Joanne Deborah Chesimard, who was also known as Assata Shakur and several other aliases, died in Cuba nearly 50 years after she escaped from a U.S. prison where she was serving a life sentence for the murder of a New Jersey state trooper.
Chesimard, who was born JoAnne Deborah Byron, was 76 years old.
On September 25, 2025, American citizen Joanne Deborah Byron, ‘Assata Shakur,’ passed away in Havana, Cuba, due to health conditions and advanced age,” Cuba’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in on Friday.
Her daughter, Kakuya Shakur, also confirmed the death in a Facebook post.
Words cannot describe the depth of loss that I am feeling at this time,” . “I want to thank you for your loving prayers that continue to anchor me in the strength that I need in this moment. My spirit is overflowing in unison with all of you who are grieving with me at this time.”
Chesimard was granted political asylum in Cuba following her 1979 escape. She had been on the FBI’s “Most Wanted Terrorists” list.
The FBI previously said Chesimard was part of a revolutionary extremist organization known as the Black Liberation Army.
According to a wanted posted shared in 2013, the FBI said Chesimard and two accomplices were driving along the New Jersey Turnpike in May 1973 when they were stopped for a “motor vehicle violation” by two troopers with the New Jersey State Police. At the time, she was wanted for her involvement in several felonies, including bank robbery.
Chesimard and her accomplices opened fire on the troopers. One trooper was wounded and the other was shot and killed execution-style at point-blank range,” the FBI said, adding that Chesimard fled the scene, but was later arrested, while one of her accomplices was killed in the shoot-out. The other was also arrested.
Four years later, she was found guilty of the following charges:
First-degree murder
Assault and battery of a police officer
Assault with a dangerous weapon
Assault with intent to kill
Illegal possession of a weapon
Armed robbery
Chesimard was sentenced to life in prison for the murder of New Jersey State Trooper and Vietnam War veteran Werner Foerster, but escaped on Nov. 2, 1979. She disappeared before eventually emerging in 1984 in Cuba, where Fidel Castro granted her asylum, according to the FBI.
As investigators searched for Chesimard, the FBI and the New Jersey attorney general both offered a $1 million reward for her capture.
American authorities, as well as President Donald Trump during his first term, had demanded her return from the communist nation for decades.
Soon after news broke about her death, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy and New Jersey State Police Superintendent Col. Patrick Callahan announced they spoke with Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
For years, we have worked with the State Department to bring Chesimard back to New Jersey, so she could face justice for the cold-blooded murder of an American hero. Sadly, it appears she has passed without being held fully accountable for her heinous crimes,” they said in .
We mourn Trooper Foerster’s loss every day, and we extend our deepest sympathies to his widow, Rosie, their son, Eric, and the entire New Jersey State Police family,” according to the statement. “Unlike his killer, Trooper Foerster never had a chance to live out his days in peace. But we remain fully committed to honoring his memory and sacrifice. We will vigorously oppose any attempt to repatriate Chesimard’s remains to the United States.”
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