A Bronx mother of two who days ago told relatives she was scared of her boyfriend was found dead in her apartment, police and family members said.
Bjana James, 37, was found dead in her apartment in the Bronx’s Betances Houses on Friday, with her throat slashed, according to police sources, who said James’ death will likely be investigated as a homicide.
There were no signs of forced entry or robbery, an NYPD spokesman said.
Family members who gathered to light candles outside James’ apartment on Saturday said she had expressed concern to a family member earlier in the week that her boyfriend was acting unusual, and possibly going to hurt her. James stopped replying to texts on Wednesday night, the relatives said.
“She basically was texting her [relative] the day it happened like, ‘I’m scared. He’s gonna kill me. I’m scared for my life. He is bugging out,'” a cousin, who gave her name as Shelly, told The Post. “He left the house. She wrote back… ‘He’s here, he’s back,’ and ever since she wrote that we didn’t hear from her again.”
Bjana James had two children, 8-year-old Maya and 12-year-old Junior. Family photo
The 37-year-old mother of two told her relatives just days before her fear of her boyfriend. Tomas E. Gaston for NY PostBy Friday, worried family members decided to go to James’ apartment and check on her.
“The brother went up there, turned her knob — it was opened and she was on the couch dead,” her cousin said.
Shelly described James as “full of life” and a “party person” who got a kick out of her job at the Empire Casino in Yonkers.
“She was lively. She liked to play cards. She worked at the casino. She loved it. She was like a party person. She was happy,” she recalled. “She was always recording, always have her camera out taking pictures of you.”
The victim was the oldest of eight children. She is survived by a 12-year-old son and eight-year-old daughter, who lived with their maternal grandmother at the time of her death.
Relatives mourn the loss of Bjana James. Tomas E. Gaston for NY Post
Bjana James was described as “full of life.” Family photo
James’ body was found in her Bronx apartment Friday. Tomas E. Gaston for NY Post“I didn’t know she was in a domestic violence relationship,” her mother Stacey James told The Post. “I noticed a change in her when they got together. She wouldn’t come see the baby as much.”
“She was a good person,” said her sister, who declined to share her name. “Even when I didn’t agree with some of the stuff she did because I’m the youngest and she is the oldest, it was still a reason for it and she had good intentions.
“She didn’t deserve this, nobody does.”
Domnisea Middleton, 52, the victim’s cardplaying buddy and friend for 12 years, said James’ job at the casino fit her personality.
“It’s devastating. If you knew her, you love her – goofy …just a good soul,” Middleton said. “We definitely lost a good one.”
