An alleged double killer from Alaska was arrested Wednesday in Staten Island after Homeland Security Investigation and NYPD agents helped track his cross-country journey to a home in the borough of Staten Island.
Jalonni Blackshear, 39, was labeled a person of interest in the deaths of 35-year-old Raechyl Blackshear and their 14-year-old daughter, Jayla, who were found dead in their Anchorage home on Friday. He had been in the wind since that time.
Law enforcement officials told News 4 New York that the teenager went to police on March 30 to allegedly report that she had been raped by her father. Her mother took her to the hospital where forensic tests were performed, and police subsequently took a DNA sample from Jalonni Blackshear as part of the investigation.
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A day after giving the DNA sample, Blackshear quit his job as a corrections officer, and he disappeared, along with Raechyl and Jayla, a criminal complaint read.
The DNA samples came back as a match for Jalonni Blackshear on April 13. The mother and daughter were found dead in the Anchorage home two days later, according to the criminal complaint.
Local cops in Anchorage had said they believed Jalonni Blackshear may have run to the East Coast, and asked HSI agents and the NYPD to assist in the manhunt. They used his cellphone to track him to a house on Staten Island, and were seen Wednesday searching a Harold Street home and later leading Blackshear away.
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He was charged with sex assault of a minor and is believed to be responsible for the shotgun shooting deaths of the mother and daughter, according to law enforcement officials. He was ordered held without bail, pending his return to Alaska on the charges.
An NYPD spokesman had no immediate update.
An HSI spokesman referred calls to Anchorage Police, and a spokesperson for the police department said they couldn't provide additional details at this time since the investigation is ongoing.
Law enforcement sources said that after the mom and child had not been heard from, concerned coworkers of Raechyl Blackshear, who worked as a nurse, called police. Officers performed a welfare check at their Anchorage home, where the bodies of both female Blackshears were found inside, according to law enforcement officials.
The alleged killings were domestic in nature, the Anchorage Daily News reported. The relationship between them and Jalonni Blackshear wasn't immediately clear, but the Anchorage Daily News said Jalonni and Raechyl were married at some point.
The nature of their current circumstances wasn't known. Anchorage police, when they started their manhunt, had warned Jalonni Blackshear should be considered armed and dangerous.
It wasn't immediately clear when Jalonni Blackshear would appear in court in New York to face extradition to Anchorage on the criminal charges.
