Los Angeles, United States

A woman, who had called the eclipse “the epitome of spiritual warfare” in a post shared on an online platform, killed her partner at their apartment in Los Angeles on Monday (April 8) and then pushed her two children onto the freeway from a moving SUV, in which her infant daughter was killed. 

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According to Los Angeles police, 34-year-old Danielle Cherakiyah was posting on X as the recording artist with the moniker “Ayoka” and an astrology influencer, days before the killing. 

She posted on April 4, “Get your protection on and your heart in the right place," on X. "The world is very obviously changing right now and if you ever needed to pick a side, the time to do right in your life is now. Stay strong you got this.”

Then on April 5, she wrote in all caps, “Wake up wake up the apocalypse is here. Everyone who has ears listen. Your time to choose what you believe is now.”

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Several conspiracy theories, such as those about vaccines, and posts about the end of the world can also be seen on her social media.

The woman committed the act of stabbing her partner and throwing her kids hours before the eclipse reached its totality in Southern California, said Lt Guy Golan.

Also Read: 'Eclipse flight' turns into a flop show! Passengers paid over $1,000 for no sight of cosmic event

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Police reject possibility of eclipse contributing to killings

Even though Johnson's posts have been reviewed by the detectives, the police have denied the possibility that the eclipse acted as a contributing or precipitating factor to the killings. "We just don’t know why she did what she did,” said Golan, while speaking to The Associated Press on Wednesday (April 10).

“We’ve taken all the facts we can, but without being able to interview her and without having something more tangible than a post on X, I don’t know how much weight you can give to somebody (saying) there’s an apocalypse and attribute it to one of the most horrific murders we’ve had in LA,” said Golan, who is leading the homicide unit investigating the case.

According to the authorities, Johnson and her 29-year-old partner Jaelen, Allen Chaney, had an argument late on Monday after which she stabbed him and fled away with the kids in a Porsche Cayenne.

Watch: Total Solar Eclipse 2024: Skywatchers in India to miss solar eclipse

After that, Johnson drove along Interstate 405 in Culver City and pushed her daughters out of the moving SUV around 4:30 am. The infant died on the spot and the older daughter, who also saw the stabbing, suffered injuries.

Johnson then drove to Redondo Beach where after half an hour she crashed into a tree. The LAPD is looking into the case and trying to understand if it was an apparent suicide or a solo crash.

(With inputs from agencies)