A body positivity influencer who vowed to dedicate her life to empowering America's youth allegedly tried to kill her two daughters by crashing her car on the freeway then stabbing them both.
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who → vow → them
Janieka Ellington, 35, was starting to make a name for herself as plus size activist after she documented her 60-pound weight loss journey on TikTok, the Daily Mail can reveal.
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Mail → start → TikTok
While she was encouraging others to achieve their 'dream body naturally,' meaning without surgery or medication, she was also pursuing her dream of becoming a criminal justice and public policy worker.
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she → encourage → worker
The promising diversity, equity and inclusion scholar graduated last winter with her masters degree in criminal justice from Walden University, known for its online learning programs.
But she is now facing attempted murder charges after police say she intentionally crashed her VW Tiguan along the I-5 in Dupont, Washington, around 9am PT on October 5.
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she → graduate → October
Ellington then tried to stab her two daughters, with the bloodbath only stopping after two US Army soldiers saw what was going on and rushed to her, according to charging documents obtained by the Daily Mail.
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what → try → Mail
The alleged would-be murderer blamed losing her job and mental health issues for her behavior, investigators said.
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investigators → blame → behavior
Ellington's downfall is a sharp one that comes in the wake of a foray into academia.
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that → come → academia
Janieka Ellington, 35, vowed to dedicate her life to empowering America's youth after she graduated with her masters degree in criminal justice from Walden University
The scholar, who celebrated her graduation by posing in her cap and gown in a series of social media photos, devoted her research and advocacy work to public policy change
Her capstone thesis saw Ellington explore what she describes as the 'deep-seated roots of injustice embedded within the American criminal justice system.'
She devoted her research and advocacy work to public policy change that dismantles structural barriers, addresses racial inequality and promotes restorative justice and public safety, according to her thesis and online academia profile.
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that → vow → thesis
In September, the first-generation masters student marked the end of her degree program by holding a photoshoot in her cap and gown.
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student → mark → cap
'I'm dedicated to empowering young people to break through their barriers and come out victorious,' she wrote on Facebook, sharing a highlight reel of photos from the shoot.
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she → dedicate → shoot
She added: 'I didn't grow up with a silver spoon, but I'm constantly pushing forward, never forgetting where I come from.'
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I → add → where
Ellington could now find herself spending decades behind bars over the violent incident on the I-5 earlier this month, a probable cause affidavit alleged.
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affidavit → find → I-5
Washington State Patrol (WSP) says she struck the left-side barrier, veered to the right shoulder, then left again and hit a semi-truck in the middle lane.
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she → say → lane
She continued left and struck the concrete barrier again, causing the car to rollover on the passenger side before coming to a stop, according to police.
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car → continue → police
Three Good Samaritans rushed to help Ellington and her young daughters, identified only by their initials AD and ZD.
Ellington then pulled out a knife and started chasing AD, age 15, around and yelling 'I'm going to kill you,' the affidavit said.
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affidavit → rush → you
The group of bystanders, which included two soldiers, and the teenager worked to disarm AD and held her on the ground until state troopers arrived, the affidavit said.
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affidavit → include → ground
Ellington was charged with four counts of attempted murder, two counts of vehicular assault and felony harassment, according to Pierce County Corrections records.
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Ellington → charge → records
She has not yet entered a plea.
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She → enter → plea
The alleged assault came just three hours after the seemingly distressed mother had run out of gas on the side of the road, WSP body-worn camera footage obtained by KING 5 showed.
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footage → allege → KING
Ellington crashed her SUV into a concrete barrier along I-5 in Dupont, Washington on just before 9am on October 5, according to a probable cause affidavit obtained by the Daily Mail
The alleged assault came just three hours after the seemingly distressed mother had run out of gas on the side of the road.
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mother → crash → road
A state trooper went to a nearby gas station, filled a five-gallon gas container, and returned to put the fuel in her car
Ellington, who appeared to be crying in the footage, was seen standing next to her parked SUV just after 6am on October 5.
She allegedly told the officer that she had run out of fuel, so he went to a nearby gas station, filled a five-gallon gas container, and returned to put the fuel in her car.
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he → go → car
At the time of her arrest, Ellington had been struggling with her mental health, a pretrial services screening and public safety assessment revealed.
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screening → struggle → health
She told investigators during an in-custody interview that she had been diagnosed with depression and anxiety, the filing said.
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filing → tell → depression
Investigators ran a check through the National Crime Information Center database and determined Ellington has a 'criminal history in Tennessee,' the assessment noted.
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assessment → run → Tennessee
The filing went on to state that despite this history, she has no convictions.
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she → go → convictions
The Daily Mail ran an independent records search and failed to find any further details about her alleged criminal past in Tennessee.
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Mail → run → Tennessee
Instead, she appeared to be a pillar in her Memphis community and just four years ago was featured in a Canvas Rebel profile in connection to her media company, Memphis Visuals.
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she → appear → company
The company, which has not updated its social media platforms since 2023, offered photography, film and music video services across Memphis.
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which → update → Memphis
Three Good Samaritans rushed to help, but Ellington pulled out a knife and started chasing her 15-year-old daughter around while yelling 'I'm going to kill you,' the court filing alleged
Ellington was arrested at the scene and taken to a nearby hospital for evaluation, the filing said.
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filing → rush → evaluation
She is currently being held in jail without bail as she awaits a mental health evaluation, according to a competency evaluation order
While in Tennessee, Ellington had also amassed a small following on TikTok as a body positivity influencer after losing 60 pounds in just two years.
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Ellington → hold → years
'As a plus size woman, I grew up bullied and shamed for my body,' she told the magazine.
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she → grow → magazine
'But as an adult, I found my confidence and pride in my curvy physique.'
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I → find → physique
Her TikTok account has since been deleted, but other social media profiles promoting body positivity remain active.
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profiles → delete → positivity
It is unclear exactly when or why Ellington moved her family to Washington, but her daughters told police they had been living with an uncle in the small town of Steilacoom.
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they → move → Steilacoom
Ellington represented the Palmer Scholars Green Stormwater Infrastructure program at the Tacoma Public Utilities Women in Trades Expo in January 2025, the workforce development initiative wrote in a Facebook post.
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initiative → represent → post
She and her cohort 'loved connecting with so many driven young women exploring careers in the trade,' Palmer Scholars said at the time.
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Scholars → connect → time
However, she had been unemployed for about two months at the time of her arrest, according to the pretrial services screening and public safety assessment.
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she → accord → assessment
Ellington told police how she recently lost two jobs and was stressed.
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she → tell → jobs
She claimed that she was having difficulties managing her mental health and was concerned she was being followed, according to a WSP report obtained by KING 5.
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she → claim → KING
The scholar also said she had considered traveling to Vancouver, Canada, in search of safety, the report said.
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report → say → safety
…and 18 more, not listed.
The Aporia
