On December 15th, 2013, preschool teacher and mother Janee Hadan was murdered outside of an Omaha, Nebraska nightclub.
Janee, 24, was fatally injured by gunfire as she was leaving the Passion Lounge Night Club at South 108th and Q Street, after a night out with girlfriends. It is still not clear to police if she was the intended target, or if the attack was meant for Gary Lockett, 30, and Brandon Patterson, 23, who were also wounded.
To date, no one has been charged with her murder, but in early 2014, police arrested three women on charges stemming from the unauthorized use of Janee’s credit cards. Twenty-three-year old Dejeniera Rucker, twenty-two-year old Monica Chambers, and twenty-two-year-old Sydni Powe were all taken into police custody last winter. Rucker is also being accused of forgery. It is not clear to police how the women obtained the credit cards.
In March, on what would have been Janee’s 25th birthday, her friends and family gathered in the playground of the school where she taught, for a balloon release in her honor. Janee’s sister, Makayla Walker, told local NBC affiliate WOWT that Janee is remembered by those who were close to her as being “alive with personality.” They remain motivated to bring her killer to justice, but in the meantime, they want to help Janee’s young son, Taevon get to know his mother so that he can remember her as she was. Makayla explains the decision to mark her birthday with the balloon release: “Every year on her birthday, she had the most fun. I wanted to make sure her birthday was celebrated the way she would have celebrated it.”
Although the case remains cold, Omaha police continue to ask the public for help. They believe that someone at the Passion Lounge Night Club or in the surrounding area saw something that night, and are urging them to come forward. If you have any information that may lead to a break in this case, please contact them at (402) 444-5652.