Murder of Casey Williamson

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Casey Williamson
Casey Williamson.png
Casey Williamson, pictured before her death
Born
Cassandra Lynn Williamson

(1995-11-23)November 23, 1995
Valley Park, Missouri, U.S.
DiedJuly 26, 2002(2002-07-26) (aged 6)
Valley Park, Missouri, U.S.
Cause of deathFatal head injuries
Resting placeSacred Heart Cemetery
Other namesCasey Williamson
EducationValley Park Elementary School
OccupationStudent (former)
Known forVictim of a kidnapping-murder case
Parents
  • Ernie Williamson (father)
  • Angie Williamson (mother)

On July 26, 2002, 6-year-old Cassandra "Casey" Lynn Williamson (born November 23, 1995), disappeared from her hometown of Valley Park, Missouri. After an extensive search, her body was found at an abandoned glass factory. Subsequently, investigations led to the arrest of Johnny Allen Johnson (born March 16, 1978), who was a family acquaintance. Johnson, who confessed to murdering the girl while he attempted to rape her, was convicted and sentenced to death in 2005. Despite his claims of mental illness, which were all rejected by the courts, Johnson was eventually executed on August 1, 2023. [1]

Contents

Disappearance and murder

On July 26, 2002, at Valley Park in St. Louis County, Missouri, a six-year-old girl was abducted from her home by a family acquaintance.

Cassandra Williamson, affectionately known as "Casey", was last seen before 7am at the kitchen by her father Ernie Williamson, who noticed her missing after he came back from the bathroom. At the time of Williamson's disappearance, Ernie was separated from his wife Angie and lived across the street just to remain close with his children, and he happened to be staying over when he found out his daughter went missing. After about 30 minutes since Williamson's disappearance, Williamson's parents reported her missing. The authorities, including local police, St. Louis County deputy sheriffs and FBI agents, conducted the search for the missing girl, and many members of the community volunteered to look for Williamson. [2] [3]

Subsequently, the police received information from witnesses that they saw the girl being carried away by a man, who was identified as 24-year-old Johnny Allen Johnson (alias Movant), who was a friend of the Williamson family. Williamson's mother was a childhood best friend of Johnson's older sister and even helped babysit Johnson during his childhood years. In fact, the night before the girl went missing, Johnson attended a barbecue at Williamson's house and the family allowed him to spend the night, and he slept on the couch; Johnson himself was found to be absent at the time when Williamson gone missing. Evidence showed that just six months ago, Johnson was released from a state psychiatric facility, where he was confined due to schizophrenia. [2] [4] [5]

Johnson was therefore brought in for police questioning and he denied being involved in the disappearance of Williamson. Subsequently, Johnson admitted that he was responsible for murdering Williamson and admitted that he took the girl out to an abandoned glass factory near the girl's home, where he killed her. Williamson's corpse was eventually found in a pit less than a mile from her home by one of the volunteers that joined the search for the girl. An autopsy revealed that Williamson died from blunt force injuries to her head, which caused skull fractures and bruising of her scalp and brain. Furthermore, there were other injuries to the arms, shoulders, legs, and back, and signs of semen were found on the shorts of Johnson, which indicated that he had likely sexually assaulted the girl. [2] [6]

Upon the discovery of the girl's body, Johnson was arrested and detained for investigations into the murder of Casey Williamson. Based on further investigations, Johnson, who was previously convicted of burglary before the murder, was found to have abducted the girl and took her to an abandoned glass factory, where he attempted to rape Williamson. However, as Williamson resisted his advances, Johnson used a brick and large rock to hit Williamson on the head more than once and consequently battered six-year-old Casey Williamson to death. After the killing, Johnson abandoned the body of the girl at the pit, and even washed himself at the nearby Meramec River. [2] [7]

A memorial was held for the girl on July 30, 2002. Mourners, including Williamson's friends and members of the public, gathered at Twin Oaks Presbyterian Church to pay respects, and the memorial was broadcast live on television. [8] [9] [10]

Trial of Johnny Johnson

Johnny Allen Johnson
Johnny Allen Johnson.png
Johnny Allen Johnson, who was convicted of the murder of Casey Williamson
Born(1978-03-16)March 16, 1978
Missouri, U.S.
DiedAugust 1, 2023(2023-08-01) (aged 45)
Eastern Reception, Diagnostic and Correctional Center, Missouri, U.S.
Cause of deathExecuted by lethal injection
Conviction(s) First-degree murder
Armed criminal action
Kidnapping
Attempted forcible rape
Criminal penaltyMurder
Death
Other charges
Life imprisonment (x3)
Details
VictimsCasey Williamson, 6
DateJuly 26, 2002
Location(s) Valley Park, Missouri
Imprisoned at Eastern Reception, Diagnostic and Correctional Center

After his arrest, Johnny Johnson was charged with the kidnapping, attempted rape and murder of Casey Williamson. Under Missouri state law, Johnson faced the death penalty or life imprisonment should he be found guilty of the most serious charge of first-degree murder in the case of Williamson's death. [11] [12]

Johnson's trial took place about two years after his arrest. Standing trial before a St. Louis County jury, Johnson never denied that he murdered Williamson, but his main defence was diminished responsibility. Johnson's lawyers sought to argue that as a result of his psychiatric disorders, including schizoaffective disorder, Johnson's state of mind at the time of the murders was severely impaired and he killed Williamson after experiencing hallucinations, and he was not capable of planning the murder. A psychiatrist diagnosed Johnson with schizoaffective disorder and testified on his behalf, and Johnson's girlfriend testified that Johnson stopped taking his medication and had been acting paranoid during the period leading up to the murder. [2] [13]

In rebuttal, the prosecution called upon psychiatric experts who testified that Johnson was still capable of deliberation and his mental responsibility had not been affected by any psychiatric illnesses, and it was not likely that Johnson would experience any psychosis that resulted in hallucinations that drove him into murdering Williamson; it was also speculated that any hallucinations possibly explored by Johnson during the course of the murder was caused by drug intoxication rather than psychiatric conditions. [2]

On January 18, 2005, the 12-member jury found Johnson guilty of the murder of Williamson, [14] and he was sentenced to death on March 7, 2005, in addition to three consecutive life sentences for the other charges of armed criminal action, kidnapping, and attempted forcible rape. [2]

Appeal process

On November 7, 2006, the Missouri Supreme Court rejected Johnny Johnson's appeal against the death sentence and murder conviction. [2]

On November 20, 2012, Johnson appealed once again to the Missouri Supreme Court, but his motion was denied by the court. [15] About two months later, a follow-up appeal to the Missouri Supreme Court was rejected again on January 29, 2013. [16]

On February 28, 2020, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri dismissed Johnson's appeal. [17]

Death warrant and execution

On April 20, 2023, the Missouri Supreme Court approved the death warrant of Johnny Johnson, whose death sentence was scheduled to be carried out on August 1, 2023. [18] [19]

As a final resort to escape the death penalty, Johnson filed last minute appeals to challenge his execution, stating that he was incompetent to be executed due to his schizophrenia, and his lawyers urged the courts to consider that it had affected his state of mind when the murder of Williamson happened, and added that he experienced delusions about the devil using his death to bring about the end of the world. The Missouri Supreme Court rejected the appeal on June 8, 2023. [20] [21] [22]

On July 17, 2023, District Judge Matthew T. Schelp of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri dismissed the appeal of Johnson to delay his execution. [23] [24] On July 26, 2023, however, the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals temporarily postponed the execution by a split decision of 2–1. [25] However, the Missouri Attorney General's Office appealed against the ruling, and on July 29, 2023, a re-hearing convened before a different panel at the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and the stay order was overturned, allowing the execution to move forward. [26] [27] The U.S. Supreme Court also refused to allow Johnson's appeal and confirmed his death sentence. [28]

As a final resort to escape the death penalty, Johnson petitioned for clemency from the state governor, with hopes that his death sentence could be commuted to life in prison without the possibility of parole. On the eve of the execution, Missouri Governor Mike Parson also rejected Johnson's clemency plea and ordered the execution to move forward as scheduled. [29] Out of Williamson's family, her father opposed executing Johnson due to his opposition to the death penalty, [30] but others, including Williamson's great aunt Della Steele, wanted Johnson to be put to death. Steele urged the governor to not show mercy for Johnson as she felt that justice should be served and instead of turning back, Johnson made the conscious choice of kidnapping and murdering Williamson and caused destruction to the lives of those around her forever. [31] [32]

On August 1, 2023, 45-year-old Johnny Allen Johnson was put to death via lethal injection at Eastern Reception, Diagnostic and Correctional Center in Bonne Terre. [33]

Prior to his execution, Johnson reportedly ordered a final meal of one bacon cheeseburger, curly fries and a strawberry shake. [34] In a brief handwritten last statement, Johnson expressed remorse for the murder and said, "God Bless. Sorry to the people and family I hurt." Johnson was pronounced dead at 6.33pm after he was administered with a single dose of pentobarbital. [35]

Johnson was the fourth person to be executed in Missouri and overall the 16th condemned criminal to be put to death in the U.S. during the year of 2023. [36]

Aftermath

In the aftermath, the abandoned glass factory where the murder happened was demolished in August 2002. [37] In memory of Williamson, her bereaved loved ones established a scholarship, and an annual community safety fair in her name, and provided child identification kits in these events. [38] [39]

In 2022, a crime documentary titled The Worst Crime was released on Amazon Prime Video, which covered the case of Casey Williamson's abduction and murder. A former juror had expressed in the documentary that even after a decade since the crime that the killing was the worst possible crime ever witnessed. [40]

During the final days before the execution, the family of Williamson spoke up in the media about their feelings towards the case. Williamson's mother, who had since divorced her then husband and engaged with another man, stated that the impact of her daughter's murder was so much that Williamson's oldest sister (aged 12 at the time of the murder) had begun abusing drugs and alcohol, and died in 2015 due to substance overdose, and Williamson's two younger siblings (aged two and four at the time of the murder) had struggled with mental illnesses and making relationships with other people. Another relative revealed that Williamson's grandfather similarly turned to alcoholism due to his grief of losing a granddaughter and died. Williamson's mother told the press that while she wanted Johnson to be executed for killing her daughter, she sympathized with his family and felt they did not deserve the blame for Johnson's actions. [41]

See also

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References

  1. ↑ "Missouri executes man who killed 6-year-old Valley Park girl in 2002". St. Louis Post-Dispatch . August 1, 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 STATE v. JOHNSON [2006], Supreme Court of Missouri (United States).
  3. ↑ "Missouri man set to be executed for beating death of 6-year-old girl in 2002". The Independent . August 1, 2023.
  4. ↑ "Missouri executes man for 2002 abduction, killing of 6-year-old girl lured to abandoned factory". CBS News. August 1, 2023.
  5. ↑ "St. Louis Area Girl Found Dead After Disappearing From Home". Los Angeles Times. July 27, 2002.
  6. ↑ "Suspect accused in abduction, slaying". Southeast Missourian . July 28, 2002.
  7. ↑ "Missouri executes man in 2002 slaying of 6-year-old girl". UPI. August 1, 2023.
  8. ↑ "Roses And A Kiss Goodbye For Casey". CBS News. July 30, 2002.
  9. ↑ "Memorial for slain girl". Southeast Missourian . July 30, 2002.
  10. ↑ "Family, community, say goodbye to 6-year-old murder victim". Southeast Missourian . July 31, 2002.
  11. ↑ "Police Say Girl Who Was Killed Left Willingly With Suspect". The New York Times . July 28, 2002.
  12. ↑ "Man facing charges in Missouri girl's killing". The Victoria Advocate. July 28, 2002.
  13. ↑ "Trial continues in man accused of child's killing". The Nevada Daily Mail. January 16, 2005.
  14. ↑ "Jurors convict man in slaying of 6-year-old girl". The Nevada Daily Mail. January 18, 2005.
  15. ↑ JOHNSON v. STATE [2012], Supreme Court of Missouri (United States).
  16. ↑ JOHNSON v. STATE [2013], Supreme Court of Missouri (United States).
  17. ↑ Johnson v. Steele [2020], United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri (United States)
  18. ↑ "August execution date for man who killed St. Louis-area girl". Associated Press . April 20, 2023.
  19. ↑ "August execution date for man who killed St. Louis-area girl". The Independent . April 21, 2023.
  20. ↑ "Missouri Supreme Court declines to halt August execution of man convicted of killing child". Associated Press . June 8, 2023.
  21. ↑ STATE EX REL JOHNSON v. VANDERGRIFF [2023], Supreme Court of Missouri (United States).
  22. ↑ "Missouri Supreme Court declines to halt August execution of man convicted of killing child". The Independent . June 9, 2023.
  23. ↑ JOHNSON v. VANDERGRIFF [2023], United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri (United States).
  24. ↑ "Federal judge strikes down request to halt execution of Missouri man in August". The Kansas City Star . July 17, 2023.
  25. ↑ "Federal appeals court halts planned execution in Missouri". The Independent . July 26, 2023.
  26. ↑ "Appellate court rules that Missouri man with schizophrenia can be executed after all". Associated Press . July 29, 2023.
  27. ↑ "Appellate court rules that Missouri man with schizophrenia can be executed after all". The Independent . July 29, 2023.
  28. ↑ "Missouri executes Johnny Johnson, convicted of murdering a 6-year-old girl, despite his claim he was mentally ill". CNN . August 2, 2023.
  29. ↑ "Parson denies Johnny Johnson's clemency request; attorneys ask US Supreme Court to halt execution". St. Louis Post-Dispatch . July 31, 2023.
  30. ↑ "Killer of 6-year-old Missouri girl to be executed. Victim's father wants his life spared". The Kansas City Star . July 14, 2023.
  31. ↑ "Missouri governor rejects mercy plea from man set to be executed for killing 6-year-old girl". Associated Press . July 31, 2023.
  32. ↑ "Missouri set to execute Johnny Johnson Tuesday, Gov. Mike Parson says after stay overturned". The Kansas City Star . July 31, 2023.
  33. ↑ "Missouri man executed for 2002 abduction, killing of 6-year-old girl lured to abandoned factory". Associated Press . August 1, 2023.
  34. ↑ "Johnny Johnson execution: Man who claimed he was a vampire put to death for murdering girl". The Mirror. August 1, 2023.
  35. ↑ "Missouri man executed for luring and killing 6-year-old girl at an abandoned factory". NBC New York. August 1, 2023.
  36. ↑ "Johnny Johnson execution: Man who abducted and killed 6-year-old Missouri girl Casey Williamson given lethal injection". The New Zealand Herald . August 1, 2023.
  37. ↑ "Removal begins of factory where girl's body was found". Southeast Missourian . August 22, 2002.
  38. ↑ "Missouri man facing scheduled execution Tuesday for beating death of 6-year-old girl in 2002". KRCG. August 2, 2023.
  39. ↑ "Friends remember Casey Williamson through safety fair". St. Louis Post-Dispatch . May 9, 2011.
  40. ↑ "The Worst Crime". Amazon Prime Video . Retrieved October 19, 2024.
  41. ↑ "Johnny Johnson killed their girl. They await his Missouri execution, after deep family scars". St. Louis Post-Dispatch . July 31, 2023.
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