CLARKSTON WOMAN CONVICTED OF MALICE MURDER AFTER SHOOTING EX IN FRONT OF CHILDREN

Wednesday, March 4, 2026

State v. J'ana Rawat

Decatur, Ga.- DeKalb County District Attorney Sherry Boston announces a conviction by jury trial in the case against a woman accused of shooting and killing her ex-boyfriend while two of her children were in the room.

On Tuesday, March 3, 2026, a jury found J'ana Rawat, 30, guilty on charges of Malice Murder, Felony Murder, Aggravated Assault Family Violence, Cruelty to Children in the Third Degree, and Possession of a Firearm During the Commission of a Felony stemming from the murder of Tyler James Reed, 28, on May 20, 2022.

According to the investigation, officers with the Clarkston Police Department responded shortly before 1 a.m. to a call about a person shot at an apartment complex in the 1400 block of Oak Drive. When they arrived, officers found the door of the apartment open and walked inside. Defendant Rawat came down the stairs inside the unit and pointed the officers toward the kitchen. Police detained Rawat and asked her for the gun involved in the shooting, which she had in her jacket pocket.

The officers then rushed into the kitchen and found Reed lying face down on the floor. They attempted CPR but were not successful. Mr. Reed was pronounced dead at the scene.

Defendant Rawat told officers she wanted to make a statement, so they transported her to police headquarters where she waived her Miranda rights. Rawat told police she had left her three children at the apartment with Mr. Reed, so that she could go out with a friend. Mr. Reed is the father of one of Rawat's children.

When Defendant Rawat returned home about one hour later, she had trouble getting her key to the apartment to work and thought it looked like it had been tampered with. Once Rawat got inside she argued with Reed about the lock.

Reed was sitting at the kitchen table with one of Defendant Rawat's children. Rawat continued to argue with Reed, and she told officers that she grabbed a kitchen knife and pointed it at Reed because he had been violent with her in the past.

Defendant Rawat then went upstairs and got a gun, as well as her other child. She returned to the kitchen and pointed the gun at Reed, who was still sitting at the table. Reed told Defendant Rawat he was not afraid of her, and she pulled the trigger, shooting him twice in front of the children.

While Defendant Rawat's defense attorneys tried to argue that she acted in self-defense, there was no evidence that Reed was a threat to her at the time of the shooting.

DeKalb County Superior Court Judge Asha F. Jackson, who presided over the trial, will schedule a sentencing hearing for Defendant Rawat in 45 days.

The case, assigned to the Domestic Violence/Sexual Assault Unit, was prosecuted by Senior Assistant District Attorney Furhawn Shah with assistance from Senior Assistant District Attorney Eliazette Johnson, and District Attorney Investigator Jennifer Alaedu. Former Clarkston Police Detective A. Powdrill led the initial investigation.