They murdered her in a basement. 45 minutes of pure hell. Fists, feet, a baseball bat. Her screams echoed off concrete walls while her own blood pulled beneath her broken body. And when it was over, when she finally took her last breath, they wrapped her in a tarp like garbage, drove her to the woods, dumped her body under some leaves.
Then they went home, cleaned up the blood, and pretended nothing happened. But here’s the part that’ll make your blood run cold. The people who tortured her to death weren’t criminals. Weren’t gang members. Weren’t strangers who broke into her home. They were her family. Her own mother looked into her eyes and kicked her while she begged for mercy.
Her stepfather beat her skull with a baseball bat while she tried to crawl away. Her baby brother held her down and watched her die. And you want to know what crime she committed? What terrible things she did to deserve this brutal execution. She posted on Facebook. That’s it. Words on a screen. A social media post about standing up for herself and her family decided that was a death sentence.
Welcome to Women Justice Files. I’m your host and today we’re diving into one of the most disturbing family murder cases in Milwaukee history. This is the story of Amara Johnson, a 34year-old single mother of four who thought she was finally breaking free from a lifetime of abuse. Instead, she walked into a carefully planned ambush and what happened to her in that basement.
The medical examiner said it was one of the most brutal homicides she’d seen in 20 years. Now, let’s talk about Amara. Because to understand why three people could do something this evil, you got to understand where it all started. Amara Rose Johnson was born on March 3rd, 1985 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. From the outside looking in, you’d think she had a normal childhood.
But the truth, Amara’s life was complicated from day one. Her father, David Johnson, was a hardworking mechanic who loved his little girl more than anything. Friends said Amara was his whole world. He called her his princess, his everything. But when Amara was just 7 years old, her parents’ marriage fell apart. The divorce was messy, bitter, and little Amara got caught in the crossfire.
Her mother, Sandra Mitchell, got primary custody, and within 6 months, Sandra remarried. Enter Marcus Thompson. Now, Marcus Thompson wasn’t just any stepfather. This man ran his house like a military dictatorship. Strict rules, harsh punishments, zero tolerance for anything he considered disrespect. And from the very beginning, court documents show Marcus treated Amara differently than his own biological son.
See, Sandra and Marcus had a son together, Tyler Thompson, born two years after Marcus married Sandra. And Tyler, he was the golden child. Could do no wrong. Got away with everything. But Amara, she was the outsider. The reminder of Sandra’s first marriage. The stepdaughter who never quite measured up. This is textbook family dysfunction.
Y’all, and it’s going to get so much worse. Friends who knew the family during Amara’s teenage years told investigators that Marcus’ control was suffocating. We’re talking about a man who monitored everything Amara ate and criticized her weight constantly, controlled what clothes she could wear, screened her phone calls and read her diary, punished her for things Tyler did but blamed on her.
Made her do all the household chores while Tyler played video games and used physical intimidation getting in her face, backing her into corners. But here’s what kills me about this story. Sandra, Amara’s own mother, allowed all of it. Not only allowed it, she participated in it. Neighbors reported hearing Sandra scream at Amara, calling her names, telling her she was worthless, that she’d never amount to anything.
Child protective services was called three times during Amara’s teenage years. Three times. But each time the family played it off as normal discipline and teenage rebellion. The system failed her, but Amara survived. She graduated from Bay View High School in 2003. Wasn’t validictorian, but she made it through despite everything.
Her best friend from high school, a woman named Jasmine Carter, later told police something heartbreaking. Amara used to tell me that she couldn’t wait to turn 18. Said the second she could legally leave, she was gone. She had this whole plan. get a job, save money, get her own place where nobody could tell her what to do anymore.
And that’s exactly what she did. Two months after her 19th birthday, Amara moved out, got herself a tiny studio apartment on Milwaukee’s south side. It wasn’t much, barely 400 square ft. Furniture from Goodwill, a neighborhood that wasn’t the safest, but it was hers. David, her biological father, helped her move. He told investigators that when they finished carrying in the last box, Amara broke down crying. But they were happy tears.
She said, “Dad, I can finally breathe. I’m finally free.” If only that freedom had lasted. Life wasn’t easy for Amara after she left home. She worked multiple jobs, retail, waitressing, cleaning offices at night. Whatever it took to pay rent, and keep food on the table. At 21, she had her first baby.
A beautiful little girl she named Mia. The father wasn’t in the picture, but Amara didn’t care. She was determined to be the mother she never had. Over the next 13 years, Amara had three more children, two boys, and another girl. Four kids, three different fathers. And look, I’m not here to judge anyone’s life choices, but raising four kids essentially alone in Milwaukee, working two jobs and still qualifying for food stamps, that’s surviving on expert mode.
But Amara never gave up. She eventually got her CNA certification. That’s certified nursing assistant. Started working at Riverside Manor, a nursing home on the east side. The pay was better, the hours were more stable, and she loved taking care of the elderly residents. Her supervisor, Linda Chen, said Amara was the kind of employee every manager dreams of.
She’d pick up shifts when someone called in sick. She remembered every resident’s name, their families, their favorite foods. She’d spend her own money buying little gifts for them on their birthdays. She wasn’t just doing a job. She genuinely cared. Amara’s Facebook page from this time tells the story of a woman who was trying so hard to stay positive despite overwhelming odds, pictures of her kids at the park, inspirational quotes about being a strong single mom, posts about being blessed and grateful.
But behind those smiling photos, the darkness was still there. See, even though Amara had moved out years ago, she was still connected to Sandra’s family, still dealing with Marcus and Tyler. And the abuse, it never really stopped. It just changed forms. Here’s where we need to talk about the dynamics that would eventually lead to murder.
Because this wasn’t just about one bad Facebook post. This was about a lifetime of control, manipulation, and psychological abuse. Phone records and text messages recovered during the investigation painted a disturbing picture. Marcus Thompson was constantly harassing Amara. We’re talking multiple texts and calls every week criticizing how she raised her kids, telling her she was a bad mother, saying she was an embarrassment to the family, demanding she bring the kids to visit more often, and threatening to call child protective
services and try to take her kids away. and Sandra, she was right there with him. Text exchanges show Sandra would reach out to Amara, but not to be supportive. Instead, she’d compare Amara to other people’s daughters who were more successful, make snide comments about Amara’s weight, criticize the men Amara dated, guilt trip her about not being around the family enough, and remind her constantly that family is supposed to stick together.
That last one is important because in toxic families, family sticks together is code for you’re not allowed to have boundaries. Tyler Thompson, Amara’s younger half-brother, was 28 years old and still living at home with Marcus and Sandra. By all accounts, he was deeply inshed in their toxic worldview. Friends said Tyler had some seriously problematic views about women.
He believed women should be submissive to men. thought single mothers were ruining society, would make disgusting comments about women on social media, and had been fired from two jobs for sexual harassment complaints, and he saved his special venom for Amara. Text messages between Tyler and Amara from early 2019 show him calling her every name in the book, telling her she was a disgrace, saying her kids would grow up to be nothing just like her.
Jasmine, Amara’s best friend, said Amara was terrified of Tyler. She told me he had this look in his eyes sometimes, like he hated her, like he wanted to hurt her. She said she never let him be alone with her kids because she didn’t trust him. That fear, it was justified. In early 2019, something started to shift.
Amara had been dating a new guy, let’s call him Marcus T by all accounts. He was good to her and good to her kids. For the first time in years, Amara seemed genuinely happy. Her Facebook posts got more upbeat. She posted couple selfies, talked about future plans, started setting goals for herself. And you know what? Sandra, Marcus, and Tyler hated it. They hated that Amara was happy.
Hated that she was building a life that didn’t revolve around them. Hated that she was finally becoming independent. The family had a group text chain supposedly for coordinating family events and sharing photos. But in the months before Amara’s murder, it had become a war zone. Marcus would send long angry messages about how Marcus T was no good and how Amara was making bad choices again.
Sandra would pile on saying Amara was thinking only of herself and abandoning her family. Tyler would drop cruel little comments about Amara’s judgment and intelligence. And here’s the thing about Amara at this point in her life. She wasn’t that scared little girl anymore. She was 34 years old, a mother of four, a woman who’d survived poverty, abuse, and every obstacle life threw at her.
So when her family came at her in that group chat, she started standing up for herself. She’d respond, defend her choices, tell them they didn’t get to control her life anymore, and that that was unacceptable to them. June 28th, 2019, 3 weeks before Amara’s murder, Amara posted something on Facebook that honestly wouldn’t even make most people blink.
It was one of those vague posts, you know, the kind. Not naming names, but everyone knows who you’re talking about. It said, “Real talk. Some people think being family means they get to control every part of your life. Think they can criticize every choice you make. Think you owe them something just because you share DNA. I’m done with that energy.
I’m a grown woman with my own kids and my own life. If you can’t respect my boundaries and treat me like the adult I am, then you don’t get access to me or my children. It’s not disrespect to protect your peace. It’s self-care. To everyone dealing with toxic family members, you don’t owe them your mental health. Victory purple. That’s it.
That’s the post. To most people reading it, this is healthy adult behavior, right? Setting boundaries, protecting yourself, standing up for your mental health. But to Marcus, Sandra, and Tyler Thompson, this was war. And I mean that literally. Within 5 minutes, 5 minutes of Amara posting that, Marcus commented, “This is extremely disrespectful.
You need to delete this right now. We’ll be discussing this privately. Take it down.” Sandra commented 2 minutes later. Amara Rose Johnson, you are airing our private family business for the world to see. This is embarrassing and inappropriate. Delete this post immediately. Tyler sent a private message.
And according to court records, it said, “You stupid bee. You think you can disrespect this family on social media. You’re going to regret this. I promise you that. Delete it now or you’re going to learn a lesson about respect.” And Amara, she didn’t back down. She responded to Marcus’s comment. I’m not deleting anything. These are my boundaries on my page.
If you feel attacked by me setting boundaries, that says more about you than me. To Sandra, I’m not embarrassing anyone. I’m standing up for myself. If you can’t support that, then maybe some distance is what we all need. To Tyler’s threatening message, don’t you ever threaten me again. I’m done being scared of you. I’m done being controlled.
Leave me alone. The Facebook post stayed up and her family, they went silent for three weeks. Nobody contacted Amara. The group chat went dead. No calls, no texts, nothing. Amara told Jasmine, “It’s like this weight has been lifted. I finally stood up to them. I finally said enough.” And honestly, I feel free. She had no idea they were planning.
July 17th, 2019, a Wednesday evening, hot, humid Milwaukee summer weather. Amara had just finished her shift at Riverside Manor. She was tired. It had been a long day, but she was in good spirits. She was planning to take her kids to Bradford Beach that weekend. At 6:45 p.m., her phone rang. It was Sandra, her mother.
Remember, they hadn’t talked in 3 weeks. Not since the Facebook post blow up, so Amara was probably surprised, but it’s your mom calling, you know. You answer. Phone records show they talked for 4 minutes and 17 seconds. According to testimony and text messages found later, here’s what Sandra said. She apologized. Said she’d been thinking about everything.
Said she was wrong to react the way she did. Said the family missed Amara and the kids. She asked if Amara could come by the house that evening just to talk, maybe have dinner, work things out. Amara called Jasmine right after at 6:52 p.m. Jasmine testified about this conversation. Amara was nervous but hopeful.
She wanted so badly to have a relationship with her mom. She wanted her kids to know their grandmother. She asked me what I thought and I told her I had a bad feeling. Something about it seemed off. But Jasmine couldn’t talk Amara out of it because that’s the thing about people who have been abused by family. They keep hoping it’ll get better.
They keep thinking maybe this time will be different. Amara dropped her kids off at her ex’s place first. Thank God because if those babies had been with her at 7:43 p.m., according to a neighbor’s Ring doorbell camera, Amara’s car, a 2008 Honda Civic, pulled onto Clement Avenue. She parked in front of 2847 South Clemen.
Sandra and Marcus’ house, a modest two-story duplex, chainlink fence, small yard, the kind of workingclass neighborhood where everyone knows everyone. Nobody would have guessed what was about to happen inside that house. Amara walked up the front steps. She probably took a deep breath trying to calm her nerves. She knocked on the door. Tyler answered.
According to his later confession, he opened the door without saying a word, just stepped aside and Amara walked in into hell. Sandra and Marcus were sitting in the living room. TV was on some game show. Everything looked normal, casual, safe. Amara sat down on the couch for a few minutes. It was fine. Small talk.
How are the kids? How’s work? Want something to drink? But then Sandra brought up the Facebook post. We need to talk about what you wrote. Sandra said, “You disrespected this family. You made us look bad to everyone.” And Amara, being Amara, stood her ground. I’m not apologizing for setting boundaries. I meant what I said.
I’m tired of being controlled. That’s when Marcus stood up. 6’2″, 240 lb of rage. He got in Amara’s face, started yelling about respect, about honor, about how she was a disgrace. How dare she embarrass them? How dare she think she could just walk away from family? Amara stood up, too. She wasn’t backing down. Not this time. I’m not doing this, she said.
I’m leaving. Marcus grabbed her. What I’m about to tell you is documented in autopsy reports, forensic evidence, and the eventual confessions. It’s brutal. It’s disturbing, but it’s important that we understand what Amara endured. Marcus grabbed Amara by her arm and her hair. She tried to fight back, scratching, hitting, trying to break free, but he was twice her size.
He dragged her toward the basement door, and Sandra and Tyler didn’t help her. They joined in. Sandra grabbed Amara’s other arm. Tyler opened the basement door together. The three of them forced her down those stairs. Amara was screaming, begging, “Please stop. What are you doing?” Neighbors later told police they heard something.
One neighbor said she heard a woman scream, “Help me.” But thought it was from a TV. That was Amara begging for her life. The basement was unfinished. Concrete floor, exposed wooden beams, water heater in the corner, some storage boxes, an old couch with torn cushions. This is where they murdered her, according to the medical examiner’s report.
And this is all public record. Amara Johnson was beaten for approximately 35 to 45 minutes. Let that sink in. 35 to 45 minutes of sustained violence. Marcus used his fists, punched her in the face, fractured her orbital bone, broke her nose, punched her in the ribs, broke three of them, punched her in the stomach so hard he ruptured her spleen.
Sandra kicked her multiple times while Amara was on the ground, kicked her in the back, in the legs, in the arms. Tyler held her down, and at one point, forensic evidence showed he put his hands around her throat and strangled her until she almost passed out. The concrete floor was covered in Amara’s blood.
She was conscious for most of it, fighting for her life, trying to protect herself with her hands and arms. There was a moment forensic analysts determined from blood trail patterns where Amara tried to crawl toward the stairs, tried to escape. She didn’t make it. Marcus went upstairs, came back down carrying a Louisville slugger baseball bat, the same bat Tyler had used in high school, and he beat her with it.
The medical examiner found seven distinct impact injuries consistent with a cylindrical object like a bat. He hit her in the shoulders, in the arms as she raised them to protect herself, in the back when she curled up in a ball, and finally he hit her in the head. The cause of death was blunt force trauma to the skull, resulting in massive cerebral hemorrhage and brain herniation.
In plain language, he beat her until her brain swelled so much it killed her. Amara Rose Johnson, a mother, a daughter, a friend, a caregiver, died on that concrete floor at approximately 9:15 p.m. on July 17th, 2019. She was 34 years old. Now, here’s what’s going to make you sick. After they killed her, all three of them just stopped.
According to Tyler’s confession, they stood there for a minute, breathing hard, looking at what they’ done. Amara’s body was on the floor, broken, bloody, still. And Marcus said, “We need to clean this up.” Not, “Oh my god, what did we do?” Not, “We need to call 911.” Not even fake remorse like she pushed us too far. Just we need to clean this up.
The coldness of that statement, the calculation. This wasn’t a crime of passion they immediately regretted. This was a family that just murdered one of their own, and immediately started thinking about how to get away with it. Sandra went upstairs, came back with cleaning supplies, bleach, towels, a mop, rubber gloves.
Marcus got garbage bags from under the kitchen sink. Tyler started collecting Amara’s belongings, her phone, her purse, her keys, her shoes. They spent the next two hours trying to sanitize that basement. Mopping up blood, pouring bleach on the concrete, wiping down surfaces, scrubbing the bat. But here’s the thing about blood you can never really get rid of it all.
Not if you don’t know what you’re doing professionally. And these people weren’t professionals. They were just arrogant enough to think they were smart. They weren’t. Around 11:30 p.m., they wrapped Amara’s body in a blue tarp they found in the garage, duct taped it closed, wrapped it again in black garbage bags.
Then they carried their daughter, their sister, up from the basement, through the kitchen, through the garage, loaded her into the bed of Marcus’ pickup truck like she was construction debris, covered her with some old furniture and moving boxes to hide her. Then Marcus and Tyler drove off into the night. Sandra stayed behind to finish cleaning.
Milwaukee to Kettle Marine State Forest is about a 45inute drive northwest. That’s where Marcus and Tyler went. GPS data from Marcus’ phone, which prosecutors later obtained with a warrant showed they arrived at a remote access road in the forest at 12:37 a.m. on July 18th. They parked, turned off the headlights, and dragged Amara’s body into the woods about 200 yards from the road.
Tyler would later confess through heavy brush and trees to a natural depression in the ground near a fallen log. Marcus said something like, “This is good. Nobody hikes out here. They left her there. Didn’t bury her. Didn’t even really try to hide her well. Just tossed some branches and leaves over her body like she was nothing.
like her life had no value. Then they drove back to Milwaukee, got home around 200 a.m., finished cleaning, threw cleaning supplies in different dumpsters around the neighborhood, so no one location would have all the evidence. By the time the sun came up on July 18th, they thought they’d gotten away with it. They were wrong.
Jasmine Carter knew something was wrong. Amara never called her back after going to her mom’s house. That wasn’t like her. Amara always checked in, especially when family was involved. By Thursday morning, July 18th, Jasmine had called Amara 15 times, left voicemails, sent texts, nothing. So, she called Amara’s ex-boyfriend, the father of her oldest daughter, and asked if he’d heard from her. He hadn’t.
And that’s when he got worried because Amara was supposed to pick up the kids that morning. Amara never missed a pickup. Never. She’d move heaven and earth to be there for her kids. At 11:47 a.m. on July 18th, less than 15 hours after Amara was murdered, her ex walked into the fifth district Milwaukee police station.
He filed a missing person report. The investigation was about to begin and it would move fast. When Milwaukee PD called Sandra Thompson to ask if she’d seen Amara, she lied. Straight up lied to a police officer. said she hadn’t talked to Amara in weeks. Said they’d had a disagreement, but she had no idea where Amara might be.
Suggested maybe she ran off with her boyfriend. But detectives had already pulled Amara’s phone records. Standard procedure in a missing person’s case. They could see that Sandra called Amara on July 17th at 6:45 p.m. that they talked for over 4 minutes. So, when Detective James Crawford called Sandra back and asked specifically about that call, she changed her story. Oh, right.
Yes, I did call her. We talked on the phone, but she never came over. We just talked and that was it. Lie number two. Because investigators had already started canvasing the neighborhood, and a neighbor three houses down had a Ring doorbell camera. That camera captured Amara’s silver Honda Civic driving passed at 7:43 p.m.
on July 17th heading toward the Thompson house. When confronted with this evidence, Sandra, Marcus, and Tyler all lawyered up, all three of them, within 24 hours of the missing person report being filed. To Detective Crawford, that was a massive red flag. In my 18 years as a detective, he later testified, I’ve never seen an entire family immediately get attorneys when their family member goes missing, unless they know something.
Milwaukee PD escalated this to a suspicious disappearance real fast. On July 19th, 2 days after the murder, detectives obtained a search warrant for the Thompson residence. They showed up with forensic teams, came in as nine units, the whole works, and they found evidence immediately. The basement looked clean at first glance, but forensic investigator Sarah Mitchell knew better.
She’d been doing this for 15 years. She knew that blood is nearly impossible to completely eliminate. They sprayed luminol, a chemical that reacts with blood and glows under UV light. Then they turned off the lights and that basement lit up like a nightclub. Blood everywhere on the floor in massive pools.
Spatter on the walls going up 6 ft. Cast off patterns on the ceiling from the swinging bat. Smears where someone had tried to mop it up. I’ve never seen that much blood at a scene where there wasn’t a body. Mitchell testified later. I knew immediately we were looking at a homicide. They collected samples, sent them for DNA analysis.
The results came back within 48 hours. All of it was Amara’s blood, but they still didn’t have a body. And without a body, murder charges are harder to prosecute. Not impossible, but more difficult. That’s when the digital forensics team struck gold. Detective Ryan Thompson was the digital forensics expert assigned to the case, and he did brilliant work.
He obtained warrants for Marcus, Sandra, and Tyler’s cell phone records. All three phones. And what he found was devastating for the defendants. Marcus and Tyler’s phones traveled together from the Thompson house to Kettle Marine State Forest on the night of July 17th. Left the house at 11:47 p.m. Arrived at the forest at 12:37 a.m. Stayed there for 31 minutes.
then drove back to Milwaukee, arriving at 2:04 a.m. They literally led us right to the body, Thompson said. They were so focused on cleaning the basement, they forgot their phones were tracking their every move. On July 20th, 2019, 3 days after Amara’s murder, Milwaukee PD, Wisconsin State Patrol, and Kettle Marine Park Rangers conducted a coordinated search.
They focused on the area where Marcus and Tyler’s phones had pinged. At 3:47 p.m., a Cminus 9 unit named Duke found her. Amara Johnson’s body 200 yards from the access road, partially concealed under branches, still wrapped in that blue tarp and duct taped, left in the woods like garbage. The medical examiner arrived, documented everything, photographed the scene from every angle, and then they brought Amara home.
Her family, her real family, could finally start to grieve, but they still needed justice. July 21st, 2019, 4 days after they murdered Amara, Marcus Thompson, Sandra Thompson, and Tyler Thompson were arrested. The charges firstdegree intentional homicide. All three of them, their reactions when police showed up. That tells you everything you need to know.
Marcus answered the door. Detective Crawford said Marcus looked at him and said, “What took you so long? Not what’s this about? Not there must be some mistake. He knew they’d been caught. And he still had the audacity to be smug about it.” Sandra cried, put on a whole performance according to officers on the scene.
Wailing about how this was all a misunderstanding. How she’d never hurt her daughter. Girl, please. Luminol doesn’t lie. Tyler tried to run. Literally saw the cops at the front door and bolted out the back. Jumped the fence. Made it about half a block before he was tackled by Officer Martinez. Innocent people don’t run.
Now, this is where things get really interesting because all three of them were interrogated separately, and all three of them had different stories. Let’s break it down. Marcus sat in that chair, arms crossed, and for two hours straight, he said nothing, invoked his right to remain silent immediately. But Detective Crawford knew how to wait people out.
He sat there quietly, put photos on the table, photos of Amara alive and smiling, photos of her kids, photos of the bloody basement. Finally, Marcus broke. He didn’t confess, but he started talking. And what he said was chilling. She disrespected us. She put our business on Facebook for the whole world to see. She made us look bad.
What did she expect would happen? Detective Crawford. So, you’re saying she deserved to die, Marcus? I’m saying she made her choice. Zero remorse, zero empathy, zero humanity. Sandra played the victim hard, cried, hyperventilated, asked for water every 5 minutes, said she couldn’t breathe, said she needed medication.
Detective Maria Gonzalez wasn’t having it. She put autopsy photos on the table, made Sandra look at what was done to her daughter. Sandra’s story changed three times. First, I wasn’t even there. I was upstairs. Then, when confronted with her shoe prints in Amara’s blood, okay, I was there, but I didn’t do anything.
I just watched. Finally, when told the autopsy showed kick patterns matching her shoes. I only kicked her because she was attacking Marcus. I was defending my husband. Three different stories, all lies. Tyler was the one who cracked completely. Detective Thompson used a classic technique. Told Tyler that Marcus and Sandra were in other rooms blaming everything on him.
Tyler immediately started talking. It wasn’t my idea. Marcus said she needed to be taught a lesson. Mom called her to lure her over. I just did what I was told. Then he said something crucial. I didn’t want to kill her. I just wanted to scare her. But once it started, I couldn’t stop it.
couldn’t stop it or wouldn’t stop it. Because here’s the thing, at any point during that 45minute beating, Tyler could have called 911, could have left, could have tried to help his sister, but he didn’t. 5 hours into the interrogation, Tyler asked to make a deal, said he’d tell them everything if they’d take the death penalty off the table.
Wisconsin doesn’t have the death penalty, but Tyler apparently didn’t know that. Prosecutors told him, “Tell us what happened and we’ll consider your cooperation at sentencing.” And Tyler sang. He gave them everything. Sandra called Amara with a specific purpose of luring her to the house. Marcus had been planning to teach Amara a lesson for days.
They chose a night when Amara’s kids were with their dad. The attack was deliberate and sustained. They planned to dump the body in the woods. They thought nobody would even care she was gone. This wasn’t a crime of passion. This was premeditated murder. While the confessions were important, the physical evidence was what would convict them.
Let me lay out what the state had. The basement crime scene had massive amounts of blood confirmed via DNA as Amaras. Blood spatter patterns consistent with sustained beating. Cast off patterns on ceiling from bat swings, hair and tissue from amara on the concrete, and bleach residue showing cleanup attempt.
The baseball bat was found in garage partially cleaned. Luminol revealed blood in the grip and barrel. DNA confirmed it was Amara’s blood. Amara’s hair fibers embedded in the wood. Digital evidence showed cell tower data placing all three at the house during murder. Marcus and Tyler’s phones traveling to Kettle Marine.
Google searches on their computers before the murder. Sandra searched how to clean blood from concrete on July 14th. Marcus searched Kettle Marine hiking trails on July 16th and Tyler searched can police trace deleted messages on July 18th. The tarp and duct tape matched rolls found in Thompson garage.
Marcus’ fingerprints on the duct tape. Fibers from tarp in Marcus’ truck bed. This wasn’t just evidence. This was a mountain of evidence. Everest. Dr. Patricia Wallace performed Amara’s autopsy. Her report was one of the most detailed and damning pieces of evidence. Cause of death. blunt force trauma to the head causing massive subdural hematoma and cerebral edema.
Contributing factors, severe blood loss from multiple injuries, three broken ribs causing punctured left lung, ruptured spleen causing internal bleeding and severe facial trauma. Time of death between 9:00 9:30 p.m. on July 17th, 2019. Manner of death, homicide. But what really got to Dr. Wallace, and she testified to this at trial, were the defensive wounds.
Amara had defensive wounds all over her hands and arms, bruising on her palms, cuts on her fingers, two fractured fingers on her left hand. These injuries tell a story. Dr. Wallace testified. They tell us that Amara Johnson fought for her life. She tried desperately to protect herself. Based on the pattern and severity of injuries, I estimate she was alive and conscious for at least 30 minutes of the attack.
30 minutes of knowing her own family was killing her. The jury was in tears. Prosecutors also built a case showing the pattern of abuse. Because motive matters. Text messages going back two years showed Marcus’ messages to Amara. You’re worthless just like your real father. Those kids of yours are going to turn out just like you. nothing.
You’re an embarrassment to this family and you owe us for raising you. Sandra’s messages. You’re so selfish. After everything I sacrificed for you, you were such a pretty little girl. What happened to you? Tyler turned out good. You turned out well, and family doesn’t abandon family. But you wouldn’t know about that.
Tyler’s messages included multiple sexually inappropriate comments about Amara’s body. Women need to know their place. You never learned yours. Keep running your mouth. See what happens. And you’re going to learn respect one way or another. The family was toxic from top to bottom. A social media forensics expert testified that Amara’s Facebook post, the one that triggered everything, was her first public statement about family issues.
Ever. She kept quiet for years, suffered in silence, and the one time she spoke up, they killed her for it. As the investigation progressed, more witnesses came forward, and the picture they painted was devastating. Jasmine Carter, Amara’s best friend, testified. Amara was terrified of her family, especially Tyler.
She told me once that if anything ever happened to her, I should look at them first. I thought she was being paranoid. I was wrong. David Johnson, Amara’s biological father, said, “Marcus Thompson took my daughter from me piece by piece for years, and then he took her life. I should have fought harder to get her away from them.
That’s something I’ll carry forever.” Linda Chen, supervisor at Riverside Manor, said, “About 6 months before she died, Amara came to work with bruises on her arms. When I asked, she said she fell, but I could tell she was lying. I should have pushed harder. I should have called someone. Multiple neighbors testified about hearing arguments from the Thompson house constantly.
One neighbor, Mrs. Elena Jackson, said she’d seen Sandra push Amara down the front steps about a year before the murder. Three of Amara’s exartners testified that the Thompson family interfered in every relationship, threatened them, sabotaged the relationships. It was a pattern of control spanning decades.
On July 25th, 2019, 8 days after Amara’s murder, Milwaukee County District Attorney Margaret Chen held a press conference. She announced that all three defendants were being charged with firstderee intentional homicide, party to a crime in Wisconsin. That charge carries mandatory life in prison without possibility of parole.
Additional charges: hiding a corpse, obstruction of justice and conspiracy to commit murder. Da Chen’s statement. Amara Johnson was murdered by the very people who should have loved and protected her. She was killed for the unforgivable crime of setting boundaries and demanding respect.
This office will prosecute this case to the fullest extent of the law, and we will ensure justice is served for Amara and her children. The courtroom was packed with Amara’s supporters. People wearing purple, her favorite color, signs that said justice for Amara and say her name. David was there with Amara’s four children now his responsibility.
All wearing purple ribbons. Meanwhile, Marcus, Sandra, and Tyler sat in Milwaukee County Jail, held without bail. Their trial was coming. October 2020, more than a year after Amara’s murder. Originally, all three were supposed to be tried together, but Tyler’s lawyers argued his confession might prejudice the jury against the other two.
The judge ordered separate trials. Tyler first, then Marcus, then Sandra. Jury selection took three days. The defense wanted people sympathetic to family loyalty. The prosecution wanted people who understood abuse dynamics. They got 12 jurors, seven women, five men mixed ages and backgrounds. Adah Robert Morrison delivered the opening statement.
This is Amara Johnson, a mother of four, a woman who worked hard and loved fiercely. He showed a photo of Amara smiling with her kids. And this is where her family murdered her. He showed basement crime scene photos. They killed her because she posted something on Facebook they didn’t like. That’s the entire reason.
One social media post and they beat her to death in a basement for 45 minutes. He walked the jury through everything. The abuse, the post, the lure, the attack, the coverup, the disposal. Tyler’s defense attorney, Martin Kowalsski, had an impossible job. His strategy was diminished capacity and duress.
Tyler Thompson is not innocent, but he’s not the monster the prosecution portrays. He’s a young man who was manipulated and controlled his entire life by Marcus Thompson. He was brainwashed into believing he had to follow orders. The argument Tyler should be convicted of a lesser charge, not firstdegree murder. Over two weeks, the prosecution called 43 witnesses. Dr.
Patricia Wallace, the medical examiner, walked the jury through every injury in excruciating detail. Explained that Amara suffered tremendously and was conscious for most of the attack. Defense tried to argue maybe she died quickly. Dr. Wallace shut it down. Based on the injuries and blood loss patterns, I can say with medical certainty Miss Johnson survived for at least 20 to 30 minutes after the initial assault.
She was conscious for most of it. She experienced significant suffering. Sarah Mitchell, forensic scientist, showed the jury the luminol photos. The basement under normal light looked clean under UV light after luminol. It looked like a slaughter house. The amount of blood indicated a violent sustained attack, she testified.
Detective Ryan Thompson, digital forensics expert, showed the Google searches from days before the murder, created an animation of Marcus and Tyler’s phones traveling to Kettle Marine in the middle of the night. There’s no innocent explanation for two men to drive to a remote forest at midnight for 30 minutes. Unless they’re dumping a body, Detective James Crawford presented video evidence.
The jury watched video of Tyler’s confession, watching him casually describe murdering his sister while eating a sandwich. The jury was horrified. David Johnson, Amara’s father, broke down completely on the stand. I told her, “Baby girl, you don’t owe them nothing. You can walk away.
” But she said, “Dad, she’s still my mama. He’s still my brother. I can’t give up on family.” When asked about the last time he saw Amara, she came over about two months before she died. She seemed happy. Told me she was finally going to cut them off for good. I hugged her when she left. Told her I loved her and was proud of her.
I didn’t know that was goodbye. Not a dry eye in the courtroom. Against his lawyer’s advice, Tyler testified in his own defense. Big mistake. On direct examination, he portrayed himself as a victim. said he was scared of Marcus. Said everything happened so fast. Then came cross-examination by Adah Morrison. Morrison. Mr.
Thompson, you were afraid of your stepfather, Tyler. Yes, sir. Morrison, but not so afraid that you couldn’t help him murder your sister. Tyler stumbled over his words. Morrison pulled out crime scene photos. When someone is being beaten for 45 minutes, at what point did you realize this had gone beyond scaring her? Silence. Morrison, you held her down. Correct.
Tyler, yes. But Morrison, yes or no? You physically restrained Amara Johnson while Marcus beat her. Tyler, yes. Morrison, did you try to stop him? Tyler, I couldn’t, Morrison. Yes or no? Tyler, no. Morrison, you had dozens of opportunities to do the right thing. To save your sister, to call for help. You chose not to. That’s not being a victim.
That’s being a murderer. Tyler had no response. Morrison’s closing was powerful. Ladies and gentlemen, this case is about power and control. Marcus Thompson believed he had the right to control Amara’s life. Sandra believed her daughter owed her obedience. Tyler believed his sister needed to be put in her place.
When Amara dared to stand up for herself, when she dared to set boundaries, they killed her. This wasn’t an accident. This wasn’t a fight that got out of hand. This was premeditated execution. Amara was beaten to death in a basement by her own family. Then they threw her away like trash. That is firstdegree intentional homicide. Find Tyler Thompson guilty. Do it for Amara.
Do it for her four children. Do it because it’s right. The jury got the case at 300 p.m. on a Friday. They came back in 4 hours. When a jury comes back that fast, they’re certain. At 7:13 p.m., the verdict was read. Judge Patricia Morren on the charge of firstdegree intentional homicide. How do you find jury foreman? We find the defendant guilty.
The courtroom erupted, crying, hugging, shouting, “Justice for Amara.” Tyler dropped his head but showed no emotion. “Guilty on all counts.” 3 months later, Marcus’ trial began. If Tyler’s trial was damning, Marcus’ was worse. The prosecution used Tyler’s testimony against him. Tyler testified that Marcus orchestrated everything, that he’d been planning it for weeks.
Marcus’ defense tried to claim he just snapped, and it was Amara’s fault for provoking him. The jury saw through it. After 6 hours, guilty on all counts. Marcus’ reaction, stone-faced, cold, like he couldn’t believe they had the nerve to hold him accountable. Sandra’s trial came next. Sandra’s defense was that she was also a victim of Marcus’ abuse, that she was too afraid to stop the attack, but the prosecution showed that Sandra made the phone call that lured Amara there, that she participated in the attack, that she helped cover it up. most damning text
messages where Sandra called Amara a disgrace and said she needed to be dealt with. After two days of deliberation, guilty on all counts, Sandra collapsed when the verdict was read, screaming about how sorry she was. Too little, too late. Firstderee intentional homicide in Wisconsin equals mandatory life without parole.
But first, victim impact statements. David Johnson held pictures of Amara’s four children. These babies ask me every day when mommy’s coming home. The youngest is only six. How do I explain that her mommy was murdered by her own grandmother? You took my daughter. You took a mother from four innocent children. I hope every day for the rest of your life you think about what you did.
I hope you never know peace. Jasmine Carter. Amara was my best friend, my sister. She told me once that if anything happened to her, look at her family first. I thought she was paranoid. She wasn’t. She knew. And I couldn’t save her. Amara’s daughter, Aaliyah, now 18. You killed my mother because she wouldn’t let you control her anymore. You’re not family.
You’re monsters. I hope you spend every single day in a cell thinking about her face, thinking about what you did. Tyler read a prepared statement. said he was sorry that he thought about Amara every day. It felt hollow. Judge Morren, Mr. Thompson, you participated in the brutal murder of your own sister. You had countless opportunities to stop this.
You chose violence every time. I sentenced you to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Marcus actually asked for leniency. Said at 57, he was too old to be a threat. Multiple family members spoke. Aaliyah spoke again. You killed my mother and you have the nerve to ask for mercy. You’re not a man. You’re a monster.
And I hope you rot in that cell. Marcus then made a statement that enraged everyone. I loved Amara like my own daughter. What happened was a tragedy, but she pushed me to my limit. Actions have consequences. He literally blamed her for her own murder. Judge Morren. Mr. Thompson, in 30 years on this bench, I have never encountered such stunning lack of remorse.
You show no understanding of what you’ve done. You are a narcissist and a murderer. I sentence you to life in prison without the possibility of parole. I hope you spend every day reflecting on the evil you committed. Sandra was genuinely broken by this point, sobbing, barely able to speak. I loved my daughter. I know I failed her every day.
I wish I could go back. I wish I’d been the mother she deserved. I don’t expect forgiveness. It was the first real show of remorse from any defendant. But it didn’t change anything. Judge Morren, Mrs. Thompson. Love without respect, without boundaries, without autonomy. That’s not love. That’s ownership. And when Amara tried to reclaim her life, you helped take it.
You’ve shown remorse. But remorse doesn’t bring Amara back. I sentence you to life in prison without the possibility of parole. As of 2024, Tyler Thompson, now 33, is in Colombia Correctional Institution. General population, quiet, keeps to himself, no incidents. Marcus Thompson, now 62, is in Wapan Correctional Institution. Maximum security.
Written up multiple times for threatening inmates and being abusive to staff. Still the same monster. Sandra Thompson, now 57, is in Tida Correctional Institution. Model inmate, works in prison library, participates in therapy. None of them will ever be free. Wisconsin has no parole for life sentences. They will die in prison.
Amara’s four children, now ages 11, 14, 16, and 19, are being raised by David. He sold his house and bought a bigger one. retired early to be a full-time parent. The community rallied. A GoFundMe raised over $300,000. Local businesses donated. Schools provided counseling. Every year on Amara’s birthday, the family releases purple balloons at the park.
The whole community comes. It’s called Amara’s Day. Amara’s case sparked crucial conversations about family violence. Domestic violence experts use this case to show that abuse isn’t just romantic partners. It can be parents, siblings, family. According to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, one in four women experience severe physical violence from a family member.
Family violence often goes unreported due to guilt or obligation. Setting boundaries with toxic family can trigger escalation. In Milwaukee, people use Amara’s story to mean standing up for yourself against toxic family. The hashtag number justice for Amara trended nationally. Her story was covered on major true crime shows.
That Facebook post that got her killed. People shared it, added their own stories, supported each other. Amara’s voice, the one they tried to silence, became louder than ever. Dr. Rebecca Martinez, forensic psychologist, analyzed this case. She identified a narcissistic family system where Marcus exhibited classic traits: need for control, lack of empathy, belief others exist to serve him.
Sandra enabled it through codependency. She noted an honor killing mentality. While not a traditional honor killing, the psychology is similar. Amara disrespected the family publicly which Marcus saw as unforgivable. There was group think and shared delusion. All three fed off each other. Alone. Maybe one would have realized this was wrong.
Together they reinforced twisted logic. They engaged in dehumanization. They stopped seeing Amara as a person and started seeing her as a problem to eliminate. Dr. Martinez. Amara’s murder wasn’t about a Facebook post. It was about power. Marcus was losing control over her and he couldn’t tolerate that. So, he eliminated her.
If you recognize these patterns, get help. Family members who demand complete obedience. Punishment for setting boundaries. Isolation from friends and support. Threats when you try to become independent. Gaslighting and manipulation. Disproportionate reactions to minor disrespect. history of violence, even minor stalking or surveillance behaviors.
Threats like you’ll regret this or I’ll teach you a lesson. National Domestic Violence Hotline 18007997233. Text start to 88,788. Visit the hotline.org. National Coalition Against Domestic Violence.org. Love is respect for young people. 18663319474. Text Lovis to 22,522. Crisis text line. Text home to 741,741. National Suicide Prevention Lifeline 988.
Amara Rose Johnson was 34 years old when her life was stolen. But she was so much more than a victim. She was a daughter who loved her father. A mama who’d do anything for her babies. A friend who showed up when needed. A caregiver who brought comfort to elderly folks. She loved gospel music.
Purple was her favorite color. She made the best enchiladas in Milwaukee. She had a laugh that was contagious. She gave the best hugs. She was real, not just a headline, not just a story. a whole human being with dreams and hopes. She deserved better. She deserved better than to die over words on a screen. She deserved a family that celebrated her strength.
She deserved to watch her babies grow up. But most of all, she deserved to be heard. So, I’m saying her name, Amara Rose Johnson. Born March 3rd, 1985. Murdered July 17th, 2019. Her voice mattered. Her life mattered. She mattered. To everyone watching this, if you’re dealing with toxic family members, please know you have the right to set boundaries.
You have the right to protect yourself. You have the right to walk away. Family is supposed to lift you up, not tear you down. And if they can’t do that, you don’t owe them access to your life. Your safety matters more than their feelings. You don’t owe anybody your silence. You don’t owe anybody your life. Let’s talk about justice for a minute.
Three people plotted to murder an innocent woman. They lured her into their home. They beat her for 45 minutes. They dumped her body in the woods like trash. And now Tyler Thompson will spend the next 50 plus years in a six zate cell. He’ll wake up every day to the same concrete walls, same steel bars, same prison food, same orange jumpsuit, until he’s an old man and dies in that cage.
Marcus Thompson thought he was so powerful, so in control. Now guards tell him when to eat, when to sleep, when to shower. He’ll never control anyone again. He’ll die in prison, powerless and forgotten. Sandra Thompson gets to think every day about how she helped murder her own daughter, about how her four grandchildren will never speak to her again, about how her legacy is being the mother who killed her child.
That’s justice. But real justice would be Amara still being alive, still raising her babies, still working at that nursing home, still posting on Facebook about setting boundaries. So, the best we can do is remember her, honor her, tell her story, and make sure everyone knows standing up for yourself is not a crime.
Setting boundaries is not disrespect. Protecting your peace is not wrong. Amara Johnson stood up for herself and she paid the ultimate price. But her voice, it’s still echoing louder than ever. Amara’s story changed Milwaukee. Local domestic violence organizations saw a 300% increase in calls after her case went public.
People finally felt safe speaking up about family abuse. Schools started teaching about healthy family dynamics and boundary setting. Churches started talking about toxic family relationships instead of just preaching honor thy father and mother without context. The Milwaukee DA’s office created a specialized unit for family violence cases.
Amara’s death wasn’t in vain. Her story is saving lives. Every person who sees this video and recognizes the warning signs in their own family and gets help. That’s Amara’s legacy. Every person who sets a boundary and protects their peace, that’s Amara’s legacy. Every person who stands up to a toxic family member instead of staying silent, that’s Amara’s legacy.
She wanted to be heard and now she is. If you want to see more cases like this where we honor victims and expose the truth, hit that subscribe button and ring the bell. Drop a comment below. What do you think about this case? Have you dealt with toxic family? Let’s talk. Let’s support each other. If you want to support Women Justice Files, consider joining our Patreon.
You get early access to videos, exclusive content, and your name in the credits. Hit that like button if you appreciate the deep divies we do. Share this video with someone who needs to hear Amara’s story. You won’t believe the evidence they found. Until then, stay safe, trust your instincts, set your boundaries, and remember, you don’t owe anybody your silence.
This is Women Justice Files and will never stop telling their stories. In memory of AM Rose Johnson, March 3, 1985, July 17, 2019. Forever loved, never forgotten, always heard.
