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Baton Rouge murder suspect reportedly killed himself during shootout with police in West Virginia

1 year 3 months 2 weeks ago Friday, December 02 2022 Dec 2, 2022 December 02, 2022 6:21 AM December 02, 2022 in News
Source: WBRZ

BATON ROUGE - A man wanted for killing the mother of his child in Baton Rouge apparently killed himself during a police shootout in another state less than 24 hours after officers found the woman's body.

The search for Da'ja Davis' killer started around 3 p.m. Thursday when police found her shot to death in the passenger seat of a car on Shelley Street. Sources said it's unclear how long Davis, 28, had been dead, but her body was only discovered after one of her children wasn't picked up from daycare Wednesday evening.

Police told WBRZ that Davis' boyfriend, 29-year-old Napoleon Crane, killed her and fled the state in a stolen car with their 6-month-old daughter. Sources said the car Davis was found in belonged to Crane, but it's unclear what happened in the moments leading up to the shooting. 

Once police found the body, agencies in other states were alerted that Crane — who had ties to Pennsylvania — was possibly heading north with the child. Around 9:30 a.m. Friday, state troopers in West Virginia spotted the car on I-77 in Mercer County.

When police tried to make a traffic stop, Crane reportedly got out of the car and started shooting. West Virginia State Police initially reported Crane was killed in the ensuing law enforcement shootout, but officers said Friday afternoon he apparently died by suicide during the exchange.

Following the shootout, officers found the infant unharmed in the back seat of the car. No one else was hurt. 

Family members in Baton Rouge are currently in the process of trying to get the 6-month-old girl, Nyla, back to Louisiana.

In cases similar to this, usually an Amber Alert is sent out to the public for the missing child. BRPD spokesperson L'Jean Mckneely told WBRZ they did request an alert, but only law enforcement was notified.

McKneely says Crane was dangerous, and they believed it was best for only law enforcement to be aware of the incident.

"If we possibly put it out through the regular Amber Alert, we might have alerted him that we were actually looking for him. In this particular incident, detectives felt it was best to make the Amber Alert only for law enforcement," McKneely said.

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