Family now raising newborn after shocking loss at Birmingham Medical Center
By SPEAKIN’ OUT NEWS
A heartbreaking tragedy at a Birmingham hospital has left a newborn baby without parents and a grieving family searching for strength and support.
Precious Elicia J’anae Johnson, 24, was killed March 1 in a murder-suicide at Baptist Health Brookwood Hospital’s Women’s Medical Center. Authorities say her husband, 19-year-old Kynath William Terry Jr., died at the scene from a self-inflicted gunshot wound after fatally shooting Johnson at her bedside.
The shooting happened just before 9:30 p.m. on the fifth floor of the hospital’s women’s center, where Johnson had recently given birth to the couple’s daughter, Alaia. The newborn was not in the room at the time of the shooting, according to reports.
Family members remember Johnson as a loving daughter, faithful Christian, and proud new mother who wanted the best future for her child.
“She loved to worship Jesus and attended church faithfully,” her mother, Trista Roberts, wrote on Facebook. “She was so excited to become a mother… She only wanted the best life had to offer.”
Johnson had joined the U.S. Navy in 2024 and most recently worked as a nail technician in Birmingham. Friends say she had big dreams and a deep love for her family.
Her relatives say the loss has been devastating. “What should have been a place of care and safety became the place where our family’s world was forever changed,” the family wrote in a GoFundMe created to support Johnson’s burial and help raise baby Alaia.
Community members across Alabama are rallying around the family as they prepare to raise the newborn. Donations from the fundraiser will help with funeral expenses, childcare needs, counseling services, and long-term support for Alaia.
As the community mourns, Johnson’s family says they want her daughter to grow up knowing how deeply her mother was loved.
“We want Alaia to grow up knowing that her mother was loved,” the family wrote, “and that people from everywhere came together to support her during the darkest time in our lives.”
