Thursday afternoon on Parkway Homes Road began like any other. But by 1:20 p.m., police were at 351 Parkway Homes Road conducting a welfare check. What they found inside would forever change the quiet Greenburgh neighborhood.
Officers entered the residence and discovered three people, all related, all shot. Two were already gone. The third was rushed to Westchester Medical Center but later died. The dead were Robert Watson, 76, who owned the home; his daughter Cherika Nataye Johnson, 50; and her son Jaden Johnson, 23.
Investigators quickly determined that the shooting was not random. There was no intruder. No robbery. No outside threat. Police believe Jaden Johnson fired the shots that killed his mother and his grandfather before turning the weapon on himself. A motive has not been released. The case is being treated as a double murder followed by suicide.
Neighbors were stunned. Across the street, a resident who had watched the family for decades said she knew Watson well. She often saw him walking his dog. She also saw him leaving for church, where he served as a deacon at First Community Baptist Church. He was a familiar face. A steady presence.
Church leaders echoed the shock. Pastor Tyrone Robinson described Watson as a dedicated member who held leadership roles and gave his time freely. Robinson also spoke of Cherika Johnson, a longtime choir singer whose voice had filled the sanctuary many Sunday mornings. Both were beloved.
Police have not suggested any ongoing danger to the public. The shooting appears to be an isolated domestic incident, contained within the walls of 351 Parkway Homes Road. But the grief will spread much further than that address.
Detectives continue to investigate. Anyone with information is asked to call Greenburgh police at 914‑989‑1725. A family of three is gone. A neighborhood is left wondering what could have gone so wrong behind closed doors.