Murders of Diane and Alan Scott Johnson

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The murders of Diane and Alan Scott Johnson occurred on September 2, 2003. They were shot to death in their Bellevue, Idaho, home by their 16-year-old daughter, Sarah Marie Johnson.

Perpetrator[edit]

Sarah Marie Johnson was born January 24, 1987.[1] She grew up in the Idaho city of Bellevue, and attended Wood River High School in Hailey.[2]

History[edit]

On September 2, 2003, Alan Scott Johnson and Diane Johnson were shot to death in their Bellevue, Idaho, home. Alan was shot twice in the chest, while Diane was shot in the head. Their daughter, Sarah Johnson, was found guilty of their murder. Sarah was 16 years old at the time. Her apparent motive was her parents' prohibiting her from dating a 19-year-old drug dealer named Bruno Santos.[2]

At approximately 6:20 am on September 2, 2003, Johnson took the murder weapon, a .264-caliber Winchester Model 70 bolt-action rifle from the guest house. The tenant of the house had left for Boise, Idaho, and had not planned on returning for a week or so. She then walked into her parents' bedroom and shot her sleeping mother in the head, whereupon she walked into the bathroom and shot her father in the chest, right above the heart, while he was showering. 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. It contained the DNA of both victims and Sarah. Along with the robe and latex glove 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.[3][4]

Johnson was convicted of the murders of her parents by an Ada County, Idaho, jury on March 16, 2005.[5] She was sentenced to two concurrent life without parole terms plus fifteen years for a firearm enhancement. The Idaho Supreme Court upheld her conviction.[6]

In 2012, Johnson's lawyer filed a petition for a new trial, charging that she had ineffective legal counsel in the murder trial. They also cited the absence of any blood spatter on Johnson and the fact that fingerprints on the murder weapon matched those of a renter who was living in the family's guesthouse.[7] In October 2014, the request was denied.[8] In 2017, Sarah tried to get her life sentence reduced, citing the Miller v. Alabama and Montgomery v. Louisiana Supreme Court rulings; however, her sentence was upheld.[9][10][11]

Johnson is currently imprisoned in the Pocatello Women's Correctional Center.[12]

Media[edit]

The case has been featured in a number of films, television shows and other works:

Film and television[edit]

Other[edit]

  • Small Town Murder Ep. 67 (podcast)
  • Let's Go to Court Ep. 210 (podcast)
  • Sword and Scale PLUS Ep. 114 (podcast)
  • Crimelines, episode "Diane and Alan Johnson: Early Suspects" (podcast)

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Sarah Johnson – Peculiar Parracide". September 1, 2011.
  2. ^ a b c "Primetime Crime: Teen Charged With Parents' Gruesome Murder". ABC Primetime. Retrieved 2011-11-02.
  3. ^ Englert, Rod; Passero, Kathy; Rule, Ann (13 April 2010). Blood Secrets: Chronicles of a Crime Scene Reconstructionist. Macmillan. p. 251. ISBN 9781429929219.
  4. ^ "Expert: Daughter's DNA found on evidence at slain parents' home". CNN. February 18, 2005. Archived from the original on July 1, 2012. Retrieved 2011-11-02.
  5. ^ Greg Stahl. "Idaho Mountain Express: Johnson guilty of killing parents - March 18, 2005". Mtexpress.com. Archived from the original on 2005-03-19. Retrieved 2011-11-01.
  6. ^ REBECCA BOONE (14 May 2017). "Appeal denied for Idaho woman convicted at age 16 of fatally shooting her mother and father". Idaho State Journal. Associated Press.
  7. ^ "Sarah Johnson Again Seeks New Trial for Parents' 2003 Murder". Twin Falls Times-News. Associated Press. 2 May 2012.
  8. ^ "Judge denies new trial for Sarah Johnson". 31 October 2014.
  9. ^ Sarah Marie Johnson v. State of Idaho, 395 P.3d 1246 (Idaho 2017-05-12).
  10. ^ "Appeal denied for Idaho woman convicted at age 16 of fatally shooting her mother and father". idahostatejournal. May 14, 2017. Retrieved October 25, 2020.
  11. ^ "Cases seek absolute ban on life without parole sentences for youth from us supreme-court". voiceofdetroit. September 15, 2017. Retrieved October 26, 2020.
  12. ^ https://www.idoc.idaho.gov/content/prisons/offender_search/detail/77613/ [dead link]
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