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Nicholas Alexander Johnson has been arrested and charged with the murder of his parents
Officials said the bodies of Gary Johnson, 64, and Laura Johnson, 65, were found at Gourdneck State Game Area in Portage on Friday
Johnson has also reportedly been named a person of interest in the 2018 disappearance of Bonifacio Pena
On top of his open murder charges, Johnson is also charged with two counts of felony firearm and one count for possession of a firearm
Portage couple found dead were ‘stable’ and dedicated people, brother says
Updated Feb 19, 2021;
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PORTAGE, MI Gary and Laura Johnson “painted a picture of stability that doesn’t really exist anymore,” said David Johnson, Gary’s older brother.
The couple, married for 32 years, met in elementary school and began dating in the mid-1980s, about 10 years after they graduated from Kalamazoo Loy Norrix in 1974, he said.
Nearly 80 hours after an exhaustive, around-the-clock search began Tuesday, Feb. 9, at the couple’s Romence Road home, the bodies of David Johnson’s brother, Gary Johnson, 65, and sister-in-law, Laura Johnson, 64, were found buried in the woods at Gourdneck State Game Area on Friday, Feb. 12.
Son of Portage couple found buried in woods arraigned on murder charges
Updated Feb 18, 2021;
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KALAMAZOO, MI The son of Portage couple found buried last Friday in the Gourdneck State Game Area was arraigned Thursday on two counts of open murder and three other felony charges.
Nicholas Alexander Johnson, 27, is suspected by police to have killed his parents: Gary Johnson, 65, and Laura Johnson, 64. He was arraigned, Thursday, Feb. 18 on two counts of open murder, two counts of felony firearm and one count of felon in possession of a firearm.
Nicholas Johnson has been held at the Kalamazoo County Jail since Feb. 9, when he was arrested on two outstanding warrants and two new felony firearms charges issued the day of his arrest. Johnson was arraigned on those charges in Kalamazoo County District Court on Feb. 10.
Bodies unearthed in Portage woods those of Gary and Laura Johnson
Updated Feb 19, 2021;
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PORTAGE, MI The bodies of two people found buried in Gourdneck State Game Area last Friday have been identified as Gary and Laura Johnson, police confirmed.
The couple, both in their mid-60s, were last seen alive Wednesday, Feb. 3, Portage Public Safety Chief Nicholas Armold told MLive last week.
Armold said Monday. Feb. 15, the manner of death will be listed as a homicide.
“We hope to present the case to the prosecutor’s office in the next 24-48 hours,” he said.
A welfare check Tuesday morning, Feb. 9 at the couple’s home, in the 2300 block of Romence Road, turned quickly into a missing persons case. By Thursday, the case had pivoted toward a homicide investigation, Armold said.