‘YOU CANNOT KEEP SILENT’
David Josiah Lawson’s mother calls for justice four years after son’s fatal stabbing
Four years have passed since the fatal stabbing of 19-year-old David Josiah Lawson, a Humboldt State University sophomore whose unsolved death left the community begging for answers.
Time has worn on but Michelle-Charmaine Lawson said she will not rest until the longstanding open investigation into her son’s death is resolved.
“I just want justice for my son,” Lawson told the Times-Standard on Wednesday morning. “It’s been four years. I just want someone to come forward and to say, ‘I’m gonna do the right thing for Josiah, I’m going to do the right thing for his family,’ because you cannot keep silent when someone’s life is viciously taken. You cannot keep silent.”
Lawson was stabbed at an offcampus party on April 15, 2017, after a racially charged fight broke over a cell phone that had gone missing.
McKinleyville resident Kyle Zoellner was initially arrested as the leading suspect in relation to the fatal stabbing but a preliminary hearing weeks later did not provide enough evidence for the judge to order a trial. The Humboldt County Criminal Grand Jury also found there wasn’t enough evidence to prosecute Zoellner, resulting in Humboldt County District Attorney Maggie Fleming declining to indict him.
“I blame the Arcata Police for their investigation and how they should have investigated. Four years and still no justice,” Lawson said. “But Maggie Fleming, I blame her even more because
she’s the district attorney and her job is to speak for the victims.”
Over the years, Lawson said she has developed a positive relationship with Arcata Police Chief Brian Ahearn, who started as chief in late 2018.
“The moment (Ahearn) got the job, he immediately called me,” Lawson said. “He offered his condolences and he asked me to tell him about DJ, I don’t think anyone from APD has ever asked me to tell them about my son. I felt like, this is a person that cares. There are a whole lot of bad things going on with policing, but I think the chief is a good guy.”
Lawson said Ahearn keeps in touch regularly but rarely has new information to share regarding the investigation.
Reached by phone on Wednesday morning, Ahearn told the Times-Standard his department has shifted focus from the DNA evidence to the 100-plus witnesses at the party where Lawson was fatally stabbed.
“What we’ve been doing for the last year and beyond is really emphasizing the call to the community that we need you to come forward. …That’s what the court needs to further examine this case,” Ahearn said. “Of the 100 reported witnesses, less than half have come forward and actually been interviewed by APD. If people are reluctant to come forward because they feel like the case rests entirely on their shoulders, it does not. What it does require though is the community of students who were there that night to collectively build that picture for investigators, prosecutors and the court so that justice can prevail.”
“There’s no doubt in my mind that we’ll get this case across the finish line, it just takes time and investigative skill,” he added.
In July 2020, Lawson received a phone call from someone who said they had a video of her son’s stabbing, however, she never heard back from the anonymous individual.
In an effort to encourage witnesses to come forward, Lawson has raised the reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction to $100,000 until her son’s birthday on May 20.
“I just want someone to do the right thing and come forward. That’s it, just do the right thing,” Lawson said. “My son was the love of my life. He was my firstborn son, he had dreams, he wanted to just change this world, he wanted to give back to his community.”
Because of her son’s love for the Humboldt County community, Lawson has adopted it as her second home.
“I call Humboldt my second home because my son lived there for two years,” she said. “There are so many people in Humboldt that have embraced me through my tragedy, through our family’s tragedy, the worst grief a parent could ever experience. When I can’t be there for a vigil, they show up for me. They show up for me, they show up for DJ, they show up for my daughter, Chloe, they show up for my son, Anthony, and they show up for their community and to say this is not okay. Words will never be able to express how grateful I am for the Humboldt community that has embraced our family and I know DJ is looking down and he’s so proud.”
To commemorate the four years since her son’s death, Lawson will hold a four-mile run to begin at Arcata City Hall on Saturday afternoon that will end at the plaza for a celebration and a donation drive for people experiencing homelessness.
“My son had such a giving heart,” Lawson said. “I’m going to do everything in my power to make sure I do what DJ would want and to make sure that I continue to just follow in his footsteps. We could all learn a whole lot from DJ.”
Anyone with information is encouraged to call the Arcata Police Department’s anonymous tip line at 707825-2590.