A pair of 14-year-old girls have been arrested for first-degree murder in connection with the brutal slaying of a 93-year-old Kansas woman over Labor Day weekend last year.
The teens were arrested on Thursday for the death of Joanne Johnson. Kansas Bureau of Investigation said that they are now being held at separate juvenile detention centers.
'How did something like this happen here?' the woman's grieving son Tim Johnson toldKWCH. 'This is a peaceful, tree-lined street that's in a neighborhood in the middle of a 9,000-person town.'
Although authorities declined to identify the suspects because they are minors, they did reveal that they were from the same town as the victim.
In September 2023, Joanne Johnson was found dead at her home on Robbins St. in Augusta.
A pair of 14-year-old girls have been arrested for first-degree murder in connection with the brutal slaying of a 93-year-old Kansas woman over Labor Day weekend last year
In September 2023, Joanne Johnson was found dead at her home on Robbins St. in Augusta
Investigators quickly ruled her death a homicide and determined that the victim, who lived alone, was killed somewhere between Saturday evening, September 2, and Sunday evening, September 3.
Tim Johnson has struggled to make sense of the shocking development in the case.
He described his mother's alleged murder by two fourteen-year-old girls as 'inexplicable.'
Tim likened the situation to 'getting struck by lightning on a cloudless day.'
'The family has no words, or ability to understand what has happened,' the statement, reported on by KWCH, concluded.
Investigators quickly ruled her death a homicide and determined that the victim, who lived alone, was killed somewhere between Saturday evening, September 2, and Sunday evening, September 3
Johnson's body was discovered by members of her family.
Although her loved ones were at a loss for a motive, it was evident to them that the crime was brutal and calculated.
'To have an inexplicable, brutal, senseless murder- it's incredibly hard,' he continued, before adding: 'I don't think we still can process it.'
In May, eight months after the murder, Johnson's family and Kansas Governor Laura Kelly each put up $5,000 for a total $10,000 reward for any information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible.
The recent arrests of the two teenaged girls have left Johnson's family, as well as the broader Augusta community, shocked.
In May, eight months after the murder, Johnson's family and Kansas Governor Laura Kelly each put up $5,000 for a total $10,000 reward for any information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible
The victim's loved ones, however, also indicated that they are prepared to find some kind of resolution.
For the past year, Johnson's family and the rest of the town has lived in a state of perpetual fear, as those responsible for the brutal murder remained at large.
As a result, the arrests of the two teenage girls has brought a modicum of relief to the heartbroken community.
'We just loved her and this was the most devastating thing for our block, our neighborhood,' Holly Randol, Johnson’s former neighbor, told KWCH.
Randol added: 'Still heartbroken that this whole thing had to happen. It was kids, kids. My heart is just broken.'
The victim's family said that they do not know the girls who have been arrested.
Despite the age of the murderers, Johnson's loved ones hope that the punishment will be commensurate with the brutality of the crime.
The victim's son described the street on which his mother lived as 'peaceful' and 'tree-lined'
Johnson has been remember as a kind person and an exemplary member of her community
Tim Johnson remembers his mother as a kind person and an exemplary member of her community.
'She was the the type of person who was always interested in other people...She would talk to you for a couple minutes and she’d know where you’re from, where you went to school, what you were doing and what you wanted to do,' he told KWHC.
'The next time she’d talk to you she’d remember every one of those things, you know, the type of person a lot of us aspire to be, I know I do.'
At this time, formal charges are pending and the investigation is ongoing.
