The Missouri Supreme Court on Monday set the execution date for a man convicted of the sexual assault and murder of a six-year-old girl in 2002. Johnny Johnson will be put to death on August 1, 2023, at the state prison in Bonne Terre, Missouri.
Who is Johnny Johnson?
Johnny Johnson, a 45-year-old prisoner from Missouri, faces death row for sexually assaulting and killing Casey Williamson – a six-year-old girl from St Louis, Missouri. He had been invited to spend the night at their home by Casey’s father, Ernie Williamson, when he committed the crime. Johnson was 24 then.
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What did Johnny Johnson do?
According to reports, Ernie woke at 7 am and saw Casey and Johnson standing in the living room of the house on Benton Street in Valley Park. By the time he came back from the restroom, Johnson managed to lure the girl out of the home and took her down the street to an abandoned complex of the old St. Louis Plate Glass Company. Police later discovered the girl’s body inside the abandoned complex.
Johnson killed Caasey by pummeling her with bricks after she began screaming, kicking, and attempting to crawl away from Johnson as he tried to sexually assault her. After Ernie and his wife Angie Williamson reported their daughter missing, the St. Louis County Police, members of the FBI, and nearly 100 volunteers began a search for the girl in the nearby areas. They also found out from people who lived in the area that they have seen Johnson, still in his nightgown, carrying the girl.
After killing Casey and leaving the body in the factory, Johnson washed in the Meramec River and returned to his home to pick up some cigarettes. The police apprehended him while he was still soaking wet.
Police said that Johnson admitted to kidnapping the girl with the intention of raping and killing her. Johnson’s attorneys said in his defense during the trial that he had stopped taking medication for schizophrenia in the weeks prior to the act. The defense attorneys also noted that Johnson had been suffering from mental illness since he was 13.
