Murder victim Donna Ogletree Johnson
Johnson case tips continue to accumulate
Investigators from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and the Lamar sheriff’s office continue to investigate the now 26-year-old mystery of the murder of Donna Ogletree Johnson.
“The GBI and the sheriff’s office continue to follow leads in the case,” GBI spokesman Tom Davis said Friday.
Sheriff Larry Waller declined to comment on the case.
In the meantime, information continues to develop from interviews conducted when the case was revitalized by former sheriff Joe Buice in 2005.
Additionally, the identities of those interviewed at the time continue to come out.
Among those questioned by authorities was Marc Newman, now 59, of Canton. Newman and Mrs. Johnson worked together at Rack Right, a division of Eckerd’s charged with organizing its drug stores.
Newman, a white male, was questioned about an affair he was alleged to have had with the victim. He told investigators the romance never evolved beyond the hand-holding stage.
Also questioned was Terry Edgar Pruett who lived at the time on Johnson Street in Barnesville.
Pruett told investigators that Edward (Junior) Denton often bragged while drinking heavily that he had killed Johnson and cut off one of her nipples which he kept in a pickle jar.
Denton died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Autopsy photos show both Johnson’s nipples intact.
Pruett was polygraphed by investigators in 1996.
Mike Johnson, the victim’s nephew, told investigators he was told by his grandfather on the day of the murder that his Aunt Donna had gone to the dumpsters and not returned. He went to the site and found her abandoned car.
Mike Johnson also did not recall calling the sheriff’s department to file the missing persons report and said he would not have done so unless his grandfather told him to.
He said the family was told it took 13 hours to prepare Donna’s body for the funeral due to the severe nature of her injuries.
Mike Johnson was about 17 at the time of the murder.
Hiram Dunn was interviewed and reported seeing two black males near a pulpwood truck near the place where the body was found. The men were later identified and cleared. Dunn is now deceased.
Marty Fordham contacted investigators to say he spotted a large, silver four-wheel drive pickup truck in the vicinity of where the body was found during the rainstorm that preceded the location of Johnson’s body.
From the 8.17.2010 print/e-edition of The Herald-Gazette.
Sheriff Larry Waller declined to comment on the case.
In the meantime, information continues to develop from interviews conducted when the case was revitalized by former sheriff Joe Buice in 2005.
Additionally, the identities of those interviewed at the time continue to come out.
Among those questioned by authorities was Marc Newman, now 59, of Canton. Newman and Mrs. Johnson worked together at Rack Right, a division of Eckerd’s charged with organizing its drug stores.
Newman, a white male, was questioned about an affair he was alleged to have had with the victim. He told investigators the romance never evolved beyond the hand-holding stage.
Also questioned was Terry Edgar Pruett who lived at the time on Johnson Street in Barnesville.
Pruett told investigators that Edward (Junior) Denton often bragged while drinking heavily that he had killed Johnson and cut off one of her nipples which he kept in a pickle jar.
Denton died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Autopsy photos show both Johnson’s nipples intact.
Pruett was polygraphed by investigators in 1996.
Mike Johnson, the victim’s nephew, told investigators he was told by his grandfather on the day of the murder that his Aunt Donna had gone to the dumpsters and not returned. He went to the site and found her abandoned car.
Mike Johnson also did not recall calling the sheriff’s department to file the missing persons report and said he would not have done so unless his grandfather told him to.
He said the family was told it took 13 hours to prepare Donna’s body for the funeral due to the severe nature of her injuries.
Mike Johnson was about 17 at the time of the murder.
Hiram Dunn was interviewed and reported seeing two black males near a pulpwood truck near the place where the body was found. The men were later identified and cleared. Dunn is now deceased.
Marty Fordham contacted investigators to say he spotted a large, silver four-wheel drive pickup truck in the vicinity of where the body was found during the rainstorm that preceded the location of Johnson’s body.
From the 8.17.2010 print/e-edition of The Herald-Gazette.
If you know something, please come forward. You will be protected. There are people who care.
Contact Walter. He will take care of you.
The public can do it's part, too, to put pressure on law inforcement and the DA to make this a top priority. Every time you see them- on the street, in a restaurant, at the courthouse- ask about Donna. Ask if they've made any advancements. Tell them that catching the killer is important to you.
Everytime you see the suspects, ask them how the case is going. Ask if they're excited about authorities getting closer to catching the person who did this. Ask them, "Won't you be happy to get closure after so many years?"
Can you imagine the pressure of having to answer these questions over and over and over again, by so many different people, every single day? The sherriff and the DA will get the message loud and clear that the voters want this to be resolved. The perpitrator(s) and his/their accomplice(s) will get the message that it's not going away and they can never, ever rest easy again.
Cockroaches run when somebody shines a light on them. Get out your 100 watt bulbs, folks, and back that vermin into a corner!
Isn't it hard for you to believe that people are willing to let it go and forget about it? They say murder is easier the second time. There are a lot of people who should be very worried.
One thing that has always puzzled me about this case is that the focus has been concentrated on Lamar County. There is a strong possibility that this crime was committed in Pike County, not Lamar County. Donna’s car and body were found in Lamar County, but Donna lived just feet inside Pike County. It makes me wonder after all these years of people ranting about Lamar County District attys and what this sheriff did vs. that sheriff. Maybe, just maybe there is someone in good ole PC that is sitting there with an ever so slight Cheshire grin, just watching the gloves being put on and slugging it out next door. I have never read any statement by a Pike County law enforcement agency about this case. Donna was a member of this {Pike} community. There has always been support from the public here {PC} for finding and convicting the person {s} responsible for this crime. I have never heard if this was a high priority case for Pike County law enforcement. Seems that it would be since Donna was a citizen here…just my thoughts…anyone wanna go fishin’? Seems that there might be plenty of worms to go around… a can of em’ at least…
It could be that LamCo doesn't feel the pressure, because somehow, they feel it was a Pike Co. problem- Pike Co. victim, perhaps a Pike Co. perpitrator and maybe even a Pike Co. crime scene. Not nearly as much pressure across the county line, not nearly as much concern.
It could also very well be that what you pointed out may be the biggest reason the LamCo DA hasn't brought it up on trial. Maybe it's not so much proving WHO did it as WHERE it was done. First sentence out of the Defense's mouth would be, "Prove this crime was committed here."
It's the plot of Murder in Coweta County all over again. Where are Mayhaley Lancaster and Lamar Potts when you need them?
I'm just one of those "Pike County Rednecks" who was damned lucky enough to be born to a mama and daddy of meager means who loved and wanted the best for me and to be born in a place where my teachers cared about their students enough to demand the very best that they had to give.
Ms. Geneva Woods, Ms. Rosemary Carter, Ms. Cheryl Hammond, Ms. Alice Crayton, Mr. Stephens, Mr. Jones, Ms. Glantin, Ms. Norris, Ms. Cook- I wish I could have the influence on people that they had on me. If everybody could have teachers like that, the world would be a better place.
Mrs. Elsie Hussak was my most influential teacher and pushed me through when I wanted to quit in life.
Good people UNITE!
If someone has the missing piece of the puzzle and remains silent about it, (s)he is in growing danger, as the spotlight on this case gets brighter. The murderer knows who can fill in the blanks. It'd be so much easier to get rid of that person quietly and be rid of the problem forever. After all, he's already killed at least once and everything gets easier with practice.
(S)he'd do well to talk- for her/his own sake.
You tell every agency that will listen to you. Then tell another.
Hell, let's all write Obama and see if he gives a damn.
Walter, we should all sit down and test Obama. Do you think he will care about a southern town that is all republican?? Hell, maybe for a few more votes here, he will send down the calvary.
You can try every angle. I have heard numerous news reports of people writing to the president for help and someone in Washington actually reading it and turning it over for investigation to a federal agency. You could write and tell them to read your website for the serialization. Tell him the small republican districts around here need his help because no one in government here is listening to it's citizens.
Maybe he will surprise you and care about something other than screwing the working people out of their money.