Overview:
Dahana Jean, 26, was a beacon of hope for her family in Haiti, who relied on her for support. Her journey to the U.S. for a better life ended tragically at the hands of her boyfriend John Roseau, according to police, leaving loved ones in immense grief.
PORT-AU-PRINCE — Marie Danielle Léonard, a vendor in the Clercine area north of Haiti’s capital, has struggled for years to raise her three daughters. But over time, she came to count on her firstborn, Dahana Jean, to lend a hand.
“If I gave her a task, it was always done by the time I returned from the market,” Léonard, 47, recalls during an interview last week. “Even when I punished her, she never got angry. She accepted when she was wrong.
“She never repeated a grade,” Léonard continued with the list of virtues. “I always felt proud because every time I paid her school fees, she advanced to the next class without giving me any problems.”
In 2023, when the humanitarian parole program opened up for Haitians to move to the United States, to Léonard, Dahana was the obvious choice to be sponsored.
She flew off, carrying with her the family’s hopes for stable financial support.
“Then, I heard that a young man had killed her,” Léonard said, referring to Dahana’s boyfriend.
“I was completely traumatized. I didn’t send my daughter on this journey for her to die,” she said. “I sent her to seek a better life.”
In a tragic twist, Dahana’s life was cut short at age 26. Authorities in New York said they found her in a Brooklyn basement apartment on June 12—her throat slit. The next day, police arrested John Roseau, 32, on charges of murder in the second degree and criminal possession of a weapon. They said he admitted to killing her on June 9 with two knives.
According to local news reports in June, Roseau allegedly tried to flee after the killing. He ended up in Buffalo, N.Y.—a city bordering Canada about 375 miles north—where he reportedly walked into a police station to confess what he had done.
Public records show Roseau is being held in a Queens jail, with a court date set for Sept. 16. No attorney is listed as of July 14, and contacts for any relatives were not immediately available.
In laying Dahana to rest last weekend with a wake in Clercine and memorial service in Brooklyn, loved ones painted a picture of a dutiful young woman who worked very hard, was cheerful and sweet, and very interested in beauty and cosmetology. Dahana’s trajectory mimics that of thousands of Haitians finding their way in America by seeking work and sending money back home. For those in precarious immigration status, the path may also entail risky choices, such as whom to date or marry. In Dahana’s case, her mother explained, Roseau being a permanent resident was a plus in the dating decision.
“I thought this person would guide her, help her learn the area, find a job — because she had no one,” Léonard said. “If I had known he would kill her, I would never have allowed her to speak with him.”
A daughter’s life of duty and devotion in Clercine
Dahana’s gruesome, violent end is a far cry from the harmonious way many said she lived. In this part suburb—where the airport, customs, police headquarters, army base and some government officials’ mansions are never too far from the homes of working families who left behind the capital’s congestion—people of modest means and those with affluence share space.
In this enclave, Dahana grew up in Clercine 22 with her two sisters on her mom’s side – Dalandy Jean, 21, and Esthère Préval, 10. As she grew older, she helped Léonard, who sells jewelry, sandals and cosmetics at the Tabarre market. Nicknamed “Dayou,” she became known as a loving, devoted person whose kindness extended to everyone.
Dahana attended École des Sœurs Jean Paul II for primary school, then Institution Saint-Vincent de Paul for secondary studies. Unable to afford university, Dahana pursued vocational training in cosmetology. She earned certifications in the field, but struggled to find work in Haiti’s limited job market. The sisters relied on her mother’s vending and money transfers from Jean’s father, Jean Wisler Jean, in New York.
Still, Dahana carried her own dream: To turn her passion for beauty into a thriving business by opening her own salon. She envisioned creating a space that bore her name, where she could express her creativity and support her family.
In the meantime, to help ease her mother’s burden, she sold clothing, allowing clients to pay over time.
To Dalandy Jean, the older sister was a role model and trusted confidante always willing to help her. Like most siblings, they had their quarrels, but they never lasted long—especially not when Dahana would tickle her sides to make me laugh.
“Everyone adored her,” Jean said. “She was open and warm with everyone. I will never be able to forget her.”
Marie Loudline Séide, Dahana’s best friend, is still at a loss for words. The two had been inseparable since they were teens in Clercine 22, and forged a bond built on trust, openness and unwavering loyalty.
Séide remembers the two of them returning from a night out once, only to find themselves locked out. They had no choice but to spend the night together in the hallway outside Dahana’s front door, an experience that drew them even closer.
A promising start in America, then a tragic end
Séide remembers another evening with Dahana, their last together. A maternal cousin in Boston had filed the application on her behalf successfully. Yet, Dahana hesitated at first about leaving the country because she didn’t want to leave her sisters or her mother.
“The night before her trip, she drank until she got tipsy,” Seide recalled. “She told me she was leaving the next day and didn’t feel ready to leave her family.”
“I couldn’t let her pass up this opportunity. I helped her do her hair and nails.”
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Dahana Jean, shown in a photo with a filter said to be taken during her 2023 journey to the United States. Photo via Jean’s TikTok account. -
A screenshot of Dahana Jean’s postings on TikTok, documenting some of her life in the U.S. -
A photo of Dahana Jean and John Roseau circulating on social media. Photo via Instagram -
The quiet block in Midwood, Brooklyn, where Dahana Jean lived at 1886 New York Avenue and was found dead. Photo by Macollvie J. Neel for The Haitian Times
Once abroad, Dahana spent a few weeks in Boston, then moved to Brooklyn to stay with her father in an apartment in Midwood. Since parolees were authorized for employment, she found a job at a discount retailer. Soon enough, she was sending some money back home as planned.
“Whenever I told her things weren’t going well, that I didn’t have food, she was ready to send me $20 or $30, depending on what she could afford,” Léonard said. “She would say, ‘Mom, you don’t need to tell me you’re hungry. I’ll figure something out. Just wait for me a little.’”
As Dahana settled in, she gave glimpses of her new life by posting regularly on TikTok. Original and filtered images show her dolled up for fun events or out and about—often in brightly colored, playful hair-do’s and meticulously applied makeup.
Offline, she stayed in touch with the Clercine crew through regular video calls. In one, Dahana introduced Roseau to her mother.
“I told her, ‘In any case, Dahana, I don’t want you dating just anyone— you know you’re a Biden,” Léonard said. “I asked, ‘Is it someone with residency who can help you get it? You shouldn’t settle for just anyone.’”
When Dahana said Roseau had papers, the mother said she agreed to their relationship.
At some point, the relationship apparently turned abusive. Léonard and others declined to speak in detail about the couple’s interactions or speculation on social media.
However, on June 9, Séide said Dahana sent her photos of injuries her friend said Roseau had caused during a beating. Three days later, Dahana was found dead.
As loved ones grieve, mom demands damages
A month after the killing, those who loved Dahana are still reeling from the blow. During that time, much speculation arose about how the couple met, supposedly lived together off and on, and why they stayed together if there was abuse. Authorities also investigated in preparation for prosecuting Roseau.
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A prayer card distributed during the funeral service at Frantz Daniel Jean Funeral Home on Saturday, July 12, 2025, in Brooklyn. Photo by Macollvie J. Neel for The Haitian Times.
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A family friend who came to help with preparations for the vigil honoring Dahana Jean, held in Clercine 22, in the Cul-de-Sac plain, on Friday, July 11, 2025. Photo by Dieugo André for The Haitian Times.
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As tradition holds, people gathered to mourn Dahana and play dominoes to keep up with the night during the vigil held in Clercine 22, in the Cul-de-Sac plain, on Friday, July 11, 2025. Photo by Dieugo André for The Haitian Times -
Candles were placed in front of a sign bearing the photo of Dahana Jean during a vigil honoring her memory in Clercine 22, in the Cul-de-Sac plain, on Friday, July 11, 2025. Photo by Dieugo André for The Haitian Times.
Finally, on July 11, in an alley near the Clercine 22 open market, about 15 people gathered for a wake to honor Dahana’s memory on the eve of her funeral. They prepared food and ate communally as the sound of dominoes clacked on a nearby table and farewell songs played on a loop. As the night darkened, they lit candles and kneeled around a “Rest in Peace” placard with Dahana’s smiling face.
The next day in an East Flatbush funeral home, about 50 relatives, friends and former colleagues paid their respects. The same photos were part of a video tribute during the open casket farewell.
“It’s true we all have our time to die, but I don’t like how she went,” Dalandy Jean said. “I would have preferred she got sick and passed in the hospital—not like this.”
For Léonard, the death also means one less avenue to help Dahana’s survivors go on in a practical sense.
“I’m a poor woman without a name,” Léonard said Friday. “I already know I can’t afford a lawyer to help me seek compensation. If someone could support me in that, to ask the young man’s family to compensate me, it [life] would be better for me.
“That was my child, and she was everything to me.”
Special Projects Editor Macollvie J. Neel contributed to this report from New York.
Correction: An earlier version of this story contained an incorrect screenshot from TikTok in a photo gallery. The erroneous image has been replaced.