Danielle Johnson, also known as Danielle Ayoka online, was a popular astrology influencer with over 100,000 followers who warned her audience about an impending “apocalypse” she believed would be triggered by an eclipse. Days before carrying out a murder-suicide in Los Angeles, Johnson tweeted cryptic messages telling people to “wake up” and to “pick a side.” She ultimately murdered two loved ones, tried to kill her eldest daughter, and then took her own life in a violent rampage that shocked the community.
Despite having no previous history of domestic violence, Johnson’s actions were believed to be influenced by her extreme fear of the perceived end-of-the-world scenario. She had urged her followers to protect themselves from the eclipse, which she described as the “epitome of spiritual warfare.” Johnson’s online persona included selling self-help and healing sessions for a nominal fee, but also shared antisemitic posts and conspiracy theories related to natural phenomena.
Johnson’s past media coverage praised her clairvoyant abilities and talents in astrology, with outlets like Refinery 29 and The Fader highlighting her unique insights. In disturbing events leading up to the murder-suicide, Johnson fatally stabbed her boyfriend in their apartment before fleeing with her two daughters in a Porsche Cayenne. She then pushed her 9-year-old daughter out of the moving vehicle onto a freeway, causing the infant daughter to be found dead at the scene.
Authorities discovered Johnson’s body inside a crashed car several miles away from where her boyfriend was murdered, indicating her final act of self-harm at high speeds. The investigation uncovered a trail of bloody footprints, feathers, and tarot cards at the scene, painting a chaotic picture of the violence that had occurred. While police initially reported a verbal altercation between Johnson and her boyfriend leading to the fatal stabbing, the motive behind her actions continued to be linked to her apocalyptic beliefs surrounding the eclipse.
The tragic incident left one surviving child, the 9-year-old girl who witnessed the violent events unfold, raising concerns about the trauma she experienced. Detectives were still working to determine the circumstances of the infant daughter’s death and whether it occurred before she was thrown from the car by Johnson. The shocking nature of the murder-suicide, combined with Johnson’s online persona as a healer and astrologer, created a disturbing contrast that demonstrated the complexities of mental health issues and the influence of extreme beliefs. The community was left reeling from the senseless violence that had taken place, grappling with the aftermath of the tragedy.
