Suspicion doubled when forensics couldnt identify Albin among any of the deceased, with one theory holding that the farmerill-tempered, a known drinker, down on his luck and soon to be evicted from the property by his own grandfatherhad sooner killed his own family rather than drag them into a life of even more hardship in days to come. Heather Ennis claims her husband deserves a second chance, I have seen so much change in this man since we met (in 1993). His trial was originally scheduled to begin on March 5, 1984, but this date was postponed to April 16, 1984, after he waived his preliminary hearing. Find The Otero Family Murders stock photos and editorial news pictures from Getty Images. What, might you ask, does a murder in rural Minnesota have to do with the assassination of Abraham Lincoln? However, the Bentleys 1981 Ford truck and camper and their camping gear, boat and motor, and other possessions were still missing. Heather Ennis claims her husband deserves a second chance, I have seen so much change in this man since we met (in 1993). Leibel found them next to a second set, JJ, for 13-year-old Janet Johnson. The Chisago County Press reported her body was lying near the crib of 4-month-old James her youngest. A Parent's Murder and a 16-Year-old Daughter's Conviction: The Sarah Johnson Parricide Case On 2 September 2003, 16-year-old Sarah Johnson called 911 from her neighbor's house telling the operator her parents had just been shot by an intruder by Fiona Guy 14 June, 2022 in Family Violence & Homicide Reading Time: 8 mins read A A Six months after the fire, a grand jury indicted Albin in the deaths. He remembered the meeting exactly as Shearing had described it. Eastham what really happened. I put the bodies in the car, four in the back seat, and the two little ones in the trunk. Yeah, let me kill my parents and then him and I will ride off into the sunset of blissful living. Thats why the traditional age of adulthood was 21!!! The RCMP posted a $7,500 reward, printed 10,000 posters and sent them to police detachments and post offices across North America. Using two handguns, including a Hi-Point Model JHP.45-caliber pistol (which he bought from Sydmor's Jewelry in neighboring Barberton, Ohio five days before) and a .357 Magnum six-shot revolver he bought from the same location in 2005, Hance opened fire at a house in the 2300 block of Goodenough Avenue. The day prior to the shootings Dianes sister testified that just the day before the murders, Sarah had asked for the keys to the gun safe.. Mary Johnson, 77; her husband, Thomas Johnson, 81; and her son David Johnson, 43, were all found stabbed to death at their home at 270 Cedar St. in Clifton on Jan. 9, 1993. He was the 12th federal inmate put to death under . Eastham told Shearing, You know why Im here, David. The media referred to the tragedy as the Wells Gray Park murders, but the actual site of the familys massacre was just outside the park entrance. Constable Leibel said in an interview 25 years after the murders, Thats how close everyone was to them. He repeated the process with Janet, the older daughter, on August 17, 1982. They never returned home. See the latest list of Exclusive members-only articles on StrangeOutdoors.com, Read more True Crime Stories from StrangeOutdoors, Gary Michael Hilton - The disturbing case of the National Forest Serial Killer, Highway of Tears in British Columbia, Canada, Amy Wroe Bechtel - disturbing disappearances in U.S. forests, The real "Wolf Creek" - the disturbing case of the backpacker murders in the Australian Outback, The Cowden Family - Strange and disturbing murders in the U.S. wilderness, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wells_Gray_Provincial_Park, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wells_Gray_Provincial_Park_Family_Murders, http://dyingwords.net/david-shearing-the-monster-from-wells-gray-park/#sthash.hUyyi6wR.PxXToWpg.dpbs, http://murderpedia.org/male.S/s/shearing-david.htm, https://www.lelandhale.com/wordpress/startling-development-british-columbia/, https://christopherdiarmani.com/14874/crime/canadian-mass-murders/david-william-shearing-slaughtered-family-of-six-in-wells-gray-provincial-park/, The Seventh Shadow: The Wilderness Manhunt for a Brutal Mass Murderer by Michael Eastham and Ian McLeod (1999, Paperback), The Wells Gray Gunman https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=unFwrrYLZH8, The Detectives The Wells Gray Gunman S1 E1 (Canada only)https://watch.cbc.ca/the-detectives/season-1/episode-1/38e815a-00d94f07a15, Tagged: The disturbing story of David Shearing and the Wells Gray Park camping murders, The disturbing story of David Shearing and the Wells Gray Park camping murders in Canada, wells gray provincial park murders, johnson and bennett murders canada, The canadian camping ground murders, johnson family murders wells gray park, bob johnson and jackie johnson murders wells gray, janet johnson and karen johnson murdered wells gray, david william shearing serial killer wells gray park, wells gray park camping murders canada, family murders wells gray park canada, George Bentley and Edith Bentley murders wells gray park, Sign up now for a one-time fee for access to over 55 exclusive member articles, The mysterious death of Carol Laughlin in Yosemite National Park, The disturbing story of David Shearing and the Wells Gray Park camping murders, Exclusive members-only articles on StrangeOutdoors.com, The disturbing story of David Shearing and the Wells Gray Park camping murders in Canada, bob johnson and jackie johnson murders wells gray, janet johnson and karen johnson murdered wells gray, david william shearing serial killer wells gray park, George Bentley and Edith Bentley murders wells gray park, The horrific rape and murder of Sophie Louise Hook whilst camping in her Uncle's garden, The miracle rescue of Alan Lee Phillips at Colorados Guanella Pass - the man who turned out to be a serial killer, The chilling story of Thomas Lee Dillon - the Ohio Outdoorsmen killer, The miraculous escape of the Brazilian and German backpackers at Salt Creek in South Australia, Robert Hansen Butcher Baker - the Alaska Serial killer who hunted his victims in the wilderness, The shocking unsolved Keddie Cabin murders, The disturbing death of Fiona Torbet in the Scottish highlands, The unsolved Williams and Winans camping murders in Shenandoah National Park, The real Wolf Creek - The Backpacker Murders in the Australian Outback, The frightening case of the Trailside Killer David Carpenter, The mysterious Koh Tao - Death Island in Paradise, The Yosemite National Park Sightseer Murders and the two faces of evil, The disturbing disappearance of the Beaumont children on Glenelg Beach, The Kamloops Triangle - The British Columbia murders and disappearances, The Delphi hiking murders - Abigail Williams and Liberty German, The Peter Falconio disappearance in the Australian Outback, The unsolved murder of Scott Lilly on the Appalachian trail, The disturbing case of James Jordan - The Appalachian Trail Murderer. However, by the following day, investigators announced that they had ruled both deaths as homicide. March 16, 2019 - 6:59 PM. Foul play, residents in the close-knit Swedish immigrant community cried. Presumably, Sarah had hoped that the garbage truck would have picked the garbage up. Suspicion soon fell upon Sarah who by this point, had changed her story several times. Then he crawled into the tent with the girls. Curt Brown It has begun to rely more on thought than emotion!!! "Facts seem to indicate that Albin Johnson snapped and killed his family," the author writes. At dusk on August 10, 1982, walked into the campsite with his rifle and shot Bob Johnson, then Jackie, and then George and Edith in cold blood. At the time of the interview, the murder weapon, Shearings .22 caliber rifle, hung on the wall of the family home. However, he did not elaborate any further. He remembered the meeting exactly as Shearing had described it. With Albin suspected of having fled to Canada, a massive manhunt began, with newspapers as far as Texas carrying the story: but early leads turned up only red herrings and false identifications. If the fire started in the kitchen stove, experts say some of the victims would have been awakened by the smell of smoke. The Johnsons and Bentleys were last heard from on August 6th, 1982. They left the cabin after they were nearly discovered. Grandma wanted to find him She contacted them [the Pinkertons]. Maggie Murdaugh/Facebook. The RCMP also learned through Shearings closest friend, Ross Coburn, that he was with him when he ran over drunk lying on a Wells Gray Park road in 1980, killing him. But the author also injects his role as a relative of the victims, recalling childhood visits to the graves of the family. I know the mans heart is in the right place and Im just here to back him up.. The logging road was near Battle Mountain Road, thirteen aerial miles from Bear Creek and north of the town of Clearwater. They were promptly "obliterated" when other vehicles poured into the farmyard. Did Government Officials Cover Up a Lethal Ohio School Poisoning? Questions, investigations and lawsuits have abounded in the years since Johnson's body was discovered at Lowndes High School in Valdosta, Ga., in January 2013. Morbidology Podcast The article continues below Initially, it was believed that this may have been a murder-suicide. This was the maximum possible penalty for second degree murder and the first time in Canadian history that it had been handed out. This case is at the upper range of culpability. Shearing said he saw the family when they set up camp and spent several days spying on them, with a fantasy to have sex with Janet and Karen. Some leads generated from all the publicity through investigators seriously off the scent. When entire families are murdered, it's often a case of familicide, in which the mass murderer is a family member. On the 16th of March, 2005, Sarah Marie Johnson was found guilty Then there's the kerosene can, found in the Chisago County sheriff's office in the 1960s and reportedly obtained on the Johnson farm after the 1933 fire. On April 17, 1984, Justice McKay sentenced David William Shearing to six concurrent terms of life in prison with no chance of parole for 25 years. Shearing moved the girls to his family farm the next day, and then, on August 16, 1982, he walked Karen, the younger daughter, into the woods and killed her. He took the bodies back to the Johnson family car, which hed hidden and put the girls bodies in the trunk. The burnt remnants provided no clues, but the location was of interest. Edward Wayne Edwards Wikipedia Edwards killed at least 5 and is suspected of many other murders. The victims were unknown to the prisoner. The lead victim, Alvira Lundeen Johnsonthe authors own great-auntand her children seemed from the forensic evidence not to have been disturbed from their sleep by the flames, suggesting that they had died prior to the blaze. However, many were perplexed that the sentences were concurrent, giving him the chance to escape the prison system in later life. Some leads generated from all the publicity through investigators seriously off the scent. Some beer caps of the brand known to be drunk by Bob Johnson were also found as well as full bottles cooling in a nearby stream. But a peculiar absence made some suspect that this fire was not an accident after all. Alexander Jackson, 20, is charged with three counts of murder in the triple homicide at the home in Cedar Rapids, KCRG reported, citing police. He went home and returned either that night or the next with a loaded .22 rifle. Murder in Chisago County: The Unsolved Johnson Family Mystery, cracked a case based on a single bottle of beer, finally rounded up public enemy number one, one conspirator from which already appearing on Crime Capsule, Interview with Brian Johnson Tom Barnard Show, Speakeasies and Secret Lairs: Milwaukee Prohibition, Murder on the Menu: Missouris Worst Female Killers, Cold Case Cracked: Lieutenant Rita Shulers 40-Year Quest for Justice. You told me some time ago that you would consider telling me the rest of the story after you were sentenced. I have a hard time believing all this and I cant say anything right now because it wouldnt be fair to Dave.. Alex Murdaugh called 911 on the evening of June 7, 2021, and said he found his son and wife dead when he returned home from a one-hour visit with his mother, who has dementia. Concerned, the hairdresser called Johnson's daughter-in-law, and the two went to her two-story Clifton home on Cedar Street to check on her. The Johnsons and Bentleys were last heard from on August 6th, 1982. Johnson's brother, Anthony, 22, and a family friend, Michael Gunn, 27, are serving life sentences after having been found guilty of first-degree murder in separate trials for their involvement in .