COURTESY U.S. ARMY Mischa Mabeline Kaalohilani Johnson, 19 and Dewayne Arthur Johnson, 29.
COURTESY U.S. ARMY Mischa Mabeline Kaalohilani Johnson, 19 and Dewayne Arthur Johnson, 29.
The court martial of Army Pfc. Dewayne Arthur Johnson, 29, concluded this morning as a military judge sentenced him to 23 years in prison for killing his pregnant wife, 19-year-old Mischa Mabeline Kaalohilani Johnson, and their unborn child.
He was formally charged with her murder in November, but despite months of investigation law enforcement was unable to find a body.—RELATED :
As part of a plea deal, he confessed to killing in their home on Schofield Barracks with a machete on July 12, cutting up her body with a chainsaw and taking the remains to a dumpster on base that was bound for an incinerator in Kapolei before reporting reporting her missing on Aug. 1. He also admitted to impersonating her with her phone to deceive her family, lying to investigators and hiding evidence.
Under the plea, he was charged with the lesser included offense of voluntary manslaughter, obstruction of justice, and providing false official statements. Charges of possession of child pornography and the production and distribution of child pornography were also dismissed, per the terms of his plea agreement, in return for information and cooperation.
The plea allowed the presiding judge, Col. Rebecca Farrell, to sentence him to between 18 and 23 years. Defense attorneys asked Farrell to show leniency, arguing that he Dewayne Johnson had confessed, expressed remorse and was attending therapy session and bible studies while in custody.
Farrell ultimately chose the maximum sentence the plea allowed, citing “deliberate cruelty ” to the victims, a “high degree of planning ” as he concealed his crimes and that dismembering his wife’s body and sending it to an incinerator he had deprived Mischa Johnson’s family of the opportunity to ever give her a proper burial.
In addition to the 23 years, the judge also ruled that Dewayne Johnson should be reduced in rank to private, forfeit his pay and that when his sentence ends he will receive a dishonrable discharge. He will serve out his sentence at the United States Disciplinary Barracks in Fort Leavenworth, Kan.
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