Sarah Johnson

Case information

Sarah Johnson was convicted of murdering her parents, Alan Scott Johnson and Diane Johnson, in their Bellevue, Idaho home.

Background

Alan Scott Johnson and Diane Johnson were shot to death in their Bellevue, Idaho home on September 2, 2003. Sarah Johnson was their daughter and was 16 years old at the time of the killings.

Sarah Johnson’s apparent motive was her parents’ prohibiting her from dating a 19-year-old.

The offence

On September 2, 2003, at approximately 6:20 am, Johnson took the murder weapon, a Winchester rifle, from the guest house. She walked into her parents’ bedroom and shot her sleeping mother in the head. She then walked into the bathroom, where her father was taking a shower, and shot him in the chest, right above the heart.

Diane Johnson died from a gunshot wound to the head while she lay in her bed, still under the covers. Alan Johnson was shot in the chest in his shower and stumbled out of the bathroom before falling to the floor next to the bed where his wife lay. He bled to death.

Investigation

DNA evidence was presented at trial from a discarded bathrobe and a latex glove that police found in the garbage can in front of the house. The evidence contained the DNA of both victims and Sarah.

Along with the robe and latex glove, there was a leather glove that had gunshot residue on it. In Johnson’s bedroom investigators located the other leather glove that belonged to the pair.

Police also found two live cartridges in Sarah’s room containing her mother’s DNA.

Fingerprint analysis did not directly link Sarah to the murder weapon or the crime scene.

In statements to police before her arrest, Sarah denied being engaged to Santos, but a longtime friend testified that Santos proposed to Sarah at a dinner for her volleyball team and that Sarah said her and Bruno were going to go to Boise to pick out engagement rings.

Arrest and pre-trial

Sarah Johnson was arrested October 29, 2003, nearly two months after her parents were killed. She entered not guilty pleas on both counts of murder in the first degree on Monday, Nov. 3 in 5th District Court in Hailey.

Blaine County Prosecuting Attorney Jim Thomas said he would not seek the death penalty should she be convicted.

Bail was set at $2 million.

Trial

Johnson was found guilty by an Ada County jury on March 16, 2005, of the murders of her parents. The jury deliberated for 11 hours beginning Monday afternoon. The verdict was guilty on both counts of first-degree murder.

The jury also found her guilty on two counts of using a firearm in committing the crimes.

Johnson declined to testify. When Judge Barry Wood asked whether she wished to take the stand on charges she killed her parents, Alan and Diane Johnson, she tearfully answered, “No, I do not.”

The defence included a “no blood, no guilt” argument. Sarah’s lawyer, Robert Pangburn, argued that Sarah had no blood on herself and therefore could not have pulled the trigger. Pangburn also cited that her mother’s head “literally exploded in a spherical fashion,” that the gun had blood on it, and that there was “none” on her.

Witnesses and disputed issues

Sarah’s aunt Linda Vavold testified about her belief that Sarah was responsible for killing her parents. Vavold testified that it took her less than two weeks to decide her niece was responsible. She testified to “inappropriate” behavior and recounted that, at her parents’ memorial service, Sarah “seemed more concerned with who was there” and asked to attend a volleyball game later that evening.

Vavold testified that the day before the service she overheard Sarah telling someone in a beauty salon where she was getting her nails done that she wanted “to get on with her life.”

Vavold testified about a dream Sarah recounted while staying with her: that Sarah was walking into their home but when she got inside, she was in her home in Bellevue, and that she could see her mom but could not see her face “like it was digitally blocked out.” Vavold testified that Sarah said she could not see her father’s chest “also digitally” and that he told her, “You can't hurt me now.”

Vavold’s husband James testified that he accompanied Alan Johnson to Balmoral housing projects where Santos lived with his mother, sister and brother-in-law, and that they found Sarah there.

A witness, Chante Caudle, testified that Sarah was more concerned about Santos in the aftermath and said, “She said she couldn't call me because she was under surveillance, but she told me to find Bruno and tell him she loved him.”

DNA analysts testified about DNA found on items from the garbage, including a latex glove and a bathrobe, and matched Sarah’s DNA to the profile obtained from the latex glove.

The defence called retired Oregon State crime scene technician Rocky Mink, who testified that, based on blood spatter patterns observed in the state’s crime scene photos, he expected the shooter was covered in blood.

Hair stylist Shirley Hurley testified about hair in a ponytail not getting tangled when sleeping, and that an examination of Johnson’s hair on Feb. 21, 2005, led her to believe she was a candidate for a ponytail.

Sentencing

On June 30, 2005, Johnson was sentenced to two concurrent life prison sentences without the possibility of parole. She was also sentenced as part of the overall punishment to additional time based on firearm enhancement and received fines described as $10,000 with $5,000 to be paid to her brother, Matt Johnson.

Sentencing judge’s comments

5th District Judge Barry Wood addressed Johnson for nearly an hour.

Wood said:

“You had it all. You had a nice family, nice school, car, freedom. You had it all,”

Wood continued:

“In the final analysis, you had lots of options ... You had all kinds of ways to not go down this road, and, yet, you elected the worst possible courses of conduct. And it's the most devastating, harshest option.”

Wood said:

“Are you a safety risk? There is a lot of evidence here to suggest you are a significant safety risk ... I have to come down on the side of protection of society in this risk analysis. The risk to society outweighs your individual needs and wants.”

Wood also stated:

“I recognize that what everyone here wants is something I can't deliver,”

and:

“I can not turn back the clock. I can not return the lives of your parents. I can only go forward.”

Wood said:

“I have searched and searched, and I can find no rational basis as to why your parents were killed,”

and:

“Your family members have testified that they are fearful of retribution because they have given you a reason by testifying against you.”

Wood said:

“No one saw this coming,”

Wood discussed the question of why the parents were killed:

“Why? It's the ring that can't be taken out of the bell. Everybody in this room is asking why, why, why? It defies explanation, except for the explanation of your selfish protection of your relationship with (your former boyfriend)”.

Wood said:

“I'm a big believer in hope, but there's certain conduct that crosses the line. We're not talking, for instance, about a residue methamphetamine case. We're talking about one of the most severe crimes known to man.”

Wood also said:

“There's evidence that indicates she's not seeking rehabilitation, that she's just trying to get off. It's all about Sarah, and it's all about Sarah now.”

Wood attempted to re-create part of the scene, saying:

“Are you the shooter? The jury found you were,”

and:

“When I make the comment that I think the evidence in this case is strong, it is. It is really strong. You had a chance to abandon, to step out of this senselessness. Presumably, you had a conversation with your father before you shot him. And you had to look him in the eye. You shot him in the lung.”

Wood concluded:

“There's only one story to be told here, so to speak, and it's sad.”

Appeals

The Idaho Supreme Court upheld her conviction.

No date was set for Sarah Johnson’s final appeal.

Outcome

Johnson was convicted of murdering her parents and was sentenced to two concurrent life prison sentences without the possibility of parole on June 30, 2005.

Aftermath

The case received media coverage, including Discovery ID’s Solved series and Deadly Women series, the Suburban Secrets documentary show, Spike TV’s Murder, Snapped on the Oxygen Network, ABC’s Primetime: Crime, and Forensic Files on TruTV. It also appeared on E!’s Too Young to Kill: 15 Shocking Crimes at #9.

Investigators arrested Johnson and pursued the case through DNA evidence from items including the bathrobe and latex glove found in the garbage outside the Johnson home.

During trial proceedings, prosecutors sought life in prison and sought maximum sentences, while the defence argued for fixed life and raised arguments about evidence including blood and DNA.