Sarah Marie Johnson

Infobox Criminal
subject_name = Sarah Marie Johnson


image_size = 150px
image_caption =Mugshot after her arrest on October 30, 2003 at Blaine County, Idaho Sheriff's Department.
date_of_birth = Birth date and age|1987|1|24|mf=y
place_of_birth =
date_of_death =
place_of_death =
charge = First degree murder
penalty = Life imprisonment plus 10 years
status = Imprisoned
occupation = Student
parents = Alan & Diane Johnson (both deceased)

Sarah Marie Johnson (born January 24, 1987), was found guilty of the first-degree murder of her parents, Alan Scott Johnson and Diana Johnson, on March 16, 2005 by an Idaho jury. She was sentenced to serve two life sentences and another ten years for using a gun, without the possibility of parole, concurrently by Idaho Fifth District Judge Barry Wood on June 30, 2005. Her defense focused on the possibility of another shooter that killed her parents, and she maintained her innocence during and after the trial, in spite of strong evidence against her presented by the prosecution.

Sarah Marie Johnson lived in Bellevue, Idaho. She came from an upper-class family. When sentencing Johnson, Judge Barry Wood told her "you had it all". Judge Wood went further to explain that he could not understand what led her to allegedly murder her parents as her parents had provided well for her.

The court found that that Johnson, at approximately 6:20 am on September 2, 2003, took a .264 Winchester rifle from the guest house at her parents' home where she was sleeping, walked into her parents' bedroom and then shot her mother in the head. She then walked into the bathroom, where her father was taking a shower, and shot him in the chest, right above the heart. Blaine County Sheriff Walt Femling immediately closed down Sarah's street and stopped a garbage truck that had just made its rounds. The garbage truck turned out to contain the key evidence in the case: a bloody bathrobe, a left-handed leather glove and a right-handed latex glove all containing Sarah's DNA. During one part of the interrogation interview one investigator asked "Would you say you're sorry?", then Sarah responded, "No because I didn't do anything wrong."

There was no dispute between defense and prosecution that there was friction between Johnson and her parents due to Johnson's three month relationship with an illegal Mexican immigrant. Johnson was only sixteen at the time and reports suggest that her parents were going to report the crime to the police. The prosecution regarded this as a possible motive for the murders. Johnson is currently serving her life sentence at Pocatello Women's Correctional Center. Fact|date=February 2007

The case has been featured on the "Suburban Secrets" documentary show, the Spike TV reality show "Murder", "Snapped" on the Oxygen Network and ABC's "Primetime: Crime."

External links

* [http://www.courttv.com/trials/johnson CourtTV coverage of the Sarah Johnson murder case]