Convicted teenage killer awaits sentencing
HAILEY, Idaho – An Idaho teen convicted of killing her parents in 2003 has occupied the time leading up to her sentencing hearing this Wednesday with reading the Bible, making colorful crucifix drawings and constructing collages of pages torn from magazines.
Sarah Johnson was 16 when Blaine County prosecutors say she shot her mother and father, Alan and Diane Johnson, in their Bellevue home on Sept. 3, 2003.
She now feels isolated and alone, said Neasha Alder, the daughter of Johnson’s former legal guardian, Pat Alder, in an interview with the Twin Falls Times-News.
She has just a few regular visitors, including members of her defense team who are still trying to get her a new trial.
“She can’t believe people think she murdered her own parents,” said Alder, 27.
Johnson, now 18, was convicted of killing her parents with a high-powered rifle in what law enforcement agents in this vacation area south of Sun Valley say was a dispute between the girl and her father over her older boyfriend, Bruno Santos, a 19-year-old undocumented immigrant.
She was convicted March 16 in 5th District Court of two counts of aggravated first-degree murder and faces a mandatory sentence of life in prison.
In May, a judge refused to order a new trial for the teen, ruling there was no evidence of inappropriate contact between jurors and members of the victims’ family.
Still, her attorney, Bob Pangburn, has pledged to continue appealing the case following Wednesday’s sentencing.
Among his arguments: Buttons with pictures of Alan and Diane Johnson worn by family members, including Sarah Johnson’s brother, Matt, prejudiced members of the jury against his client.
“They were pictures of her folks,” Pangburn told the Associated Press in a recent interview. “Particularly in a case like this, when the brother is wearing one of those, what he’s saying is, ‘Convict my sister.’ “
The two-year investigation that culminated in Johnson’s six-week trial and upcoming sentencing have cost nearly $1 million so far, making it the most expensive case in Blaine County’s history.
Pictures Johnson has drawn for Alder include elaborate and colorful drawings of crucifixes covered in flowers.
“Sarah has a very strong Catholic faith,” Alder said. She said Johnson reads the Bible daily in her jail cell in Madison County, one of about a half-dozen facilities where she’s been held since her conviction.
Alder shared the contents of letters she’s received from Johnson, which include personal messages and insight into her mental state now that she faces a likely punishment of life behind bars.
“It’s been really stressful and my belly can’t handle it for too much longer,” Johnson wrote. “I can’t believe that I am still having to deal with all this c– – –. I’m in total shock.
“Give everyone a hug and a kiss for me and tell them I love them.”