Janisha Fonville

Murdered Feburary 18, 2015

Janisha Fonville

Facts

Fact 1: Janisha Fonville was a 20-year-old Black woman from Charlotte, NC. She lived with her girlfriend, Korneisha Banks, and doted on Banks’s baby. She had a mood disorder and a history of self-harm, but was generally kind and humorous with other people. 

Fact 2: On February 18th, 2015, the couple was arguing and Janisha threatened to hurt herself again. Korneisha asked her younger sister to call for help while she tried to calm Janisha down. 

Fact 3: When the police arrived, Korneisha met them outside and explained the situation. She asked them to take Janisha to the mental hospital where she had received help before. 

Fact 4: When the police entered the home, Officer Holzhauer opened fire almost immediately. He claimed Janisha lunged at him with the knife she had been threatening herself with earlier, but Korneisha reported she did not have the knife in her hand when she rose from the couch she had been resting on. 

Fact 5: Though Officer Holzhauer claimed he only shot the knife out of Janisha’s hand, the autopsy report showed she died of a gunshot wound to the chest. As with the other two shootings he was involved with in the last five years, Officer Holzhauer was found by the DA to be acting in accordance with law and protocol and will not face any charges.