A late-summer homicide in Richmond ended a young mother’s life just days after childbirth. On Sunday, August 24, 2025, 33-year-old Johnnita Russell was found inside a residence on the 500 block of Hunt Avenue suffering from gunshot wounds and was pronounced dead at the scene. Her 96-year-old grandmother was present during the incident. Johnnita had given birth nine days earlier and her newborn daughter, Sapphire, remained in the NICU.

Neighbors described a normally quiet street stunned by the violence. Authorities identified the incident as domestic violence. The day after the shooting, police arrested 57-year-old Michael Sprague, described as an estranged partner and the father of the infant; he was booked on initial charges of shooting within an occupied dwelling and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon while investigators continued the probe. Johnnita’s sister was preparing to seek emergency custody of baby Sapphire.

If anyone has information about the events on Hunt Avenue that night or knew Johnnita and her family, please come forward.