The following story was inspired by Murder in Chisago County: The Unsolved Johnson Family Mystery by Brian Johnson, who chronicles the investigation of his great-uncle Albin Johnson and the still-unsolved, suspicious death of Albins wife Alvira and their seven children in 1933. Using investigative research combined with primary audio, Morbidology takes an in-depth look at true crime cases from all across the world. On the 29th of August, Sarah hadnt come home and claimed she was staying overnight at a friends. I think you sexually abused those girls before you killed them. Murderpedia. He took the bodies back to the Johnson family car, which hed hidden and put the girls bodies in the trunk. 2, One of the first officers on the scene was Marshall Randy Tremble. Curt Brown It Might Now Be Time For Sarah To Grab The Prison Chefs Butcher Knife,Take Him Over To A Wall & Hold Him Hostage,By Holding It To His Throat & Demand That Her Arrest & Conviction Be Thrown Away,With Prejudice & That She Be Released From Prison,Right Now,Saying That She Did No Such Thing To Her Parents,While Also Saying That Either Judge Richard Bevan Comes Right Over,Throws Away Her Arrest & Conviction,With Prejudice & Grants Her Release From Prison,Right Now Or Otherwise,She Will Slice The Chef,With His Own Butcher Knife. On February 16, 1981, Arne Cheyenne Johnson fatally stabbed his landlord Alan Bono and then said the Devil made him do it. Johnson's new 120-page book "Murder in Chisago County" (The History Press) zeros in on husband and father Albin Johnson, who was charged with killing his family before fleeing during the Depression. It covers 5,250 square kilometers (1.3 million acres) and is British Columbia's fourth-largest park, after Tatshenshini,Spatsizi and Tweedsmuir. Sarah Didnt Do It,She Did Not Pull The Trigger. Initially, it was believed that this may have been a murder-suicide. Albin's relatives accused authorities of botching the investigation, insisting Albin died in the fire. The logging road was near Battle Mountain Road, thirteen aerial miles from Bear Creek and north of the town of Clearwater. 1:57 Family of victims of notorious Johnson-Bentley murders fight potential parole of killer In 1982, David Shearing killed six members of the same family in B.C., including two young girls. The location re-confirmed a local was most likely involved as outsiders would have been unlikely to find the isolated spot. I honestly have no idea how you think Sarah is innocent andRead more . The interview took place in the back yard of the Shearing family farmhouse, around a mile from the murder scene. Thats a very dangerous girl. Im gonna take a wild guess and say the police knows their job, and youre being delusional. This sparked what would be the most expensive and highly-publicized manhunt in Canadian history. Sign up for the Crime Capsule newsletter today. The burnt remnants provided no clues, but the location was of interest. Shearing now goes by his mother's maiden name, Ennis. Forensic investigation of the bone fragments found that they had been shot with a .22 caliber gun. Shearing told Eastham he kept the girls alive for nearly a week, staying with them both at his ranch and at a small fishing cabin on the Clearwater River whilst repeatedly raping them. Occasionally, were able to highlight the contributions of specific law enforcement personnel, such as the sergeant who cracked a case based on a single bottle of beer, or the feds who after years of investigation finally rounded up public enemy number one, Alvin Karpis. The guard noticed nothing unusual. The Murdaugh family. Brian Johnson puts the case in the context of the Depression and gangster era, pointing out that Albin could hide in plain sight as countless hobos and wanderers crisscrossed the country on highways and trains looking for work. Police hoped the re-enactment would spark someones memory but despite being flooded with calls, no solid leads came of the effort. On November 19, 1983, The RCMP found Shearing in Tumbler Ridge, north of Kamloops, where he was due to appear in court in a few days on a possession of stolen property charge of a significant amount of tools. He told the RCMP that he loaded the bodies into their car, drove it by night to the mountainside, and set it on fire using five gallons of gasoline. This was the breaking point for Alan and Diane and they went to police to report Bruno for statutory rape. While they stayed in the tent, he said, he loaded the bodies of their parents and grandparents into the back seat of the family car and covered the bodies with a blanket. Other theories point to Albin poisoning the family. The sentence I impose, in conjunction with such matters as protection of the public and specific deterrence, must have proper regard for public opinion and must express, in clear terms, the revulsion felt by the great majority of our citizens for this senseless and vicious mass killing. She was also a victim of domestic abuse. Sadly it was the last family vacation they were ever to go on. I put the bodies in the car, four in the back seat, and the two little ones in the trunk. While she didnt know for sure, she said she presumed that they were dead for when she called their names, there was no response. Shearing did not appeal his sentence. Shearing told Leibel he carved his initials on the wall there. Eastham later wrote a book with Ian McLeod about the case called The Seventh Shadow, in which the author goes into great detail about all aspects of the case. This, in turn, led Johnson to murder . Replica of the Bentley 1981 Ford camper used to publicise the missing vehicle. On April 17, 1984, Justice McKay sentenced David William Shearing to six concurrent terms of life in prison with no chance of parole for 25 years. Presumably, Sarah had hoped that the garbage truck would have picked the garbage up. The next night, her parents found her at Brunos home. At other times, they pound away like a pile driver.". They were promptly "obliterated" when other vehicles poured into the farmyard. Then there's the kerosene can, found in the Chisago County sheriff's office in the 1960s and reportedly obtained on the Johnson farm after the 1933 fire. This was the maximum possible penalty for second degree murder and the first time in Canadian history that it had been handed out. Johnson is the author of the non-fiction book, Flagstaff's Walkup Family Murders: A Shocking 1937 Tragedy, set to publish Monday. The truck was well hidden and it appeared that there had been an attempt to drive the truck into the gorge, but logs had blocked its path. Heather Ennis claims her husband deserves a second chance, I have seen so much change in this man since we met (in 1993). During an exorcism at the Glatzel house, Johnson allegedly challenged the devil to enter him in order to protect David, which Johnson claimed the devil did. Using two handguns, including a Hi-Point Model JHP.45-caliber pistol (which he bought from Sydmor's Jewelry in neighboring Barberton, Ohio five days before) and a .357 Magnum six-shot revolver he bought from the same location in 2005, Hance opened fire at a house in the 2300 block of Goodenough Avenue. The abandoned logging road on Trophy Mountain was not easy to access. It covers 5,250 square kilometers (1.3 million acres) and is British Columbia's fourth-largest park, after Tatshenshini,Spatsizi and Tweedsmuir. A prison guard was supervising prisoners from a local jail who were fishing on the river. But then on October 18, 1983, fourteen months after the murders with the trail running cold for the killer, the Bentley's camper truck was finally found by two forestry workers, near Bear Creek, on an old logging road near Trophy Mountain. In 1995 he married a woman from Prince Albert, Saskatchewan. Suspicion soon fell upon Sarah who by this point, had changed her story several times. The cover of Flagstaff's Walkup Family Murders: A. Constable Leibel said in an interview 25 years after the murders, Thats how close everyone was to them. Its a remarkable story, but as Brian Johnson notes, the methods and tools that law enforcement had at the time to trace suspects movements or coordinate searches paled in comparison to what they have today. The accident was never reported to the police. He has committed crimes recently and we have evidence he has the proclivity to do more, Pangburn said. On the 16th of March, 2005, Sarah Marie Johnson was found guilty On January 19, 1984, David Shearing waived his right to a preliminary hearing. Her defense, however, was alleging that it was Bruno who had killed Alan and Diane. Sadly it was the last family vacation they were ever to go on. Killed for Being in the Way The Karissa Boudreau Murder, Ruth Ellis The Final Woman to Hang in Britain. The lead victim, Alvira Lundeen Johnsonthe authors own great-auntand her children seemed from the forensic evidence not to have been disturbed from their sleep by the flames, suggesting that they had died prior to the blaze. I do think you should cease the slandering comments of an innocent man though. The bodies were so consumed that they were eventually interred together in one child-sized casket. Jan. 15, 2021. In May 1983 they drove the camper from British Columbia to Quebec, again in the hopes someone would see it and remember something relating to the case. (The Canadian Press) A man convicted of the mass murder of a family nearly 40 years ago revealed chilling details of his crime Wednesday as the Parole Board of Canada once again rejected his. He remembered the meeting exactly as Shearing had described it. When police were questioned why they didnt seize the firearm and test it to see if casings fired from it matched those found at the scene, Inspector Vic Edwards cited basic rights. The Johnsons and Bentleys were last heard from on August 6th, 1982. His father, since deceased, had once been a prison guard and his brother was a sheriff. The gun safe was also unlocked, not broken into, and with Sarah being the one with the key its pretty self explanatory. The day Shearings trial was set to begin, he changed his mind and pled guilty to six counts of second-degree murder for the 1982 Johnson and Bentley families. Why? And indeed, ultimately, Albin was never found. They did not, in any way, provoke him. Thats why the traditional age of adulthood was 21!!! To double-check the story, Eastham found the prison guard. It Might Now Be Time For Sarah To Make Her Escape From Prison,Perhaps Similar To How It Was Done In The Shawshank Redemption,Except Maybe She Could Use A Poster Of Michael Jackson To Hide The Opening To Her Freedom. Were proud to honor those men and women. Eastham told Shearing, You know why Im here, David. You told me some time ago that you would consider telling me the rest of the story after you were sentenced. The bodies were found in January 1990. Police lifted the wreck out with a helicopter and transported it to the RCMP Crime Lab in Vancouver. They did not, in any way, provoke him. Hes always been such a good boy. They went door to door in the small community and questioned everyone in town a second time. I poured gasoline it just went Whoomph! I stood back and watched it burn. The Pinkerton National Detective Agencynone other than the folks who had uncovered the plot to assassinate Abraham Lincoln in 1861 (one conspirator from which already appearing on Crime Capsule)sent its agents to join the hunt. Marvin was tried and convicted of double-homicide in 2013, Jenelle and Barbara in 2015 in a joint trial. At this point, the family called in the cavalry. In the back seat were the incinerated remains of the four adults and, in the trunk, were the two girls. On January 19, 1984, David Shearing waived his right to a preliminary hearing. They were horrified to discover that Alvira Johnson and her seven children all perished in the blaze. They left the cabin after they were nearly discovered. Copyright 2019 by Arcadia Publishing, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Two sticks with sharp ends, probably used by the two girls to roast marshmallows were also at the site. The cognitive mind is still developing even at 18!! [3] There was a Winchester rifle on the bedroom floor which was typically kept in an adjoining guest house. The Johnsons and Bentleys were last heard from on August 6th, 1982. Cops responded to the home at about 8:20 a.m.. Very sad situation. In April 1983, a television re-enactment of the killings was filmed on the site of the murders, which was then broadcast across Canada. The prosecution refuted the claims that Bruno was involved, stating that there was absolutely no evidence to connect him to the crime scene or even the home. However, investigators had sealed off the street and turned away the garbage truck which was making it rounds shortly after the shooting. Locals had seen the family camped at Bear Creek and a search of the area by the RCMP resulted in six spent .22 caliber ammunition shells being located. As part of the guilty plea, Shearing stated in a written statement: I walked out of the bush from behind the camper and started shooting. Furthermore, when Sarah had been brought in for questioning, it was noticed that she had a bruised shoulder which was indicative of recoil from the rifle.4. The remains of Alvira Johnson and her seven kids Harold, 10; Clifford, 9; Kenneth, 7; Dorothy, 5; Bernice, 4; Lester, 2, and James, 4 months were buried in a single casket. Laying on the floor next to the bed was the bloody body of Alan. Bentley truck Bear Creek, Trophy Mountain. During the sentencing phase, Dianes sister, Debbie Davis, addressed Sarah: I hope your father looking into your eyes when he was shot will be burned in your mind forever, while Alans sister, Lynne Murrill, said: She is a spoiled rotten brat that thinks only of herself. "The more conventional view is that Johnson just slipped away," writes Brian Johnson, whose grandmother was Alvira's sister. Collections; Project #ShowUs; . The Bender Family. For example, two scruffy French-Canadian men were seen driving in a camper van east towards Quebec but it turned out this was an unrelated vehicle. See the latest list of Exclusive members-only articles on StrangeOutdoors.com, Read more True Crime Stories from StrangeOutdoors, Gary Michael Hilton - The disturbing case of the National Forest Serial Killer, Highway of Tears in British Columbia, Canada, Amy Wroe Bechtel - disturbing disappearances in U.S. forests, The real "Wolf Creek" - the disturbing case of the backpacker murders in the Australian Outback, The Cowden Family - Strange and disturbing murders in the U.S. wilderness, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wells_Gray_Provincial_Park, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wells_Gray_Provincial_Park_Family_Murders, http://dyingwords.net/david-shearing-the-monster-from-wells-gray-park/#sthash.hUyyi6wR.PxXToWpg.dpbs, http://murderpedia.org/male.S/s/shearing-david.htm, https://www.lelandhale.com/wordpress/startling-development-british-columbia/, https://christopherdiarmani.com/14874/crime/canadian-mass-murders/david-william-shearing-slaughtered-family-of-six-in-wells-gray-provincial-park/, The Seventh Shadow: The Wilderness Manhunt for a Brutal Mass Murderer by Michael Eastham and Ian McLeod (1999, Paperback), The Wells Gray Gunman https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=unFwrrYLZH8, The Detectives The Wells Gray Gunman S1 E1 (Canada only)https://watch.cbc.ca/the-detectives/season-1/episode-1/38e815a-00d94f07a15, Tagged: The disturbing story of David Shearing and the Wells Gray Park camping murders, The disturbing story of David Shearing and the Wells Gray Park camping murders in Canada, wells gray provincial park murders, johnson and bennett murders canada, The canadian camping ground murders, johnson family murders wells gray park, bob johnson and jackie johnson murders wells gray, janet johnson and karen johnson murdered wells gray, david william shearing serial killer wells gray park, wells gray park camping murders canada, family murders wells gray park canada, George Bentley and Edith Bentley murders wells gray park, Sign up now for a one-time fee for access to over 55 exclusive member articles, The disturbing story of David Shearing and the Wells Gray Park camping murders, Exclusive members-only articles on StrangeOutdoors.com, The disturbing story of David Shearing and the Wells Gray Park camping murders in Canada, bob johnson and jackie johnson murders wells gray, janet johnson and karen johnson murdered wells gray, david william shearing serial killer wells gray park, George Bentley and Edith Bentley murders wells gray park, The horrific rape and murder of Sophie Louise Hook whilst camping in her Uncle's garden, The miracle rescue of Alan Lee Phillips at Colorados Guanella Pass - the man who turned out to be a serial killer, The chilling story of Thomas Lee Dillon - the Ohio Outdoorsmen killer, The miraculous escape of the Brazilian and German backpackers at Salt Creek in South Australia, Robert Hansen Butcher Baker - the Alaska Serial killer who hunted his victims in the wilderness, The shocking unsolved Keddie Cabin murders, The disturbing death of Fiona Torbet in the Scottish highlands, The unsolved Williams and Winans camping murders in Shenandoah National Park, The real Wolf Creek - The Backpacker Murders in the Australian Outback, The mysterious death of Carol Laughlin in Yosemite National Park, The frightening case of the Trailside Killer David Carpenter, The mysterious Koh Tao - Death Island in Paradise, The Yosemite National Park Sightseer Murders and the two faces of evil, The disturbing disappearance of the Beaumont children on Glenelg Beach, The Kamloops Triangle - The British Columbia murders and disappearances, The Delphi hiking murders - Abigail Williams and Liberty German, The Peter Falconio disappearance in the Australian Outback, The unsolved murder of Scott Lilly on the Appalachian trail, The disturbing case of James Jordan - The Appalachian Trail Murderer. The RCMP posted a $7,500 reward, printed 10,000 posters and sent them to police detachments and post offices across North America. At dusk on August 10, 1982, walked into the campsite with his rifle and shot Bob Johnson, then Jackie, and then George and Edith in cold blood. More than 85 years later, Alvira's great-nephew insists the one-day discrepancy between the gravestone and death certificate was no typo or goof. 10 The Tan Siblings THE CASE OF THE TAN FAMILY He lusted over the young girls and was determined to sexually abuse them even if it meant killing the parents and grandparents. 1: On April 10th, 1933, the small town of Harris, Minnesota was shocked to see the Johnson family's farmhouse burning down. Shearing moved the girls to his family farm the next day, and then, on August 16, 1982, he walked Karen, the younger daughter, into the woods and killed her. A sad and depressing story of outdoor adventure gone wrong, bad luck, and a mission by two Royal Canadian Mounted Police detectives to find the perpetrator of these awful crimes. I lost the two best friends I ever had. Eastham what really happened. The accident was never reported to the police. David Shearings mother, Rose Shearing, expressed shock at the news of her sons arrest and conviction for murdering six people.I hope its a bad mistake or a bad dream. Brian Johnson, 55, has spent more than 20 years as a staff writer at Finance & Commerce a daily Minnesota business newspaper. "More than eight decades after the mysterious blaze, the Harris fire of 1933 remains a riddle," he writes. Initially, he was led to believe the arrest was related to a hit and run incident which he quickly confessed to before the detectives confronted him with the Bennett-Johnson case. Following Shearings conviction, RCMP Sergeant Mike Eastham re-interviewed him and got the disturbing truth behind the killings - pedophilia. They contained the DNA of Sarah, Alan and Diane. She was subsequently sentenced to two concurrent life terms plus 15 years for a firearm enhancement. Coincidentally, David Shearing was one of the first individuals to have been interviewed by RCMP after the investigation started when the two families were discovered in the car. Shearing moved the girls to his family farm the next day, and then, on August 16, 1982, he walked Karen, the younger daughter, into the woods and killed her. I cant believe how she could kill the two people in the world who loved her the most., Sarahs own brother, Matt Johnson, also addressed his sister, stating: I think some honesty needs to come out of you, and you need to plead to the court for some for forgiveness. He said he cleaned the campsite, then took the truck/camper back to his nearby property, only to burn it later when he discovered how difficult it was to re-register. The Johnsons and Bentleys were last heard from on August 6th, 1982. Their daughter, Sarah, was a student at Wood River High School and their son, Matt, was attending the University of Idaho. Five weeks after the families were last heard from, on September 13, 1982, a mushroom picker reported finding a burned-out car with the driver's side door open in a clearing off a mountainside logging road. If She Winds Up Being Captured,However,Then She Will Need To Argue That She Got Kidnapped From Prison By Christopher Kevin Hill & That He Confessed To Her That He Shot Her Parents To Death,Only To Avoid Paying Rent On The Guesthouse. how do you become so self absorbed that murdering your parents doesnt even phase you? Even so, we can salute the combined efforts of all those searching for the suspect, public and private alike. "Facts seem to indicate that Albin Johnson snapped and killed his family," the author writes. I have a hard time believing all this and I cant say anything right now because it wouldnt be fair to Dave.. As part of the guilty plea, Shearing stated in a written statement: I walked out of the bush from behind the camper and started shooting. An investigation revealed deep secrets and a grudge Sarah had been holding over her parents. However, entire families are sometimes murdered by a lone psychopath or somebody bent on revenge. Police created an exact replica of the Bentley 1981 Ford camper down to the last detail, including the aluminum boat strapped to the roof. Replica of the Bentley 1981 Ford camper used to publicise the missing vehicle. Authorities said . Crucially he handed the police a .22 caliber Remington pump-action rifle, which was forensically matched as the murder weapon. He went home and returned either that night or the next with a loaded .22 rifle. Police hoped the re-enactment would spark someones memory but despite being flooded with calls, no solid leads came of the effort. After effort and persuasion, Eastham managed to convince Shearing to confess to the six murders and he eventually agreed to re-enact the murders and even to turn over the murdered familys possessions. I poured gasoline it just went Whoomph! I stood back and watched it burn. Pictures: Fla. mom killed her 4. Hes always been such a good boy. Shearing then applied again in 2014, then withdrew the request a month before the hearing. When entire families are murdered, it's often a case of familicide, in which the mass murderer is a family member. There was quite a bit of carnage, recalled Tremble.3. It had been burned using an accelerant, probably gasoline mixed with something else. Bentley truck Bear Creek, Trophy Mountain. A prison guard was supervising prisoners from a local jail who were fishing on the river. However, like all states, we have seen our fair share of bad folks, including these 10 infamous Kansas serial killers and homicides that won't soon be forgotten. Why? To the police, it was clear that the 40-year-old landlord had been killed by his tenant Arne Cheyenne Johnson . The sheriff announced that they had several persons of interest that they were wishing to speak to as soon as possible and had two or three motives which could have led to the killing. of Joe Louis St. where someone reported a shooting. Of all the things I miss, I miss their hugs their bear hugs, said Matt Johnson. But all eight were found in sleeping positions convincing authorities that they were dead when the fire started. It would have been quite a coincidence that the house just happened to go up in flames at precisely that moment of desperation.". Most worrying of all was the fact that Albin Johnson, Alviras husband, was nowhere to be found. "It's anybody's guess what really happened," Brian Johnson says, doubting the mystery will ever be solved. The other charges they were referring to was controlled substance charges.6. He repeated the process with Janet, the older daughter, on August 17, 1982. PALESTINE, Texas (KLTV) - A Houston Man is wanted for Murder after a Palestine woman was shot and killed Thursday night, police say. The enormity of the crimes demand the maximum sentence.. The family last contacted relatives on August 6 when Edith called a second daughter, according to retired RCMP Sgt. He told the girls to turn around so he could urinate, then shot each sister in the back of the head. In 1995 he married a woman from Prince Albert, Saskatchewan. The case took another turn on Sept. 7, 2021, when PEOPLE reported that members of Alex's law firm had confronted him about missing money on Sept. 3 . The actual shooter in this case is Christopher Kevin Hill,who is 6 feet tall,he shot Alan from straight across,while standing flat on the ground,all that he had to do,after he shot Diane,who was sleeping in bed,was aim the rifleRead more . Sarah,While Holding The Prison Chef Hostage,With His Own Butcher Knife,Will NeedRead more . He remembered the meeting exactly as Shearing had described it.