Disclaimer: This article contains mentions of murder. Reader discretion is advised.
“Straight A Killer” is an episode of Mean Girl Murders that will air on ID on Monday, April 22, 2024, at 9 p.m. ET. The episode revolves around Danyna Gibson’s brutal murder by Tanyna Lewis inside a classroom in their school in September 2018.
Lewis was reportedly 17 years old when she stabbed Gibson with a kitchen steak knife inside a classroom at Fitzgerald High School in Warren, Michigan. She stabbed the 16-year-old victim twice in the chest at around 8:30 a.m. Authorities then suspected that the two girls, who were previously friends, had a fallout over a boy, ABC News reported. Lewis’ boyfriend allegedly dated the victim, which led to a feud between the two.
On the morning of the murder, Tanaya Lewis pulled out the knife to stab Danyna Gibson inside a classroom where 20-30 students, along with the teacher, were present. The stabbing happened quickly, and a school resource officer rushed to the crime scene upon hearing the commotion. They then performed CPR on the victim. The paramedics arrived and rushed Gibson to St. John Macomb-Oakland Hospital, where she was pronounced dead at 9:24 a.m.
Lewis stabbed Gibson four times, twice in the chest and twice in the back. One of the stabs hit the victim’s heart, the Detroit Free Press reported. The stabbing came as a complete surprise even to the victim. It wasn’t preceded by any violent altercation except for a brief chase in the classroom.
Per Fox 2, Danyna Gibson was a straight-A student and an athlete. She aspired to become a computer engineer.
What was Tanaya Lewis convicted of?
In August 2020, CBS News reported that Tanaya Lewis pleaded no contest to the premeditated first-degree murder of Danyna Gibson. She made this plea under the condition that she would be made eligible for parole later in life. A witness reportedly told authorities that Lewis had been smiling and laughing after she fatally stabbed Gibson. However, considering Lewis’ age, prosecutors did not push for a life sentence without parole.
A Macomb County Circuit Judge sentenced Tanaya Lewis to 27 to 60 years in prison. Another Detroit Free Press report noted that she had already served 735 days in prison by the time of her sentencing, for which she received credit. According to state law, since she was still not an adult at the time of the crime, 60 years was the maximum sentence that she could receive, Fox 2 reported.
Independent mentioned that the fact that Tanaya Lewis had brought a steak knife to school was an indication of premeditation. She also chased the victim briefly before pulling out the knife and stabbing her. Danyna Gibson subsequently had a punctured lung, which subsequently led to her death. Following Gibson’s murder, the Fitzgerald High School authorities reportedly worked with the police to strengthen their safety measures and avoid such incidents in the future.
The upcoming Mean Girl Murders episode will air on ID on Monday, April 22, 2024, at 9 p.m. ET.
