HOLLADAY Jerry Johnson remembers heading home from Cedar City more than 23 years

ago on Feb. 1, 1991, when he heard his mother's address announced on the radio.
The signal was fuzzy, so he did not hear what happened at that Holladay address. He said he then
heard a voice saying, "She's with me." The voice told him his mother was all right.
"I just had a very peaceful feeling come over me," he recalled Thursday. "That peace has been
with me ever since."
After more than two decades, investigators say they've finally solved the brutal murder of Lucille
Johnson, 78. John Sansing a prison inmate on death row in Arizona was charged Thursday
with first-degree murder, a first-degree felony, in the woman's death.
"When you hear the details of this particular case, you can see that this individual is, is barely
human," Salt Lake County Sheriff Jim Winder said.
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At the time, a veteran sheriff's captain called Johnson's death "as brutal as anything I've seen."
A daughter discovered her mother dead in bed with a pillow over her face. Johnson, who was 4
feet 11 inches tall and weighed 122 pounds, had been severely beaten. She suffered a fractured
skull, 24 broken ribs, and received "numerous blows to her head," charges filed in 3rd District
Court state.
An autopsy revealed that she died from strangulation and blunt force trauma in her home at 4284
S. Holloway Drive (1960 East).
Investigators at the time found LEGO bricks on Johnson's living room floor, in the home's entry
and on the driveway, Hoyal said. Detectives collected the toys as evidence after family members
told them that while Johnson had toys for her grandchildren, she would never leave them lying
around, the charges state.
Investigators also learned that a ring and necklace Johnson regularly wore were missing.
Salt Lake County sheriff's investigators worked on the case but were unable to solve it. They
stopped investigating in 2006 because they lacked any new leads.
In August 2013, a team led by Unified Police Sgt. Michael Ikemiyashiro reopened the case. The
detectives sent scrapings that had been collected from under Johnson's fingernails for DNA
testing and recovered a profile that matched a Combined DNA Index System profile for Sansing,
Ikemiyashiro said.
A current DNA profile was taken from Sansing in April and it matched the DNA found in the
scrapings under Johnson's nails, he said.

Investigators also matched fingerprints from the LEGO toys gathered during the original
investigation with one of Sansing's children who was 5 years old at the time of the killing,
according to the charges.
Police now believe that Sansing's son was present at the time Johnson was viciously killed.
A relative of Sansing recently approached investigators and told them that he had overheard
Sansing and his wife arguing on two separate occasions. He said he heard Sansing's wife threaten
that "she was going to tell police that he murdered a lady in Utah," charging documents state.
Detectives don't believe that Johnson and Sansing knew each other, but stopped short of saying
he was in the house to rob her.
Sansing, 47, lived in Utah until 1995 when he moved to Arizona. He is currently serving time in
a Florence, Arizona, prison for a 1998 murder in which he was sentenced to death.
That case involved a woman from the Living Springs Assembly of God Church who came to his
house to bring the family food, according to the Tucson Citizen in 1998. The woman was tied up,
beaten, raped and murdered.
Ann Lamphere told the Citizen that Sansing grew up in a troubled home.
Despite Sansing already being convicted of another crime, Ikemiyashiro said its "very important
that we prosecute this case for the family.
Johnson, a widow, lived alone in her Holladay home. Around the time of her death, she visited a
neighbor who was in the hospital and brought food to another who was ill. Jerry Johnson
described his mother as active, in good health and a devout member of the LDS Church.
He said he and his siblings are relieved to finally learn that their mother was not killed by
someone she knew. He also said he has experienced a different kind of closure.
"I think forgiveness is really what closure is," Johnson said. "I think we already have (forgiven
Sansing)."
Shirley England said discovering her mother dead in 1991 has continued to have a big effect on
her. She still worries about being alone in parking lots or walking out of a grocery store at night.
"I hope justice will be served," she said Thursday.
The case was investigated in part thanks to a $300,000 cold case grant awarded by the U.S.
Department of Justice.
There are approximately 40 cold cases in the Unified police areas. Winder promised that
investigators will continue to try and solve them.

"We will never, ever, ever stop," he said. "You commit a crime like this in this community, and to
our dying days we will continue to pursue you. We will hunt you down and we will solve these
crimes."
Contributing: Richard Piatt

An autopsy was performed in the case of an attractive 33-year-old teacher and single-mother
who was found dead on March 26 in a rural community in Vermont. Melissa Jenkins vanished on
a dark road on the night of Sunday, March 25, having left her vehicle with the engine running.
Residents of St. Johnsbury, a small town just 40 miles from the Canadian border, are stunned and
outraged at her disappearance and death. Jenkins was a teacher at the exclusive St. Johnsbury
Academy and moonlighted as a waitress to support herself and her two-year-son.
Chief medical examiner Dr. Steven Shapiro in Burlington completed an autopsy on Jenkins
body on the afternoon of March 27 and has ruled her death a homicide. However, the cause of
her death has not been released. "The cause of death is being withheld as to not inhibit the
progress of the investigation," state police Detective Sgt. Walter Smith said.
Jenkins body was found approximately 16 hours after her disappearance on the evening of
March 25. Her Suzuki Grand Vitara SUV was found earlier with her son inside at a short
distance from their home. The boys father, B.J. Robertson has not commented on the death but
that his son is not able to provide details about his mothers disappearance.
According to ABC News, Robertson said he has just been loving him when I am with him. The
tyke is in good condition and staying with a family friend.
"I cannot disclose the details of how the body was found or the condition of the body, but this
death is considered suspicious," Det. Sgt. Walter Smith told the media on March 26. "We don't
know if it's an isolated incident, we expect the public to use all diligence and vigilance while out
and about."
Dozens of friends and family gathered at a church on the evening of March 26 at a memorial for
the young science teacher. Jenkins was a popular teacher at St. Johnsbury Academy and known
for her empathy with students. School headmaster Thomas Lovett said of her "She's got a real
gift with students who either haven't liked science before or learning science doesn't come easy
to them," adding "She's got a real gift with them."
Besides teaching and waitressing, Jenkins was also studying towards a masters degree. She had
also worked as a basketball coach and dormitory supervisor until the birth of her son. She
worked part-time at the Creamery Restaurant in the nearby town of Danville.
Jenkins Suzuki SUV was found on the evening of March 25 where evidence of a struggle was
found. A friend had unsuccessfully tried to locate her and called police. Her vehicle was found
later that evening. Her body has since been found in Barnet, a town nearby, and police suspect

foul play. Jenkins had no restraining orders against anyone at the time. While family member
believe she may have driven her vehicle to help someone, the identity of that person or persons is
still unknown. According to a relative, Eric Berry whose daughter is Jenkins goddaughter
said "She left her house with the idea, I think, to try to help somebody, and that's as far as I'm
going to go with that, because I don't want to damage any investigation."
St. Johnsbury Academy was established in the 1840s. President Calvin Coolidge was a student
there in the 1900s. , whose alumni include former President Calvin Coolidge.
Anyone with information about the case is asked to contact the Vermont State Police in St.
Johnsbury at 802-748-3111. Police are also looking to speak with anyone who may have driven
on Goss Hollow Road in St. Johnsbury on the evening of March 25, between 7:00 p.m. and 11:30
p.m.

Family members and friends of Melissa Jenkins gathered at The Creamery Restaurant
Wednesday after arriving back in Danville from Burlington, where they had attended the
trial for the man freshly convicted of killing Jenkins.
Two and a half years ago when Jenkins' body was found, they had done the same thing:
gathered in remembrance of their daughter, sister, friend and teacher.
Early Wednesday afternoon, about 50 people flocked to the restaurant before it opened.
Many drank white wine in rocks glasses instead of in wine glasses, just as Jenkins had,
restaurant owner Marion Cairns said.
Just hours earlier, the jury handed guilty verdicts to Allen Prue, 32, of Waterford for firstdegree murder, conspiracy to commit murder and attempted kidnapping of Jenkins., A
group of family members and friends stayed in Burlington for the two-week trial. Allen
Prue's wife, Patricia Prue, is also accused in the murder and will be tried separately.
"No one won," Cairns said Wednesday afternoon, reflecting on the verdict. Cairns had
attended the trial. "It's very sad. There isn't much to say. There was some closure, but we
know we're going to have to go through it again. It's a really hard thing."

Buy Photo
Allen Prue weeps in Vermont Superior Court in Burlington on Wednesday, October 22, 2014 after being found guilty
of first-degree murder and two other charges in the 2012 slaying of Melissa Jenkins. (Photo: GLENN RUSSELL/FREE
PRESS)

Along with her full-time teaching job at St. Johnsbury Academy, Jenkins worked at The
Creamery Restaurant part-time for 12 years before her death in March 2012. Cairns said
she had known Jenkins since she was a girl.
Several of those who had gathered at the restaurant Wednesday left momentarily to thank
the Vermont State Police troopers and Caledonia County State's Attorney Lisa Warren for
their work on the case, Cairns said.
"She was a dear girl," Cairns said of Jenkins.
Earlier Wednesday, many of Jenkins' family members declined comment when leaving the
Burlington court after the verdict was read. Jenkins' aunt, Linda Gadapee of East Haven,
said the verdict is a "big weight off" the family's shoulders.
"We've been waiting for ... this to come," Gadapee said. "It's been hard I think it turned
out the way we wanted it to. All the evidence was there. You couldn't dispute the evidence."

'Guilty, your honor'

Less than one hour after the jury resumed deliberations Wednesday morning, Judge
Robert Bent asked the jury spokeswoman about the overall verdict of the jury for Allen
Prue.
"Guilty," the juror said, causing a small gasp in the Vermont Superior Court room in
Burlington.
Allen Prue hung his head and began to cry as Bent asked the juror what the verdict would
be for each charge.
First degree murder: "Guilty, your honor," she said.
Conspiracy to commit murder: guilty.
Attempted kidnapping: guilty.
Allen Prue's reaction to the verdict was one of the only times he had shown emotion during
the two-week trial.
Friends and family members of Jenkins began to cry, and hugged each other as Allen Prue
was led out of the room. Vermont State Police troopers shook hands.
Allen Prue's mother, Donna Prue, and his sister were absent as the verdict was read.
The verdict by the jury of six men and six women came after nine days of testimony and
six hours of deliberation. Jurors had ended deliberations Tuesday evening, deciding to
come back Wednesday morning for their final decision.
Patricia and Allen Prue lured Jenkins from her home by telling her they needed help
because their car had broken down, police have said. Jenkins' car was found on Goss
Hollow Road in St. Johnsbury with the engine running and son sleeping in the backseat.
Her beaten, nude body was found a day later in the water at a Connecticut River boat
access area in Barnet.
Allen Prue told police in a seven-hour interview that he and his wife wanted to "get a girl"
and "wanted somebody they could play with," Warren told jurors.
Prosecutors also said that the Prues developed an obsession with Jenkins, and that the
murder was well-planned.
A tough case

Buy Photo
Linda Garapee, Melissa Jenkins' aunt, reacts outside of Vermont Superior Court in Burlington on Wednesday,
October 22, 2014 after Allen Prue was found guilty of first-degree murder and two other charges in the 2012 slaying
of Jenkins. (Photo: GLENN RUSSELL/FREE PRESS)

Heading out of the courtroom Wednesday morning, Warren told reporters she was pleased
with the jury's verdict.
"You always have questions of what the jurors are thinking, but I think the evidence we
brought was very good in the case," Warren said. "The detectives worked very hard, and I
was behind the case 100 percent."
Warren said she had no comment on Patricia Prue's trial, but she said that trial will most
likely be held in February.
Allen Prue's attorney Bob Katims had said that Patricia Prue carried out the murder without
warning her husband.
Reached by phone early Wednesday afternoon, Katims said he plans to file an appeal to
the case. Katims said a motion to suppress Allen Prue's confession, which was denied
before the trial, was a "significant error" by the court, as well as the court's decision to
exclude from trial a psychiatrist's testimony and report on Patricia Prue's diagnosis of
dissociative identity disorder.

"We're obviously very disappointed with the jury's verdict," Katims said. "We'll be asking for
a new trial. If the court denies that, then obviously, there would be the sentencing, but we
plan on taking this and other issues to the Vermont Supreme Court ... We'll continue to
fight the case."
Restaurant owner Cairns said she had been concerned after the jury broke Tuesday
evening that the jury would return an unfavorable verdict the next day.
Buy Photo
Meridith Berry, Melissa Jenkins' cousin, reacts in Vermont Superior Court in Burlington on Wednesday, October 22,
2014 as they jury finds Allen Prue guilty of first-degree murder and two other charges in the 2012 slaying of
Jenkins. (Photo: GLENN RUSSELL/FREE PRESS)

"It was a tough case," Cairns said. "You never know how anything is going to turn out. Allen
got a very good lawyer. He did a wonderful job representing (Allen Prue)."
Phone calls to faculty members at St. Johnsbury Academy, where Jenkins worked, were
not immediately returned following the verdict on Wednesday. A secretary for Headmaster
Tom Lovett said he was out of town.
Judge Bent gave both Warren and Katims two weeks to file post-trial motions. A sentencing
hearing has yet to be scheduled, as Judge Bent has not decided if the hearing will take
place in St. Johnsbury or in Burlington.
Vermont State Police Capt. J.P. Sinclair, one of the case's investigators, said he was happy
with the outcome of the case as well. Sinclair said he believes justice was served on
Wednesday, but that the case was not over.
"We have a second trial coming up, so we'll be ready for that," Sinclair said.

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Doctor in murder case stands by autopsy

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. The doctor whose bungled autopsy of a baby led to a murder charge
that was dropped this week against an Alabama mother maintains the findings were correct, the
medical examiner's lawyer said Friday.
Six experts disagreed with the autopsy report by Dr. Corinne Stern, who ruled that a newborn
was suffocated in 2006. The experts' opinion that the baby boy was stillborn led a judge to
dismiss the charge Thursday against Bridget Lee, 34, who spent nine months in jail after being
charged with capital murder.
Jay Lewis, who represented Stern in a lawsuit she filed after leaving Alabama to work in Laredo,
Texas, said Stern believes her original autopsy report was correct.
"She stands by her findings," Lewis said.
'Being raked over the coals'
Three of the state experts who now maintain the baby was stillborn initially signed off on Stern's
ruling that Bridget Lee's child was purposely suffocated after birth, he said.
"She is appalled that she is being raked over the coals like this," said Lewis. "It's unprecedented."
Dr. Kenneth Snell, who is Alabama's chief medical examiner and who testified during a hearing
that Stern made a mistake, declined comment Friday.
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Snell previously said the Alabama Department of Forensic Science would review as many as 100
homicide autopsies performed by Stern to determine whether more cases were flawed.
Stern's autopsy was the primary evidence against Lee, who said she panicked and hid the child's
body in a plastic container in her sport utility vehicle after delivering the boy stillborn. The case
fell apart when the defense successfully showed the medical report was flawed and prosecutors
agreed.
Stern is currently the chief medical examiner in Webb County, Texas, where she and a fiveperson staff handled 430 death cases in 2007, 15 of which were classified as homicides. She took
the job after leaving Alabama amid conflict with colleagues.
Court records and testimony during Lee's case indicated Stern finished her autopsy on the baby
on her last day at work in Alabama Dec. 15, 2006. She quit earlier in the month with a letter
that complained about conditions at the state forensic agency.
"I hope the unprofessional and unfair treatment afforded me and the daily harassment that I face
in my own office, with the knowledge of my superiors, will not fall on another unsuspecting
physician," Stern wrote.

Filed a federal lawsuit

Stern filed a federal lawsuit blaming gender discrimination for a demotion, but a judge threw out
the claim in December.
Stern left another forensics job in Texas amid turmoil before coming to Alabama.
Stern gave sworn testimony that she quit the medical examiner's office in El Paso, Texas, after
complaining that her free-speech rights were being violated. Records indicate Stern maintained
that law enforcement was getting too involved in her work.
A copy of her settlement with El Paso County shows Stern received about $80,000 in pay and
agreed to quit by July 31, 2005. She agreed not to perform any autopsies during the last month of
her employment.
Lewis, Stern's attorney, said the quality of her autopsies has never before been an issue. She
helped examine human remains after both Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and the shuttle Columbia
accident in 2003, when seven astronauts died.
"She has a good reputation for being a pathologist," said Lewis.
Photo credit: ajc.com
The Facts: On July 18, 2008, a schoolteacher by the name of Genai Coleman was waiting for her
daughter when a man fatally gunned her down and stole her car. Police were later able to identify
her killer from a cigarette butt that was found under the drivers seat of her stolen car.
The detective on the case, Damien Cruz, said that the saliva sample from the cigarette matched a
man named Donald Smith. Donald had a prior drug-related arrest and matched the profile taken
from a surveillance camera that had captured the shooting. He was arrested on February 3, 2009.
While that should have been the end of the story, it only got weirder when Donald Smith claimed
that the murderer was actually his identical twin.
The Weird: When investigators decided to follow up on Donald Smiths statement, they dusted
the car for fingerprints to test his claim. It was conclusive: The fingerprints found at the scene of
the crime did in fact belong to Donald Smiths identical twin brother, Ronald Smith. It took the
investigators three days to track down Ronald, but they eventually found him at his parents
house. Both his parents and his sister confirmed that Ronald was the right twin from the
surveillance footage.
Furthermore, his cell phone record proved Ronald had been in the area where Colemans car was
dumped after her shooting. After he was presented with the substantial evidence against him,
Ronald admitted to the crime. He was arrested for the murder on February 6, 2009.

5The Murder Of Mary Rogers

The Facts: Edgar Allan Poe enthusiasts might know the curious case of Mary Rogers from his
short story, The Mystery of Marie Roget. Mary Rogerss body was found floating in the
Hudson River on July 28, 1841. When her body was brought to shore, police found that her face
had been beaten and bruised to the point of being unrecognizable. The mystery of her death took
off in the press and caused a media frenzy.
The Weird: No forensic evidence could be gathered at the time of Marys discovery, despite the
brutal markings on her body and sightings of Marys whereabouts before her disappearance. As a
matter of fact, it wasnt until two months after her bodys discovery that any progress was made
in the case. The break came when some local children playing in the woods near Elysian Fields
in Hoboken, New Jersey found a womans clothing and personal effects hidden in the bush. The
items included a white petticoat, a scarf, a parasol, and a cloth handkerchief with the initials M.
R. embroidered on the edge. An eyewitness had previously reported seeing Mary entering the
same woods with six men on the night of her disappearance.
Police officers searched the area for anything that could put them on the track of the killer.
Nothing came of the search, the investigation abruptly ended, and Mary Rogers murder
remained in infamy.

4The Highway Of Tears

The Facts: There is a remote stretch of highway cutting through the British Columbian
wilderness named the Highway of Tears. The name comes from the fact that nearly 50 women
have gone missing on the road over the course of 30 years. If that wasnt scary enough, rumor
has it that all of the women might have been taken by the same serial killer.
The Weird: One suspect has been linked to at least a few of the murders by a collective DNA
sample. Known killer Bobby Jack Fowler was arrested after his DNA was found on the body of
one of the women murdered along the Highway of Tears. He was also strongly suspected of
murdering at least two more victimspossibly as many as 20but there is no evidence to
support the claim.
The other problem with implicating Fowler as the main suspect is that three more murders
happened after his imprisonment in 1996. Whoever was doing it was still out there. In 2011, a
massive manhunt to find the killer began. Canadian officials even began pressuring cab drivers to
submit DNA samples, just to pull together the smallest scrap of a lead. Nothing was ever found,
and the events around the Highway of Tears remain a terrifying mystery.

3Kendrick Johnsons Mysterious Death

The Facts: In January 2013, in Valdosta, Georgia, Kendrick Johnson was found dead in his high
schools gymnasium. The 17-year-old boys death was declared an accidentit appeared he fell
headfirst into a rolled-up gym mat and suffocated. There was no evidence of bruises or foul play,
but the bizarre circumstances of the boys death raised suspicion with the family.
The Weird: After a long back-and-forth between the boys family, the coroner, and, eventually, a
grand jury, a new report was filed that stated that Kendrick had in fact died from unexplained,
apparent non-accidental, blunt force trauma. Nobody was charged with the murder, but the
weirdness of the case does not end there. When the second autopsy was performed, it was
revealed that the brain, heart, lungs, liver, and every other vital organ from the pelvis to the skull
were missingtheyd been replaced with crumpled newspaper.
The owner of the funeral home claimed that the organs were most likely destroyed through
natural process due to the position of Kendricks body when he died. Nevertheless, replacing
organs with newspaper is obviously not standard practice for autopsies. All evidence points to
foul play, yet authorities are no closer to understanding what really happened in this case.

2Colonel William Shys Grave

The Facts: On December 1516, 1864, the city of Nashville became a battleground for the
already bloody American Civil War. William M. Shy, a Confederate Colonel of the 20th
Tennessee Regiment, was shot in the head at point-blank range on the second day of the Battle of
Nashville. This is where the story should have ended, but a 1977 excavation of his grave site
proved that Colonel Shy was not yet through with the world.
The Weird: In December 1977, forensic anthropologist Dr. Bill Bass arrived in Nashville to
investigate a case of vandalism at William Shys grave. The grave had been excavated, and a
headless body had been propped upright on top of a 19th-century cast-iron coffin. The body
appeared to be in an advanced state of deterioration and decay, but some discernible flesh and
joints were still completely intact. Dr. Bass and the other forensic experts on the case made the
natural assumption that the body had not belonged to the colonel, because his body should have
already decomposed to dust.
After further examination, Dr. Bass declared that the body had been dead less than a year, and
therefore definitely could not belong to Col. William Shy. But the inconsistencies kept piling up.
Soon after the initial investigation, the bodys head was foundwith a gunshot wound through
the skull. Further, the clothes and casket did seem to be authentic Civil War-era artifacts. The
answer was almost laughably simple, but it kept the forensic experts baffled for weeks. The castiron coffinwhich was a rare privilege reserved for someone of Col. Shys social statuswas
secure enough to keep out all moisture, insects, and oxygen that would have progressed the
decomposition process. With none of those present, the body was essentially trapped in a time
capsule.

1The Mystery Of British Columbias Floating Feet

The Facts: Starting in March 2007, tennis shoes began washing up on the shores of British
Columbias Georgia Strait. Over the course of five years, a total of 11 shoes washed up on the
shoresome with feet still in them. Most theories for the mysterious case involved a serial killer
with a foot fetish planning each murder and sending the shoes to shore as a calling card.
The Weird: It wasnt until February 2012 that the case was cracked. One of the shoes contained
the bones of an identifiable manStefan Zahorujkowhose capsized boat had been found in the
same body of water in 1987. The coroner concluded that the cause of death was nothing more
than an unfortunate accident, probably weather related, and the same assumption was hesitantly
given to explain the rest of the mysterious shoes. British Columbia could rest easy knowing that
the only serial killer on the loose was Mother Nature. As to why the shoes were the only things
that made it back to shore, well, thats still a mystery. Either way, it is the weirdest forensics case
the area has ever seen.