LANSING, Mich. — An Indianapolis man who targeted LGBTQ victims will serve several decades behind bars after pleading guilty to second-degree murder in Michigan.
Diabolique Paris Johnson, 35, pleaded guilty on Monday afternoon and faces between 25 to 45 years in prison for second-degree murder. He will also serve two years consecutively for a firearm charge along with pleading guilty to armed robbery and facing between 15 to 30 years that will be served concurrent to his murder sentence.
According to court records, Johnson targeted members of the LGBTQ community on online dating apps. On Sept 1, 2020, Johnson allegedly lured a 26-year-old Detroit man to a hotel in Dearborn, Michigan, where he robbed him at gunpoint.
Four days later, Johnson lured a 39-year-old Detroit man to a meeting spot and murdered the victim during an armed robbery.
Both victims were members of the LGBTQ community.
“It is troubling that the perpetrator of these vicious acts apparently used online dating apps to locate and target his victims,” said Fair Michigan President Alanna Maguire. “Michigan’s LGBTQ communities know that the Fair Michigan Justice Project, along with Michigan’s county prosecutors and law enforcement officials, stand ready to aggressively investigate and prosecute these brutal crimes.”
Fair Michigan Justice Project is a program that assists Michigan law enforcement officers and prosecutors in solving serious crimes against lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgender persons. Police said officers from Dearborn, Detroit and Indianapolis conducted the investigation that led to Johnsons’s arrest.
Johnson was arrested in Indianapolis. He was charged by the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office on March 2, 2021.
This is the first case in Michigan that represents a joint undertaking between Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel’s Hate Crimes Unit and Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy, the attorney general’s office said in a release.
