complex courtyard. Johnson was taken to Community Regional Medical Center and died from her injuries. Investigators identified Foster as the suspect in both killings and said domestic violence was the motive; he was arrested two days later and booked on two counts of murder. Johnson’s family has honored her memory with a pajama donation drive for a local domestic violence shelter and by including her image on a downtown mural that commemorates victims of gun violence.

If anyone knew Michelle, Charlotte, or has information about the events of April 9, 2021, please share what you can.