Overview:
Dahana Jean, 26, was a beacon of hope for her household in Haiti, who relied on her for assist. Her journey to the U.S. for a greater life ended tragically by the hands of her boyfriend John Roseau, in keeping with police, leaving family members in immense grief.
PORT-AU-PRINCE — Marie Danielle Léonard, a vendor within the Clercine space north of Haiti’s capital, has struggled for years to boost her three daughters. However over time, she got here to rely on her firstborn, Dahana Jean, to help.
“If I gave her a process, it was all the time completed by the point I returned from the market,” Léonard, 47, remembers throughout an interview final week. “Even after I punished her, she by no means received offended. She accepted when she was mistaken.
“She by no means repeated a grade,” Léonard continued with the checklist of virtues. “I all the time felt proud as a result of each time I paid her college charges, she superior to the following class with out giving me any issues.”
In 2023, when the humanitarian parole program opened up for Haitians to maneuver to the US, to Léonard, Dahana was the plain option to be sponsored.
She flew off, carrying together with her the household’s hopes for steady monetary assist.
“Then, I heard {that a} younger man had killed her,” Léonard mentioned, referring to Dahana’s boyfriend.
“I used to be fully traumatized. I didn’t ship my daughter on this journey for her to die,” she mentioned. “I despatched her to hunt a greater life.”
In a tragic twist, Dahana’s life was lower brief at age 26. Authorities in New York mentioned they discovered her in a Brooklyn basement residence on June 12—her throat slit. The subsequent day, police arrested John Roseau, 32, on expenses of homicide within the second diploma and felony possession of a weapon. They mentioned he admitted to killing her on June 9 with two knives.
In line with local news reports in June, Roseau allegedly tried to flee after the killing. He ended up in Buffalo, N.Y.—a metropolis bordering Canada about 375 miles north—the place he reportedly walked right into a police station to admit what he had completed.
Public information present Roseau is being held in a Queens jail, with a courtroom date set for Sept. 16. No lawyer is listed as of July 14, and contacts for any kin weren’t instantly accessible.
In laying Dahana to relaxation final weekend with a wake in Clercine and memorial service in Brooklyn, family members painted an image of a dutiful younger girl who labored very arduous, was cheerful and candy, and really fascinated by magnificence and cosmetology. Dahana’s trajectory mimics that of 1000’s of Haitians discovering their means in America by looking for work and sending a refund dwelling. For these in precarious immigration standing, the trail might also entail dangerous selections, comparable to whom thus far or marry. In Dahana’s case, her mom defined, Roseau being a everlasting resident was a plus within the relationship choice.
“I assumed this individual would information her, assist her study the realm, discover a job — as a result of she had nobody,” Léonard mentioned. “If I had identified he would kill her, I’d by no means have allowed her to talk with him.”
A daughter’s lifetime of responsibility and devotion in Clercine
Dahana’s grotesque, violent finish is a far cry from the harmonious means many mentioned she lived. On this half suburb—the place the airport, customs, police headquarters, military base and a few authorities officers’ mansions are by no means too removed from the properties of working households who left behind the capital’s congestion—folks of modest means and people with affluence share house.
On this enclave, Dahana grew up in Clercine 22 together with her two sisters on her mother’s facet – Dalandy Jean, 21, and Esthère Préval, 10. As she grew older, she helped Léonard, who sells jewellery, sandals and cosmetics on the Tabarre market. Nicknamed “Dayou,” she turned referred to as a loving, devoted individual whose kindness prolonged to everybody.
Dahana attended École des Sœurs Jean Paul II for major college, then Establishment Saint-Vincent de Paul for secondary research. Unable to afford college, Dahana pursued vocational coaching in cosmetology. She earned certifications within the area, however struggled to seek out work in Haiti’s restricted job market. The sisters relied on her mom’s merchandising and cash transfers from Jean’s father, Jean Wisler Jean, in New York.
Nonetheless, Dahana carried her personal dream: To show her ardour for magnificence right into a thriving enterprise by opening her personal salon. She envisioned creating an area that bore her identify, the place she might specific her creativity and assist her household.
Within the meantime, to assist ease her mom’s burden, she offered clothes, permitting purchasers to pay over time.
To Dalandy Jean, the older sister was a job mannequin and trusted confidante all the time keen to assist her. Like most siblings, that they had their quarrels, however they by no means lasted lengthy—particularly not when Dahana would tickle her sides to make me snigger.
“Everybody adored her,” Jean mentioned. “She was open and heat with everybody. I’ll by no means have the ability to overlook her.”
Marie Loudline Séide, Dahana’s greatest pal, continues to be perplexed. The 2 had been inseparable since they had been teenagers in Clercine 22, and solid a bond constructed on belief, openness and unwavering loyalty.
Séide remembers the 2 of them getting back from an evening out as soon as, solely to seek out themselves locked out. They’d no alternative however to spend the night time collectively within the hallway exterior Dahana’s entrance door, an expertise that drew them even nearer.
A promising begin in America, then a tragic finish
Séide remembers one other night with Dahana, their final collectively. A maternal cousin in Boston had filed the appliance on her behalf efficiently. But, Dahana hesitated at first about leaving the nation as a result of she didn’t need to go away her sisters or her mom.
“The night time earlier than her journey, she drank till she received tipsy,” Seide recalled. “She instructed me she was leaving the following day and didn’t really feel prepared to depart her household.”
“I couldn’t let her go up this chance. I helped her do her hair and nails.”
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A photograph of Dahana Jean and John Roseau circulating on social media. Photograph through Instagram -
The quiet block in Midwood, Brooklyn, the place Dahana Jean lived at 1886 New York Avenue and was discovered useless. Photograph by Macollvie J. Neel for The Haitian Occasions
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A screenshot of Dahana Jean’s postings on TikTok, displaying latest photos of her life within the U.S. Her tagline, ‘Dahana la rescapée,’ means ‘Dahana, the survivor.’ Illustration by The Haitian Occasions -
Dahana Jean, proven in a photograph with a filter mentioned to be taken throughout her 2023 journey to the US. Photograph through Jean’s TikTok account.
As soon as overseas, Dahana spent a number of weeks in Boston, then moved to Brooklyn to stick with her father in an residence in Midwood. Since parolees had been licensed for employment, she discovered a job at a reduction retailer. Quickly sufficient, she was sending some a refund dwelling as deliberate.
“At any time when I instructed her issues weren’t going effectively, that I didn’t have meals, she was able to ship me $20 or $30, relying on what she might afford,” Léonard mentioned. “She would say, ‘Mother, you don’t want to inform me you’re hungry. I’ll determine one thing out. Simply look forward to me a bit.’”
As Dahana settled in, she gave glimpses of her new life by posting repeatedly on TikTok and Instagram. Authentic and filtered photos on-line present her dolled up for enjoyable occasions within the metropolis and selfies shot indoors—usually in brightly coloured, playful hair-do’s and meticulously utilized make-up.
Offline, she stayed in contact with the Clercine crew by common video calls. In a single, Dahana launched Roseau to her mom.
“I instructed her, ‘In any case, Dahana, I don’t need you relationship simply anybody— you realize you’re a Biden,” Léonard mentioned. “I requested, ‘Is it somebody with residency who will help you get it? You shouldn’t accept simply anybody.’”
When Dahana mentioned Roseau had papers, the mom mentioned she agreed to their relationship.
In some unspecified time in the future, the connection apparently turned abusive. Léonard and others declined to talk intimately in regards to the couple’s interactions or hypothesis on social media.
Nevertheless, on June 9, Séide mentioned Dahana despatched her pictures of accidents her pal mentioned Roseau had precipitated throughout a beating. Three days later, Dahana was discovered useless.
As family members grieve, mother calls for damages
A month after the killing, those that liked Dahana are nonetheless reeling from the blow. Throughout that point, a lot hypothesis arose about how the couple met, supposedly lived collectively on and off, and why they stayed collectively if there was abuse. Authorities additionally investigated in preparation for prosecuting Roseau.
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A prayer card distributed through the funeral service at Frantz Daniel Jean Funeral Dwelling on Saturday, July 12, 2025, in Brooklyn. Photograph by Macollvie J. Neel for The Haitian Occasions.
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A household pal who got here to assist with preparations for the vigil honoring Dahana Jean, held in Clercine 22, within the Cul-de-Sac plain, on Friday, July 11, 2025. Photograph by Dieugo André for The Haitian Occasions.
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As custom holds, folks gathered to mourn Dahana and play dominoes to maintain up with the night time through the vigil held in Clercine 22, within the Cul-de-Sac plain, on Friday, July 11, 2025. Photograph by Dieugo André for The Haitian Occasions -
Candles had been positioned in entrance of an indication bearing the picture of Dahana Jean throughout a vigil honoring her reminiscence in Clercine 22, within the Cul-de-Sac plain, on Friday, July 11, 2025. Photograph by Dieugo André for The Haitian Occasions.
Lastly, on July 11, in an alley close to the Clercine 22 open market, about 15 folks gathered for a wake to honor Dahana’s reminiscence on the eve of her funeral. They ready meals and ate communally because the sound of dominoes clacked on a close-by desk and farewell songs performed on a loop. Because the night time darkened, they lit candles and kneeled round a “Relaxation in Peace” placard with Dahana’s smiling face.
The subsequent day in an East Flatbush funeral home, about 50 kin, mates and former colleagues paid their respects. The identical pictures had been a part of a video tribute through the open casket farewell.
“It’s true all of us have our time to die, however I don’t like how she went,” Dalandy Jean mentioned. “I’d have most popular she received sick and handed within the hospital—not like this.”
For Léonard, the demise additionally means one much less avenue to assist Dahana’s survivors go on in a sensible sense.
“I’m a poor girl with out a identify,” Léonard mentioned Friday. “I already know I can’t afford a lawyer to assist me search compensation. If somebody might assist me in that, to ask the younger man’s household to compensate me, it [life] can be higher for me.
“That was my baby, and she or he was the whole lot to me.”