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DEKALB COUNTY, GA—DeKalb County District Attorney Sherry Boston this week announced the conviction by jury trial of Demario Flanagan, 47, for the murder of his girlfriend, Eternity “Destiny Johnson, 26. In addition to killing Johnson, Flanagan fired at three other women, striking two of them during a rampage at a gathering of family and friends.
Immediately after the verdict on Nov. 10, Judge Anna Davis, who presided over the trial sitting for DeKalb County Superior Court Judge Nora Polk, sentenced Flanagan to Life with the Possibility of Parole, plus 60 years to serve consecutively.
Flanagan was convicted for Malice Murder, Felony Murder, Criminal Attempt to Commit Murder, Aggravated Assault Family Violence, two counts of Aggravated Assault, Cruelty to Children in the First Degree, Cruelty to Children in the Third Degree, and Possession of a Firearm During the Commission of a Felony.
According to the investigation, officers with the DeKalb County Police Department responded at 2:46 a.m. on Oct. 1, 2023, to a report of a shooting at a home in the 1700 block of Waterton Drive in Lithonia. When officers arrived, they found Flanagan standing beside a car. He told officers that the women attacked him with knives. He admitted to s hooting them, and told officers the guns were in the car.
Flanagan’s girlfriend, Destiny Johnson, was hosting a gathering at the home she and Johnson had recently purchased. Several adult family members and friends, their infant child, and four additional children were at the home at the time of the shooting. The adults were drinking and listening to music.
According to witnesses, Johnson had funded the purchase of the home and told some of the guests that Flanagan and his children were disrespecting her and spending all her money. They encouraged Johnson to stand up for herself, and she verbally confronted Flanagan.
Family members eventually separated the two, and Flanagan went upstairs. He returned downstairs carrying a rifle and asked why the women were still talking.
Flanagan then shot Johnson’s 32-year-old cousin two times, and she collapsed. He also shot a 31-year-old family friend as she tried to run away. She collapsed but was able to escape to the garage and hide with some of the children in the home who also ran when the shooting started.
Flanagan approached Johnson, who was holding their infant and trying to reason with Flanagan. He took the baby, grabbed a second firearm, and shot Johnson four times in her legs and pelvic area. She immediately collapsed.
After shooting the three women, Flanagan paced around the kitchen before grabbing knives and putting them in front of Johnson and her cousin. The cousin asked Flanagan for help, and he said, “Die b****, you tried to kill me.”
A 24-year-old woman who was friends with Johnson ran upstairs when the shooting began and hid in a bedroom with children.
Flanagan went upstairs, told the children to get out, and then shot at the woman twice. The shots missed her and she hid in a closet until officers arrived.
Johnson was transported to the hospital where she succumbed to her injuries shortly after she arrived. Her cousin sustained critical injuries, had to undergo several surgeries, was hospitalized for over a month, and used a wheelchair for a year due to her injuries. The family friend sustained serious injuries and underwent surgery.
Officers did not notice any injuries on Flanagan and determined the physical evidence did not appear to support his claim that he was attacked. He was taken into custody without incident.
The case, assigned to the Domestic Violence/Sexual Assault Unit, was prosecuted by Senior Assistant District Attorney Kelsey Devitto, with assistance from Senior Assistant District Attorney Elizabeth Tarver, District Attorney Investigator S. Green and Victim Advocate Veronica Pelaez-Maya. DKPD Detective D. D. Evans led the initial investigation.