JUST IN: Johnny Johnson Execution | Crime, Last Meal + Final Words | US Death Row Missouri

“My father and my brother were the ones to identify Casey’s body when it happened. And following that, my brother had a complete mental breakdown. And my father drank himself to death. It was more than either one of them could process, seeing Casey’s little body in the way he left it.”

On August 1st, 2023, Johnny Johnson was executed by lethal injection at the Eastern Reception, Diagnostic, and Correctional Center in Bonne Terre, Missouri. He was 45 years old.

This account details his last meal, his final words, and everything that led to that moment: the crime, the arrest, the trial, and the mental health battle that gripped the courts for over two decades—a case that leaves lingering questions even today.

The Devastating Crime of Summer 2002

To understand this story, we have to go back to the summer of 2002 in Valley Park, Missouri. It was a quiet, working-class suburb just outside of St. Louis—the kind of place where neighbors knew each other, shared barbecues, and families safely let their guard down. That deep sense of safety is exactly what made the subsequent events so devastating.

Casey Williamson was only 6 years old. She lived in Valley Park with her parents, a young child just living her life in the home where she felt safest. The man who took her life was not a stranger hiding in the shadows; he was someone her family trusted completely. He was someone her mother had known since childhood, and he had even eaten at their table the night before.

His name was Johnny Allen Johnson, born March 16th, 1978, in Missouri. By the time of the crime, he was 24 years old with a prior burglary conviction and a heavily documented history of severe mental illness, specifically schizoaffective disorder and schizophrenia. He had spent time in a state psychiatric facility and had been released just 6 months prior to the murder.

Having stopped taking his medication, Johnson showed up at a barbecue at Casey’s father’s house on the night of July 25th, 2002. He was welcomed in because Casey’s mother had grown up as his older sister’s best friend and had even babysat Johnny when he was young. When it got late and Johnny had nowhere to go, they let him sleep on the couch without a second thought.

The Abandoned Factory and Apprehension

On the morning of July 26th, 2002, Casey woke up still wearing her nightgown. Johnny Johnson was already awake. As he confessed later that same day, he lured the 6-year-old child away from the home, carrying her on his shoulders as they walked. To anyone watching from a distance, it might have looked normal—an adult carrying a small child.

However, they were heading somewhere dangerous. He took her to an abandoned glass factory, the old St. Louis Plate Glass Company, less than a mile from her home, intending to sexually assault her. Casey fought back bravely, screaming and resisting with everything she had. In response, Johnny Johnson picked up a brick and a large rock and beat her to death. He then walked to the nearby Meramec River to wash himself off.

Former St. Louis County Homicide Investigator Paul Neske, who interviewed Johnson on the day of the murder and later witnessed his execution, stated:

“It was more violent and brutal than any case I’ve ever seen.”

Casey’s body was eventually found buried in a pit at the abandoned factory site, hidden beneath rocks and debris.

The timeline of Johnny Johnson’s arrest unfolded rapidly. When Casey’s father returned from the restroom that morning, both Casey and Johnny were gone. An alert went out, and search parties quickly formed with first responders, volunteers, and community members looking for the missing girl.

While the search was underway, two police officers spotted a soaking-wet man walking down the street near the home. It was Johnny Johnson. Police took him into custody almost immediately. He did not run or try to construct an alibi; he confessed within hours of committing the crime, pointing law enforcement directly to what he had done. Yet, it would take over 20 years before the case reached its final chapter.

The Trial and Conviction

The trial of Johnny Johnson began in January 2005. A St. Louis-based jury heard the extensive evidence from investigators regarding the confession, the factory site, and the brutal nature of the attack.

Johnny Johnson’s attorneys did not dispute that he killed Casey Williamson. Instead, their argument rested entirely on his mental illness. They stated that Johnson suffered from severe schizoaffective disorder, had been released from a psychiatric facility just 6 months prior, and had stopped taking his schizophrenia medication. They argued he was not in full control of his mind at the time and could not form the deliberate, calculated intent required for a first-degree murder conviction.

The prosecution pushed back firmly. Their expert witnesses testified that despite his mental illness, Johnson’s actions—luring the child, walking to a secluded location, attempting the assault, and taking steps to cover up the crime—demonstrated a clear level of deliberate intent that went far beyond mere impulse.

The jury agreed with the state. In January 2005, Johnny Johnson was found guilty of:

• First-degree murder

• Armed criminal action

• Kidnapping

• Attempted forcible rape

In March of 2005, the judge formally sentenced him to death. He was sent to Potosi Correctional Center in Mineral Point, Missouri, to await his execution.

An 18-Year Legal Battle Over Competency

For the next 18 years, Johnson’s legal team filed continuous appeals based on a singular legal standard: Johnny Johnson was too mentally ill to be executed. Under the 8th Amendment of the US Constitution, the government cannot execute someone who does not understand the reason for their punishment.

His attorneys presented evidence that Johnson’s mental state had severely deteriorated on death row. They noted he heard persistent voices telling him to cut off his own arm, had self-harmed repeatedly with a razor, and had developed a fixed delusion that the devil would use his execution to bring about the apocalypse. His legal team argued that Johnson genuinely believed his death would trigger the end of the world.

The Missouri Attorney General’s office maintained that Johnson’s mental illness was manageable with medication, arguing that he fundamentally understood what was happening to him and why. In June 2023, the Missouri Supreme Court sided with the state in a 6-1 ruling and denied his appeal.

Though a three-judge panel on the US Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit briefly granted a temporary stay of execution on July 25th, 2023, the full 8th Circuit Court overturned that stay just 4 days later. The US Supreme Court subsequently refused to intervene in a 6-3 decision, and Missouri Governor Mike Parson officially denied a clemency request, calling it one of the most horrific crimes to ever cross his desk.

A Family Divided by Grief

Even among Casey’s loved ones, there was no single unified voice regarding the execution.

Casey’s mother, Angie Wideman, who had known Johnny Johnson her entire life, expressed a desire for finality rather than anger, stating simply:

“I’ve been looking forward to putting this part of it to rest.”

Conversely, Casey’s father, Ernie Williamson, actively opposed the death penalty. His name appeared in Johnson’s clemency petition because he did not want the execution to move forward—a notable stance for a father who had suffered such a profound personal loss.

Casey’s great-aunt, Della Steel, was the family’s most vocal supporter of the sentence. She wrote an emotional plea to Governor Parson urging him to let the execution proceed, highlighting how the grief had rippled destructively through the family for over two decades. Della Steel chose to attend the execution in Casey’s memory. Over the years, the family also focused on organizing community safety fairs, distributing child identification kits, and sharing safety resources to protect other children.

The Execution, Last Meal, and Final Words

Hours before the execution on August 1st, 2023, the Missouri Department of Corrections released the details of Johnny Johnson’s last meal. He requested a simple, classic selection:

• A bacon cheeseburger

• Curly fries

• A strawberry milkshake

At the Eastern Reception, Diagnostic and Correctional Center in Bonne Terre, Missouri, Johnny Johnson was strapped to the execution table. Witnesses in the adjacent room watched through the glass, including members of Casey’s family, the former prosecutor, and the homicide detective who had interviewed Johnson in 2002.

Shortly before the lethal dose of pentobarbital was administered, Johnson turned his head slowly to the left to listen to his spiritual advisor who was present in the room. He then turned back, faced forward, closed his eyes, and remained completely still. He was pronounced dead at 6:33 p.m. Central Daylight Time, becoming the fourth person executed in Missouri in 2023.

Prior to the procedure, the Department of Corrections released a brief, handwritten statement submitted by Johnson on July 30th. It contained exactly 11 words:

“God bless. Sorry to the people and family I hurt.”

Della Steel spoke to the media afterward, stating:

“It’s been a difficult day and a difficult 21 years. We will continue to honor our sweet Casey’s memory by doing our best to make a difference in the lives of other children.”

The execution closed a legal chapter stretching across 21 years. Had she survived, Casey Williamson would have been 27 years old today. Instead, her memory remains defined by her bravery, and her family continues to carry the weight of an unimaginable tragedy.

A Lingering Question

The execution of Johnny Johnson leaves behind a complex ethical debate that outlasts the legal proceedings:

If a person commits a horrific crime while severely mentally ill, off their medication, and potentially psychotic, and then spends 20 years on death row while their mental state continues to deteriorate, does executing that person constitute justice, or does it become something else entirely?