By Judd Mustin, The Chicago Times
December 22, 2021
CHICAGO – A man who dropped his newborn allegedly shot the child’s mother after being released on bail.
According to Chicago police, Edward Roscoe, 29, shot Jessica Johnson, 30, multiple times with a revolver the couple was traveling in the 500 block of East 103rd Street on April 25. Johnson was driving when Roscoe shot her to death in cold blood.
According to Gary police, the couple’s 4-month-old son died of a skull fracture less than a year ago, in December 2020, when Roscoe dropped the 4-month-old victim. No criminal charges have been filed in that case, but authorities in Gary, Indiana, where the couple was living, are investigating.
According to police reports, Roscoe choked Johnson unconscious after a quarrel in front of their children in January 2020. Prosecutors claimed he allegedly slammed her to the ground at a petrol station the same day and threatened to murder her. In a cold statement, Roscoe later told police that he knew Johnson was pregnant but that the baby wasn’t his.
According to court documents, Roscoe posted a $20,000 bond for an improper use of a firearm case in Chicago a month before killing Johnson. After failing to appear in court for the gun accusation in August, a judge issued an arrest warrant for him.
Following the fatal shot, Roscoe was seen on a Chicago police surveillance video running out of the car as it came to a halt a few homes away, according to prosecutors.
Roscoe returned to Gary Indiana and allegedly confessed the murder of Johnson to his roommate. Roscoe’s conduct made the roommates concerned, so they removed their children from the house and contacted 911 to report Johnson’s death after hearing about it in the news, according to prosecutors.
Prosecutors claimed the roommates recognized Roscoe in a private surveillance video taken near the shooting, which showed Roscoe passing down a gangway and putting a baseball cap into a bin.
Prosecutors claimed the roommate also recognized the hat as belonging to Roscoe. Prosecutors claimed Roscoe was spotted on his Facebook page wearing the same unique hat on the day of the murder.
Roscoe was apprehended in Houston, Texas, and extradited to Illinois on Sunday, according to authorities.
On Tuesday, he was ordered jailed without bail for murder.
Photo: Chicago Police
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