June 22, 2005Searching for Johnia Hope Berry's Killer
More than six months ago, someone stabbed Johnia Hope Berry to death in her apartment. UPDATE: From a comment to another post, I found out there's a police sketch of the suspect in Johnia Hope Berry's murder. Click on the pictures for a larger version. There's a $10,000 reward for information leading the arrest and conviction of Berry's killer. You can email anonymous tips to homicide@knoxsheriff.org.
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August 18, 2005Johnia Hope Berry Memorial ServiceIn a comment on this post about the murder of Johnia Hope Berry, Jessica Hodge writes: "A memorial candlelight service will be held at the World's Fair Park in memory of Johnia on her Birthday August 26 at 7:00pm." I checked KnoxNews.com and Googe News, but couldn't find any other information about the memorial. If you're interested, Jessica posted her email address with her comment. UPDATE: From a comment to another post, I found out there's a police sketch of the suspect in Johnia Hope Berry's murder. Click on the pictures for a larger version. There's a $10,000 reward for information leading the arrest and conviction of Berry's killer. You can email anonymous tips to homicide@knoxsheriff.org.
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August 26, 2005Knox Sheriff Declines "America's Most Wanted" Help in Berry MurderAccording to Johnia Hope Berry's parents, the Knox County Sheriff declined an offer for help from the "America's Most Wanted" TV show, Tri-Cities.com reports. More than 100 family members and friends joined the Berry's for a candlelight vigil in Abingdon tonight. The story goes on to say that there will be a candlelight vigil for Berry tonight at 7 PM at the World's Fair Park. Previous posts: UPDATE: From a comment to another post, I found out there's a police sketch of the suspect in Johnia Hope Berry's murder. Click on the pictures for a larger version. There's a $10,000 reward for information leading the arrest and conviction of Berry's killer. You can email anonymous tips to homicide@knoxsheriff.org.
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Johnia Hope Berry Candlelight VigilWBIR covered tonight's candlelight vigil for Johnia Hope Berry. Today would have been her 22nd birthday. Previous posts: UPDATE: From a comment to another post, I found out there's a police sketch of the suspect in Johnia Hope Berry's murder. Click on the pictures for a larger version. There's a $10,000 reward for information leading the arrest and conviction of Berry's killer. You can email anonymous tips to homicide@knoxsheriff.org.
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September 30, 2005Composite Sketch of Johnia Hope Berry's Killer
From a comment to a previous post, I found out there's a composite sketch of the suspect in Johnia Hope Berry's murder. Click either picture for a larger version. There's a $10,000 reward for information leading the arrest and conviction of Berry's killer. You can also email anonymous tips to homicide@knoxsheriff.org. Previous posts: October 27, 2005New Johnia Berry Article, Web SiteMetro Pulse has an outstanding article about Johnia Berry, her murder, and the ongoing effort to find her killer. Reporter Ellen Mallernee did the hard work of interviewing the people surrounding the story and putting it all into a comprehensive narrative that also conveys the terrible loss for Berry's friends and family. The article also points to a Web site, JohniaBerry.org, that's been established to seek tips in the case. Previous posts: November 25, 2005Johnia Berry's Story on CNN Headline News Tonight at 8:00Nancy Grace is supposed to run a special about Johnia Berry's murder tonight at 8:00 on CNN Headline News. As I recall CNN taped the interviews with her family a few months ago. If you miss the 8:00 show it will air again at 10 PM and again at 1 AM Saturday. From Tricities.com: Berry’s parents, Mike and Joan Berry, will talk about the upcoming anniversary of the killing, the status of the case and the $10,000 reward offered for information leading to an arrest. LATER: Grace played excerpts of the 911 tape of the call from the Weigel's on The suspect's composite sketch wasn't shown, so here it is. Click to enlarge.   LATER: Transcript of the show December 01, 2005New Blog: "Find Johnia Berry's Killer"
Since then I've been working with Johnia Berry's brother and mother to create a new site to help find her killer. We're unveiling the site today at JohniaBerry.org. Next Tuesday, December 6, is the one year anniversary of her death. We're trying to get as much media coverage as possible right now to draw attention to the case. Our hope is that someone who knows something about the crime will come forward, or that someone will recognize the killer from the composite sketch. If you're in the media, or know someone who is, please contact me. Johnia's brother and mother are available for interviews.
If you have a Web site, I'd really appreciate a link to JohniaBerry.org. You can help even more by including the suspect's composite sketch. Copy and paste the HTML below to include the pictures on your site.
Submitted to the Beltway Traffic Jam. December 05, 2005Johnia Berry in the News This WeekTomorrow, December 6, is the one year anniversary of Johnia's murder. Her family is using this occasion to remember Johnia, and to bring her story to as many people as possible in hopes of finding her murderer. Johnia's mother Joan was on several Knoxville radio stations this weekend, and will be in the media today and tomorrow in Knoxville and the Tri-Cities. More information at JohniaBerry.org. Johnia's brother Kelly Burke will be on Star 102.1 FM in Knoxville Tuesday morning at 8:00. Thanks to Frank Murphy for arranging the appearance. December 06, 2005Developments in the Johnia Berry Case on the First Anniversary of Her Murder
New clues from the crime scene The Knox Sheriff's office has released photos of the CD wallet and a CD with the initials "ML." Both were found at the crime scene, along with a car stereo. The initials might be the killer's, or they might belong to someone the killer robbed. If that's the case, if that person came forward and gave details of the theft from their car, home (or locker?) that could be a clue. Reward The sheriff's office is asking the governor to increase the $10,000 reward to $20,000. Knoxville radio Johnia's brother Kelly Burke will be on several Knoxville radio stations Tuesday morning:
Memorial scholarship established at ETSU The Johnia Hope Berry Memorial Scholarship has been established to help students interested in pursuing a career in child psychology. Donations are appreciated. Media coverage this week - updated as it comes in
Johnia's Mother on CNN Tuesday Night, Brother on 93.1 Wednesday MorningJoan Berry will be on Nancy Grace's show on CNN Headline News tonight at 8:00 PM Eastern. The Point 93.1 FM will air its interview with Kelly Burke Wednesday morning between 7:00 and 8:00. In other news, the reward has been increased from $10,000 to $37,000. December 08, 2005WVLT-TV Donates $5,000 to Johnia Berry RewardWVLT-TV in Knoxville has donated $5,000 to the reward fund to bring Johnia Berry's killer to justice. Many thanks to the owners and staff at WVLT. Light Blogging Here, Notes on the Johnia Berry CaseHome sick today. I'll probably putter around the house and finish the Christmas decorations. I haven't blogged much here this week. In large part that was due to the demands of working on JohniaBerry.org and helping out with the media and getting Kelly up to speed on Blogger. In part, too, it was that I didn't have a taste for blogging about current events. Writing about a young girl's death doesn't mix well with writing about the latest stupidity of the current batch of elected political idiots. It's an old problem in publishing. The gravest thing sits on the page next to the lightest, and it's an embarassment. TV news people are probably reluctant to admit it, but the commercials are sometimes a blessing. They provide two minutes of separation between the earthquake victims and the celebrity wedding and by then most people will have forgotten. Mostly it's motivated me to revisit some unfinished reviews of old movies, to step out of time. Man the Internet is a Weird PlaceSo an anonymous commentor on Johniaberry.org writes: someone said something about Michael Lowe, well if you look at the initials on the CD its says ML.. which would be a good indicator of a guy named Michael Lowe. That was the first I recall hearing of Michael Lowe. I couldn't find his name in a search of the site. If anyone knows anything about him, I'd appreciate it if you let me know. (LATER: Guy corrected himself and said it was Michael Howell he was thinking of.) So I Google for "michael lowe" tennessee and one of the pages I get is this one at Mindcontrolforums.com. It's from someone named Ted Jackson describing his neighbor Michael Lowe (don't know if it's the same guy - there were lots of matches for Michael Lowe) who he thinks was controlling his freakin' mind. You can read the whole thing, but this paragraph gives you the rich, nutty flavor: 3) My upstairs neighbor, a man named Michael Lowe (Apt. A - dark green Accura Legend (license plate #839LEC) with an Emory bumper sticker), who introduced himself as a respiratory therapist, began creaking the floor of his immediate upstairs apartment and making other percussive sounds coincident with lines of dialog and lyrics from television and radio broadcasts in such a way that he could communicate deniable messages to me through them. He did so loudly at first, apparently to get my attention, and then more softly such that he could do so while being unlikely to be heard by others. In that way he would convey all sorts of messages, including death threats (i.e. softly creaking a floorboard coincident with lines of dialog containing words such as 'gonna get you' or 'kill you' and such). To this day I can think of no way to successfully prove the fact of it. He then continued doing so at any (and sometimes all) hours of the day. The content of his communications also made it clear that he was able to observe me within my home, including the content of my computer screen. I tried to ignore it at first, though it was inevitable that I would begin to answer, which I did. I would argue/communicate back to him simply by typing on my keyboard into Windows notepad. Boy, can I sympathize with that. Turns out I lost years of blogging because I was typing my posts into Windows Notepad instead of entering them into, you know, blogging software. Yeah, I know. It's not exactly news that there are unmedicated nutcases on the Internet, just like it's not news that it hurts when you hit your thumb with a hammer. Yet somehow it's always a surprise when you re-discover the most basic facts of life. December 09, 2005Steve Huff Series on Johnia Berry Murder
A Knoxville Mystery, Part 1 I found part 2 especially interesting. Huff dug through online ratings for the apartments where Johnia was killed. Several ratings for the time preceding Johnia's death noted security problems and burglaries. This one was perhaps the most disturbing, since it supports the theory that someone simply walked up the back steps of Johnia's third floor apartment: SAFETY ALERT: Shared balconies mean that anyone can walk up to your back door and peer in. This happened MANY times. People just come up and stand on your balcony because they are open to the public. THIS SUCKS... Part three contains original photography. Huff's friend, Karns resident Anthony Veach, contributed photos of Brendon Park (where Johnia and her roommate lived) and Warren House apartments (when Johnia's roommate was stabbed he ran out the front door and directly across Rhodora Road to Warren House). While Brendon Park is nice Warren House isn't. Until you visit Warren House or see pictures you can't appreciate how run down it is or why it's nicknamed the Crack House. Many thanks to Huff and Veach for their work, and for permission to use the photos. December 13, 2005New Posts at JohniaBerry.orgUPDATE: JohniaBerry.org was down for a few hours, but is back up now.
A man who was found Wednesday morning near Virtue Road covered in blood has been charged in a separate incident. Twenty-nine year old Douglas Everett Loveday of 912 Campbell Station Road was charged with aggravated burglary and theft. Each charge carries a $20,000 bond. Loveday is accused of breaking into a house on Viking Drive in Knoxville while a female inside slept. He stole a number of items from the house including the woman’s purse and a camera Tuesday night or early Wednesday morning. She was not injured during the burglary. Glenn Owen's Profile of Johnia Berry's Murderer The killer is a disorganized killer who knew Johnia in some way. Disorganized killers are usually below average in IQ. They kill in their own neighborhood. Disorganized killers are sloppy and not very smart, they leave a lot of evidence. They get mad and kill. Unlike organized killers they do not try to hide the body, they just leave them where they kill them. The killer is a white male between the age of 18 to 23. December 19, 2005Joan and Mike Berry on WNOX, at 3:30 TodayJohnia Berry's parents will be on the Phil Williams Show on 100.3 WNOX in Knoxville today at 3:30 PM to talk about Johnia's murder and the search for her killer. December 28, 2005Nancy Grace to Feature Johnia Berry This ThursdayThe Nancy Grace Show will feature Johnia's story this Thursday, December 29 on CNN Headline News. Governor Adds $25,000 to Reward in Johnia Berry MurderFrom The Knoxville News-Sentinel. Thanks to Michael Silence for the heads up. Gov. Phil Bredesen announced today that the state is offering a $25,000 reward to anyone with information leading to the arrest and conviction of whoever killed Johnia Berry. January 05, 2006February 21, 2006Sheriff Hutchison Responds to Berry FamilyKnox Sheriff Tim Hutchison has responded to the letter Johnia Berry's family posted yesterday. The family is asking for a personal meeting with Hutchison. May 02, 2006Petition for Sheriff Tim Hutchison to Cooperate with "America's Most Wanted"
Text of the petition: "On December 6, 2004, Johnia Hope Berry was brutally stabbed to death in her Knoxville apartment. The murderer has not been located or arrested. In attempt to help law enforcement officials find the killer, Johnia’s family has asked America’s Most Wanted to air Johnia’s case. They have fully agreed to showcase Johnia’s murder, but require cooperation from the Knox County Sheriff’s office to do so. Sheriff Tim Hutchison has, so far, refused to cooperate with the show. Please show your support for our effort in finding Johnia’s killer by signing the petition below. Urge Sheriff Hutchison to fully cooperate with America’s Most Wanted." Downloadable Petition (196K PDF) Signed petitions can be mailed to: Michael Berry Cross-posted to Find Johnia Berry's Killer June 22, 2006Freweini Gebremicael and Johnia BerryThis week's The Nashville Scene has a cover story about the grisly murder of Freweini Gebremicael. S-townMike and Chris Wage are wondering if there would be more media coverage if Freweini had been white. I don't know anything about Freweini Gebremicael's case, but I'm familiar with the Johnia Berry murder here in Knoxville. Johnia was white, but her story languished for months and months. The only reason I knew anything about Johnia's case is that Chris Range emailed me an article from a newspaper in Johnson City (where Johnia was from). I blogged it, and people Googling for information about Johnia found the post and left comments with more information, which I then blogged. It wasn't until our local alt-weekly, Metro Pulse, did an excellent front page story 10 months after Johnia's murder that I really knew all the particulars of what happened, saw the police sketch of the suspect, and felt the full tragedy of Johnia's murder. That's when I contacted the family and offered to help them with a blog. The reward money languished at $10,000 until a year after Johnia's death. Then all of a sudden, thanks to attention gathered through anniversary stories, ongoing media relations, and the blog, the reward quickly shot up to $60,000 as multiple sources contributed money within a couple of months. That's a great reward, but bear in mind that it took more than a year to accumulate. So while I can't say that race isn't an issue in coverage of Freweini's death, I can say that even when the victim is white media coverage can be dreadfully slow, and police investigations even slower. (Johnia's murder hasn't been solved, and there is ample criticism of the sheriff's office over foot dragging and their refusal to cooperate with America's Most Wanted.) Having The Scene pen a story within a month and a half of the murder is damned quick. Good on 'em. Next, someone should contact contact America's Most Wanted. And someone should start raising a reward. If someone would put together a blog for Freweini Gebremicael, that would be very helpful. The blog is, frankly, the easy part. In Johnia's case, her family has been tireless in pursuing her case with the sheriff's office (with whom they speak almost daily), with the local and national media (whom they speak to frequently), and with legislators. Governor Phil Bredesen is meeting the Berry family in Knoxville today to sign legislation that will provide additional funding to catch up on the state's backlog of DNA samples that need testing. It would be very helpful if Freweini has people working as tirelessly and patiently for her. I hope her murderer will be found quickly, but justice may be long in coming. June 29, 2006Johnia Berry's Family Requests TBI Investigate Her MurderFrom JohniaBerry.org: On June 1st we met with Sheriff Tim Hutchison and found out that there is no new information coming in regarding Johnia's murder investigation at this time. So, we gave the Sheriff the petition containing over 2,000 signatures asking that he cooperate with America's Most Wanted in profiling Johnia's case. His response? No. July 06, 2006Letter from Joan BerryI wanted to give everyone an update on Johnia's case. I've spoken to the TBI and they are more than willing to step in and offer their assistance in the investigation - all they need is to be asked by the DA's office. Mike and I met with Attorney General Randy Nichols on June 1st and spoke to him about this very issue. He got back to us 28 days later and told us that he would not ask the TBI for their help. Now, 19 months after Johnia's death, we are still no closer to solving her murder. So, in an attempt to keep my daughter's case alive, I am planning a walk in Knoxville on Friday, July 14 to publicly ask Mr. Nichols to bring the TBI in to help with the case. If you have time to offer your support, please join me from 5pm - 6:30pm in front of the Knoxville City County Building at 460 West Hill Avenue. I would greatly appreciate your help. (If you need directions, you'll find them here.) Thank you, July 14, 2006Berry Family Walk at GA Randy Nichols OfficeJohnia Berry's family held a walk tonight to persuade Knoxville Attorney General Randy Nichols to request the TBI's help in investigating Johnia's murder. I went to the walk tonight and got to meet Joan and Mike Berry, as well as frequent commenter Wolfpack Ledger. Attendance was much better than I would have expected. I counted more than 50 people. Local TV stations WATE and WVLT were both there. Here's WATE's report. That report mentions Dan Frye, who was also there tonight. Johnia's brother Kelly Burke had told me Frye's story the first time we met to work on the Johniaberry.org Web site. Shortly after Johnia was killed, Frye contacted Kelly to let him know that there was someone else who knew what it was like to lose a family member to murder. Frye's father Windham M. Frye was killed in South Knoxville at the Corner Market and Deli. It took six years to bring his father's murderer to justice. Johnia Berry was stabbed to death in her West Knoxville apartment in December, 2004. No arrests have been made in the case. Knox County Sheriff Tim Hutchison has refused to cooperate with "America's Most Wanted." The TBI has told the Berry family they would like to help, but can't do anything unless the local attorney general requests the help. Hutchison doesn't want the TBI involved, and Nichols told the Berrys he doesn't want to upset the sheriff. Hutchison is apparently telling reporters that the TBI is already involved in the Berry murder. That's misleading - the TBI is doing the DNA testing, which they apparently do in all cases in Tennessee, but they are not otherwise investigating the murder. August 17, 2006Johnia Berry's Roommate Speaks OutJohnia Berry's roommate, Jason Aymami, is finally speaking out at Johniaberry.org. Jason was in the apartment the night of the murder, and was also stabbed. He escaped and ran to the apartment building next door to knock on doors to get help. When no one answered, he ran to a convenience store and called 911. Because he was there, he was a natural suspect, but to me the facts didn't fit. Blood evidence shows there was a third person in the apartment who ran out the back (Johnia and Jason ran out the front). Beyond that, it doesn't make sense to me that he would have called 911 if he had been the murderer, or that he would have left her alive in the apartment (she staggered out of the apartment and knocked on doors, but as with Jason no one answered). Unfortunately, what starts out as reasonable speculation sometimes turns into ridiculous conjecture. People have speculated that Jason was into drugs, and the murder was a drug deal gone bad, or that he was gay and his lover killed Johnia. Someone recently said that Jason was lying when he said that the car stereo and CDs weren't his, and that his uncle who sells those sorts of things at Green Acres gave them to him. I think it finally got to be too much for Jason to ignore. Before I get to Jason's comments, I should mention that Johnia's mother has asked Jason to appear on a television show about the murder in hopes of getting information about the killer, and Jason has agreed. Here's Jason's first comment: Well I can see how many people really tend to like me out there and I thank you all for your love and support. I really don't feel like defending all the flack I am getting right now because they would have to up the server space to take all the writing I would have to do. Just to clear somethings up I want to let everyone know that I do not have an Uncle in Knoxville, TN all of my family lives in Denver, Colorado...Where I am orginally from...that's why I moved back home after this terrible incident. I visit this website everyday to see the new blogs and words don't hurt me so I really don't take offense to the comments people post about me. Everyone has theories and I don't mind them at all. Words do not hurt me at all. I am just glad people get on this website everyday and write what they think...That's the point of a blog. As for me I wanted to let everyone know that I didn't flee I moved back here to Colorado to be with my family. I moved to TN with my parents and they moved back to Colorado after finding out it wasn't for them. I stayed to entered College at ETSU where I graduated with a BBA in Accounting. I don't speak my mind about this case because it is at the discretion of my lawyer I am sorry. I follow his adivce not others people's advice. He actually has my best interests on his mind not his own. If anyone has any questions for me or anything else I will start to post on this blog. Just leave a message and I'll try to get back I check this thing every day. Answering a question about the killer: Continue reading "Johnia Berry's Roommate Speaks Out" »August 25, 2006Johnia Berry Candlelight Vigil Saturday at 3:00 PMThere's a candlelight vigil this Saturday at 3:00 for Johnia Berry and all victims of violent crime. October 13, 2006Johnia Berry Updates: DNA Results, Movie, Attacker DescriptionSheriff Hutchison has been sending a form letter to some people concerning the murder investigation. The family responds here. There's a new printable reward flyer. In a comment on this thread Johnia's brother Kelly has information about the killer's DNA and the name of the movie Johnia saw shortly before her murder: According to the DNA evidence found at the scene, the 3rd party's blood is that of a male caucasian. This doesn't necessarily mean that a male caucasian killed Johnia, but that person's blood was found at the crime scene. Personally, I believe that this was the person. Johnia's roommate, Jason Aymami, described the killer as a white male, which the DNA evidence confirms. In that same thread Jason gives more information about the person he saw. Well the most I can remember about the attacker were his big, glossy eyes. He had a stockier build around 185 pounds, and slightly shorter than I 5-8 to 5-9. His hair was very short, maybe one half inch at most and was lighter colored. Light brown or a darker blonde. He was wearing a Tshirt that was a tan color that resembled a gray sweatshirt pattern. I don't know how else to describe the pattern, but if you seen a regular old russel athletic gray sweatshirt then you'll know the pattern I am talking about. I don't remember any distinct smell or marks on the assailant. I couldn't tell much of his voice because he only talked to me in a louder whisper. His face wasn't pudgy or very slim...it fit his body well. Not to big or too small. And for hypnosis I have said that I have researched it and have decided that I am not going to do it. For those who believe this is a bad decision then let it be. It is not out of disrespect to anyone or revealing information that I don't want to get out it's just a decision I have made. You can post all you want about it but this is the last time I will address the issue. I don't want to repeat myself a million times. I don't blame him about the hypnosis. I'd be skeptical of any information obtained under hypnosis, and I doubt any recollections collected through hypnosis would be admissable as grounds for a warrant or grand jury indictment. Finally, frequent commentor Wolfpack Ledger notes the resemblance between Brent Davis (who was convicted of statutory rape) and the police composite created from Jason's A's description.
This isn't the first time an arrestee has come along who looks like the composite - like I've said before, the sketch is of a pretty generic, short-haired, young white guy - but it's part of the sifting process. Wolfpack also links to Ernest James Glenn, but he's less of a match, visually. I do think the killer is very young (Glenn is 19 and Davis is 20). Previous suspects who sort of, kind of resembled the police composite include Zachary Michael Howell and Douglas Everett Loveday (whose story sent chills up my spine, but DNA cleared him of involvement in Johnia's murder). One thing I discovered from reading the sheriff's Web site is how many weird crimes happen in a city as small as Knoxville. Like Lily Tomlin says, no matter how cynical you are, it's hard to keep up. November 28, 2006Nutty Commenter at JohniaBerry.orgThis is a response I posted here to a comment (it's near the bottom, posted at 1:24 AM). MY MY! So he was VERY VERY adament about it eh!? THERE'S YOUR ANSWER FOLKS!!! THERE'S THE HIDDEN INFO THAT JASON IS HOLDING BACK!!!!!! EITHER WE GET THIS INFO OUT OF JASON A OR THE MURDERER SCOOTS FOR EVER!! I HONESTLY BELIEVE THIS BRICK WALL JASON HAS ERECTED FOR US IS INSURMOUNTABLE!! ANOTHER YEAR OR TWO OF THIS CASE STILLED UNSOLVED AND YOU GUYS WILL KNOW AND UNDERSTAND BY THEN THAT I WAS ABSOLUTELY CORRECT WHEN I SAID IT'S TIME TO PUT A MIGHTY SERIOUS ASS WHUPPIN ON THAT ARROGANT PRICK!! IF JOHNIA WERE MY FAMILY MEMBER I WOULD HAVE ALREADY COMMITTED 30 GOOD FELONIES WITH ALACRITY AND GOTTEN ALL THE FACTS AND TRUTH OUT OF THAT SYPHLITIC CHANCRE!! HE IS SCUM!!! HE IS THE BACTERIUM ON A MAGGOTS ASS!! HE IS HOLDNG BACK ANSWERS!!!! IF SOMEONE WILL GO WITH ME WE'LL TAKE A TRIP TO COLORADO TO PICK UP SOME COORS BEER AND WATERBOARD JASON A WITH IT!!! HEY!!!? DON'T GIVE ME ANY LECTURES ABOUT "MORALITY" AND "ETHICS" AND AGAINST "TORTURE!!" IF WATERBOARDING IS NOT "TORTURE AS MY U.S. GOVERNMENT INSISTS AND IS NOT ILLEGAL AS THEY INSIST THEN WHY CAN'T WE USE IT DOMESTICALLY!!!!???? JASON A MUST BE MADE TO TALK !!! HE MUST!!!! WE NEED TO FOCUS ON HOW TO ACCOMPLISH THAT!!! NO, I'M NOT JOKING!! JASON A'S ASS HAS GOT TO BE STOMPED HARD!! IF YOU HAVE A PROBLEM WITH THAT STATEMENT THEN RUN A MENTAL VIDEO AS I DO AT NIGHT OF POOR JOHNIA WAILING, CRYING, COLD, ALONE, SPURTING BLOOD, TERROR IN HER EYES, RUNNING THE STAIRS AND DESPERATLY BANGING ON THOSE APARTMENT DOORS!! PICTURE HER LAST BREATH AS GOD'S POOR CHILD SLUMPS TO THE FLOOR!! THEN TELL ME IT WOULD BE "WRONG" TO HOLD A GUN TO JASON A'S BUTT UGLY HEAD TO GET THE ANSWERS!! AND "HUTCH"!!?? IF YOU ARE READING THIS!? KISS MY FLAT ASS!!! YOU KNOW ME AND MY FAMILY!! YOUR INBRED BIASED, BIGOTED, BRAINLESS, BELLIGERANT, BADGED BUBBAS MURDERED MY WIFE'S COUSIN!! YOU HAVE BEEN WORTHLESS AS MAMMARY GLANDS ON A MALE SWINE TO THE POOR BERRY FAMILY!!! YOU NEED TO BE ASHAMED KCSD!!! YEAH I'M CRAZY!! BUT SOMETIMES IT TAKES A CRAZY GUY PEOPLE!! THE ONLY MATTER LEFT TO DISCUSS HERE IS HOW TO MAKE JASON A TALK!! GOD HOW I HATE AND LOATHE THE THOUGHT OF THIS POOR GIRLS MURDER GOING UNRESOLVED INDEFINITELY!! I KEEP PICTURING JOAN ON THE CURB AT UT HOSPITAL WAILING!! TALK ABOUT SOMETHING THAT WOULD DESTROY A LOVING MOTHER!! I WAS THERE TODAY AT UT HOSPITAL AND THOUGHT ABOUT ALL THAT. BTW!!? WHY THE HELL WAS JOHNIA TAKEN TO UT RATHER THAN FORT SANDERS WEST!!!?? KELLY I'M NOT AFRAID OF THE LAW!!! I HAVE A FELONY FREE RECORD BUT WHAT THE HELL...LIFE IS ABOUT NEW EXPERIENCES...I'M ALMOST 54 AND IN BAD HEALTH SO WHY NOT WE GO TO COLORADO AND HAVE A "COME TO JESUS MEETING" WITH JASON A!?? I VOLUNTEER HERE AND NOW!! THE LAW BE DAMNED!!!! OH AND JASON!?? YOU AND YOUR WHITE TRASH MURDERER BUDDY COME SEE OLE LARRY AT 4 AM!! BRING A KNIFE TO THIS GUNFIGHT YOU COWARDLY HAIR BALLS!! WE MUST GET THE ANSWERS OUT OF JASON!!!!! -LH To the person posting as Larry "Speedbump" Henderson: Your comments are out of control and have become abusive and threatening. In your comment above you say you will go outside the law, go to Colorado (where Jason A. lives), and that he better not "BRING A KNIFE TO THIS GUNFIGHT." I'm leaving that post up so you can see it when you calm down or sober up. If you post any more comments like that one they will be deleted. Some of you wonder why Jason left town, or why he won't offer endless cooperation with whoever takes it upon themselves to demand it. That post above should help you understand why Jason doesn't want to be a puppet or laboratory mouse to every would-be Internet vigilante and amateur detective who comes down the pike.
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January 08, 2007January 15, 2007Knox Sheriff's Dept. Paid Me a Visit this MorningBefore I left for work this morning I got a knock on the door. Looking out there was a guy in dress shirt and pants with a radio and a manila folder. He said he was with the Knox County Sheriff's department and showed me his ID. Name of Hall. I used my foot to keep the dog inside and stepped outside to talk to him. Hall said he was following up on a tip they received that I looked like a suspect in a 2004 homicide I said "You're talking about the Johnia Berry murder." He asked if I had heard about it, and I told him I was the Webmaster for the Johniaberry.org Web site, and that he could verify that by visiting the site and scrolling down a little. My name was on the right side along with Johnia's brother Kelly as the maintainers of the site. Hall said he was just following up on a report that I looked like the composite sketch, and that he hadn't thought I looked the guy, but he had to check. I noticed Hall had a black and white printout of my driver's license photo in his manila folder. He was using the folder to take notes about the Web site. I'm sure there's someone out there wondering "Golly, could it have been Les?!" Don't take my word for it. Here's the composite sketch of the murder suspect from December, 2004 and here's a picture of me from our trip to BlogNashville in May, 2005. I met lots of Nashville bloggers on that trip who know what I look like, as do Knoxville bloggers. If I had to judge I'd say I'm somewhere around 15 years older and 75 pounds heavier than the person in the sketch. Also, my fingerprints are on file with the state of Tennessee because I have a handgun carry permit and fingerprinting is part of the application process. To whoever it was that told the Sheriff's department I look like the sketch: you're a damned liar. You've obviously never seen me in person. Hall said he was checking other leads today. That's good, at least. I'm glad to see the sheriff's department is following up on the leads they get. April 24, 2007Johnia Berry News/Christian and Newsom MurdersKnoxville News-Sentinel: Johnia Berry walk kicks off '07 National Crime Victims' Rights Week. Metro Pulse: The House on Chipman Street - Has some information about the Johnia Berry case and interviews Remonda Swafford. I met Remonda at the Cokesbury Johnia Berry meeting a few months ago. She's been an outspoken, effective voice for the crime problem in the West Knoxville neighborhood where Johnia was killed. Beyond that, I found parts of that Metro Pulse article incredibly offensive. The reporter, Leslie Wylie, goes out of her way to minimize and conceal the horrific crime that was at the center of the story. The opening sentence is "You don't need another rehashing of the grisly details." But perhaps you do, since she omits them. The defendants have been charged with the double carjacking, kidnapping, rape and murder of Channon Christian and Christopher Newsom. It's believed Newsom was raped and killed early on, then his body burned. Christian was gang-raped for several days before being murdered. One of the defendants, Vanessa Coleman, who was in the house during that time has stated that while Christian was alive her mouth was rinsed out with cleaning chemicals, presumably to hide DNA evidence. Wylie implies that interest in the case is largely due to race (Christian and Newsom were white, their accused murderers were black) and includes this quote without disapproval: "It's a tough question," says Kelly Johnson, a local criminal defense attorney, "because the media is in a position where they have to report those things, and what they have is two young, white people allegedly killed by three African-American gentlemen and an African-American woman. Does the media take more interest in a case when there are white victims? I don't know. Maybe." I'm not sure that people who have been charged with robbery, kidnapping, rape and murder need to be described as "gentleman" without protest from the reporter. Particularly when the fingerprints of one of the defendants, Lemaricus Davidson, were found on materials in the carjacked vehicle, according to news reports. That clue lead police to 2316 Chipman Street, where Christian's burned body was found in a kitchen trash can. Wylie goes out of her way to make the issue race, as opposed to sticking to the simple facts of the nightmarish crimes that occurred. Googling for information about the Christian-Newsom murder I did find racist sites that are making hay of the case, but do Wylie and her editors seriously believe that an average person wouldn't be offended and frightened if the victims and accused were of the same race? You have a pair of innocent young UT students going about their lives and being carjacked, raped, murdered, and mutilated by a gang of drug-induced criminals. If that doesn't offend someone then it seems to me that that person's moral compass is broken beyond all repair. The same article has counterevidence that interest in the Christian-Newsom murders is racially motivated. Johnia Berry was white. We know that her murderer was also white, based on the eyewitness account of her roommate who survived the attack, as well as the DNA obtained from the killer's blood left at the crimes cene. Yet despite Berry's murder being a white-on-white crime there has been tremendous interest in the case. Wylie would have done well to stick to the facts, as Ellen Mellarnee did for her incredible Metro Pulse feature about Berry's murder. Instead, Wylie and her editors hide the facts from the reader, assuming that either the reader is a racist or that someone will use the facts to racial advantage. I don't have any use for a newspaper that keeps the facts from its readers for fear that some people are too stupid and racist to handle those facts. - WVLT Special Coverage of Christian-Newsom Murders Knox Sheriff Subpoenas List of Peninsula Patients in Connection with Berry MurderKnox County Sheriff's Office investigators, probing the murder of Johnia Berry, are trying to get the names of men who were patients at Peninsula Hospital in a period of time leading up to her death. Thanks to Wolfpack and Michael Silence for the heads up. May 30, 2007Gov. Bredesen Signs Johnia Berry BillFrom TriCities.com: Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen signed the "Johnia Berry Bill" Wednesday. The legislation, named for the slain Tri-Cities native, will create a Tennessee DNA database. August 28, 2007Johnia Berry Would Have Been 24 SundayA post from her brother, Kelly. The third anniversary of her death is coming up in December. The Knoxville sheriff's office has refused to ask for help from the TBI, and refused help from "America's Most Wanted," claiming that they have leads and suspects, yet they've failed to make a singe arrest. September 24, 2007Arrest in Johnia Berry Case - News Conference ShortlyRich Hailey just called from downtown. Word is the sheriff has made an arrest in the Johnia Berry murder. There will be a press conference any minute. UPDATE: The News-Sentinel reports the arrest of 22-year-old Taylor Lee Lee Olson. His DNA matched blood from the crime scene. He also seems to have confessed, saying Johnia's death was an accident. Obviously this opens up the question of how or if Olson knew Berry, how he entered her West Knoxville apartment, and what events led to her murder. Maybe now we can get some answers. More at WBIR. It will be interesting to see how closely Olson matches the composite sketch. I don't expect an exact match, of course. LATER: Olson's mugshot here, with a Van Dyke moustache. Pretty close likeness. Lots of people wanted to pin the murder on Jason A., Johnia's roommate. They claimed he gave police a phony description for the composite sketch. DNA evidence showed the killer to be a white male, just as Jason said. Now the killer matches Jason's description. More details late Monday. "[Sheriff] Jones said there was no indication that Olson knew either Berry or Aymami." September 25, 2007Latest on Johnia BerryWVLT: Johnia Berry's Parents React to Arrest in Daughter's Murder Case News-Sentinel: Suspect says Berry's death 'was accident' From that piece: Jones said there was no indication that Olson knew Berry or Aymami, and court records indicate that Berry was killed as Olson was trying to burglarize their apartment. A burglary gone wrong was always the most likely theory to me. A car stereo was found on the back steps, and CDs that didn't belong to Johnia or her roommate, Jason Aymami, were found just inside the patio door. The murder weapon was a knife from their kitchen. Jason was also attacked, but survived. Some people have gone out of their way to implicate Jason in the murder (and even to threaten him with violence), and they owe him an apology. September 26, 2007Trial Date Set in Johnia Berry MurderWVLT - Trial Date Set for Johnia Berry Murder Suspect - Trial date is March 3, 2008. Olson was assigned a public defender, but Greg Isaacs is taking the case. Johnia's biological father, John Tiller, comments on the arrest. I thought Tiller was a previous husband or something, but according to WVLT Johnia was put up for adoption when she was five, though they were in contact and maintained a relatioship up until the day she died. Roommate's Description of Berry's Killer Aided Arrest
From Tricities.com - FROM SKETCH TO MUG: A comparison between composite sketch to actual mug shot of Johnia Berry's accused killer Lieutenant Debbie McCauley, investigator with the Bristol Tennessee Police Department, is not involved in the case, but also compared the sketch, "You got the hair that looks real similar… the chin and then the slanted eyes, the shape of the ears. That in my opinion, this sketch is really close to the person.” The sketch was based on a description provided by Johnia's roommate, Jason Aymami, who was also attacked in the middle of the night, but survived. Aymami saw his attacker by the light of the bedroom TV he fell asleep by.
As the sketch got more attention, calls poured in. People reported seeing someone just like him, working with someone just like him, even seeing an almost identical picture in the Oak Ridge high school annual. Just a few days before Olson was arrested WVLT ran a story about a local bank manager who had reported a young employee who resembled the killer's sketch. The sketch also resembled a number of people arrested for violent crimes in Knoxville, including Douglas Everett Loveday, Brent Davis, and Zachary Michael Howell. The person in the sketch was a fairly generic-looking young white male with short hair. In comments at JohniaBerry.org, some people claimed Aymami must be lying, because the sketch was an exact match to someone they know, and that person couldn't have done it. Other commenters claimed Aymami lied to the police when he because the description was too generic. Now we know that the sketch really was accurate and ultimately did help solve the case. We'll know how much it helped once the trial begins. Jason Aymami, long derided and even implicated as an accomplice in Johnia Berry's murder, deserves long-overdue apologies and credit. September 27, 2007 |
Chris Range emails 
Over the past year I've been posting about Johnia Berry, the 21 year old UT student who was killed in her Cedar Bluff apartment. Last month I read Ellen Mallarnee's 
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Noted crime blogger Steve Huff has written a three part series on Johnia Berry's murder. 
The Berry family has started a petition asking the Knox County Sheriff's Office to cooperate with the Fox TV show 
The first time I met Kelly Burke, Johnia's brother, to work on the 