Murder of Diane and Alan Scott Johnson

The murder 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

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

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 19-year-old 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][5]

Johnson was found guilty of the murders of her parents by an Ada County, Idaho, jury on March 16, 2005.[6] She was sentenced to two concurrent life without parole terms plus fifteen years for a firearm enhancement. The Idaho Supreme Court upheld her conviction.[7]

In 2012, Johnson's lawyer filed 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.[8] In October 2014, the request was denied.[9] 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.[10][11]

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

Media

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

Film & Television

Other
  • Small Town Murder Ep. 67 (podcast)

See also

References
  1. "Sarah Johnson – Peculiar Parracide". September 1, 2011.
  2. "Primetime Crime: Teen Charged With Parents' Gruesome Murder". ABC Primetime. Retrieved 2011-11-02. In late June, judges in the Idaho Supreme Court upheld a jury verdict that Sarah had brutally murdered her parents in 2003, a case solved by DNA and the then-16-year-old's suspicious behavior shortly after the bodies were found. ...
  3. Stimson, Cully (2009-10-23). "Adult Time for Adult Crime: Sarah Johnson". The Daily Signal. Retrieved 2019-05-20.
  4. Englert, Rod; Passero, Kathy; Rule, Ann (13 April 2010). Blood Secrets: Chronicles of a Crime Scene Reconstructionist. p. 251. ISBN 9781429929219. Sarah's father, Alan Johnson, lay facedown and naked on the floor nearby, ... DNA tests showed the blood spatter belonged to both Diane and Alan Johnson. ... Police traced the murder weapon, a .264 Winchester Magnum rifle found lying ...
  5. "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. In a garbage can outside the home of Alan and Diane Johnson, detectives found a latex glove, a left-handed leather glove, and a blood-spattered pink bathrobe belonging to their daughter, Sarah Johnson, who was 16 at the time.
  6. 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.
  7. Press, By REBECCA BOONE Associated. "Appeal denied for Idaho woman convicted at age 16 of fatally shooting her mother and father". Idaho State Journal.
  8. "Sarah Johnson Again Seeks New Trial for Parents' 2003 Murder". Twin Falls Times-News. Associated Press.
  9. "Judge denies new trial for Sarah Johnson".
  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/
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