On Labor Day weekend of 2023, in a peaceful Augusta, Kansas neighborhood, a horrific crime took place that left the community stunned. Joanne Johnson, a 93-year-old great-grandmother, was discovered dead in her home, the target of a brutal assault as described by authorities.
Close to a year following the incident, investigators unveiled a shocking update: two 14-year-old girls were arrested on the 15th of August, 2024, and charged with first-degree murder in relation to Johnson’s death. The girls, who were 13 at the time of the alleged offense, are currently held in separate juvenile detention centers.
Reports from the Kansas Bureau of Investigation (KBI) suggest that Johnson was bludgeoned to death with a hatchet. The severity of the attack was such that Johnson’s son could not identify his mother when he found her body. “If we hadn’t seen her tennis shoes, I wouldn’t have recognized who she was,” he stated.
The motive behind the murder is yet to be determined. Investigators did not find any signs of robbery, indicating that Johnson wasn’t targeted for her belongings. This absence of an apparent motive has left both the law enforcement and the community grappling to make sense of the unfathomable crime.
Johnson was described by her family as a compassionate individual who was genuinely interested in others and had a knack for remembering details about their lives. Her obituary stated that she was a devoted fan of Kansas University Jayhawks basketball and devoted her life to her family, taking immense pride in her five grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
The investigation presented several challenges for law enforcement. The breakthrough in the case came nearly a year later, after a series of interviews, analysis of numerous pieces of physical evidence, and execution of multiple search warrants. According to Melissa Underwood, Communications Director for the KBI, the arrests were made without any public tips or information that directly led to the resolution of the crime.
Johnson’s son described the incident as an inexplicable, violent act of murder that occurred in a serene residential area of their small town. He equated the likelihood of such an event happening in their town to that of a lightning strike on a clear day.
Due to the ages of the suspects, the case has prompted complex legal questions. Under Kansas law, juveniles under the age of 14 cannot be prosecuted as adults. Therefore, if convicted, the girls could only be held in juvenile detention facilities until they reach 22 and a half years of age.
Johnson’s family is advocating for the young suspects to be tried as adults, given the extreme violence of the crime. They believe that the current maximum penalties in the juvenile justice system are inadequate considering the severity of the offense. The victim’s son, Tim Johnson, highlights the need to balance the atrocious nature of the murder with the fact that the accused are juveniles. The family is pushing for an interpretation of Kansas law that allows adult prosecution despite the usual age restrictions.
State officials have paid significant attention to the case. In 2024, Kansas Governor Laura Kelly issued an executive order offering a $5,000 reward for information that could lead to the case’s resolution. The Johnson family matched this amount, raising the total reward to $10,000. However, the KBI confirmed that the arrests were not made due to any public tip or reward-related information.
Following the arrests, a man claiming to be the father of one of the suspects spoke to a local news station, providing a different narrative of events. He stated that his daughter claimed that she and her friend were coerced by a man in a park to go to Johnson’s home on the day of the murder. He alleged that the man committed the murder with a rusty axe from the garage in front of the teenagers. He also stated that the man threatened the girls and their families with harm if they disclosed what had transpired. However, these claims have not been confirmed or addressed by official sources, and the investigation continues.
The two teenage girls have entered pleas of not guilty. Their next court appearance has been scheduled for October 31.
