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The murder of Diane and Alan Scott Johnson occurred on September 2, 2003. They were shot to death in their Bellevue, Idaho, home by their 16-year-old daughter Sarah Marie Johnson.
Contents
Perpetrator
Sarah Marie Johnson was born January 24, 1987. She grew up in the Idaho city of Bellevue, and attended Wood River High School in Hailey.
History
On September 2, 2003, Alan Scott Johnson and Diane Johnson were shot to death in their Bellevue, Idaho, home. Alan was shot twice in the chest, while Diane was shot in the head. Their daughter, Sarah Johnson, was found guilty of their murder. Sarah was 16 years old at the time. Her apparent motive was her parents' prohibiting her from dating 19-year-old Bruno Santos.
At approximately 6:20 am on September 2, 2003, Johnson took the murder weapon, a Winchester rifle from the guest house. The tenant of the house had left for Boise, Idaho, and had not planned on returning for a week or so. She then walked into her parents' bedroom and shot her sleeping mother in the head, whereupon she walked into the bathroom and shot her father in the chest, right above the heart, while he was showering. DNA evidence was presented at trial from a discarded bathrobe and a latex glove that police found in the garbage can in front of the house. It contained the DNA of both victims and Sarah. Along with the robe and latex glove was a leather glove that had gunshot residue on it. In Johnson's bedroom investigators located the other leather glove that belonged to the pair.
Johnson was found guilty of the murders of her parents by an Ada County, Idaho, jury on March 16, 2005. She was sentenced to two concurrent life terms plus fifteen years for a firearm enhancement. The Idaho Supreme Court upheld her conviction.
In 2012, Johnson's lawyer filed petition for a new trial, charging that she had ineffective legal counsel in the murder trial. In October 2014, the request was denied.
Media
The case has been featured on Discovery ID's Solved series and Deadly Women series, the Suburban Secrets documentary show, the Spike TV reality show Murder, Snapped on the Oxygen Network and ABC's Primetime: Crime (edited into an episode of Investigation Discovery's 20/20 on ID in 2014). This case also appeared on an episode of Forensic Files on TruTV and on E!'s Too Young to Kill: 15 Shocking Crimes at #9.