Johnson was reported missing last week and was last seen on April 29 near Cottageville. Deputies said they identified Michael Smith as a suspect the next day after receiving a tip about an overheard conversation concerning the murder of Sunshine, which was Johnson s nickname. Earlier this month and prior to Johnson s murder, Michael Smith had been released from jail on parole.
Johnsons body was recovered from a deepwater well on Monday afternoon and identified through tattoos. Additional confirmation will be conducted by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.
Law enforcement noted Michael Smith said he shot Johnson in the back of the head and dumped her body in the well.
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A suspect found with guns and drugs April 7 in Huntington told an ATF-led task force said he was strapped because he was from Baltimore and the Detroit set did not like that too much, according to federal court records.
Edward J. Sample, 36, was charged April 16 in the Southern District Court of West Virginia with possession of a gun in the furtherance of a drug crime. Sample is currently being held at the Carter County Detention Center.
Sample is also suspected of firing 13 rounds of a gun into a trailer out in Cross Lanes, West Virginia, in response to a drug debt, court records show.
Shooting death under investigation in downtown Charleston By
April 16, 2021 - 8:11 am
CHARLESTON, W.Va. An incident in front of the Kanawha County Courthouse results in a man’s death and a disruption of the morning rush hour in downtown Charleston.
Sgt. Brian Humphreys of the Kanawha County Sheriff’s Department said a man shot himself just after 7 a.m. Friday while seated on a bench in front of the courthouse on busy Virginia Street downtown.
“Somebody in the Judicial Annex heard a gunshot and went outside finding this man sitting on a bench with an injury to his head. It was later determined it was a self inflicted gunshot wound. They found the pistol very near him,” he explained.