04x09 - Accident or m*rder?

[bunniefuu]

Narrator: on the morning of

February 20, 1989, something

Terrible happened to

Janice johnson, a 35-year-old

Housewife and mother of two

Children.

Claire, I got to go.

I'll talk to you later, okay?

[ Keys jingle ]

Narrator: the investigation

Into that morning's events would

Raise questions that persist to

This day.

Clayton and janice johnson

Lived in the tiny coastal

Fishing village of shelburne,

Nova scotia.

It's a close-knit community,

Where townspeople all know one

Another.

For the johnsons, shelburne was

The ideal place to raise their

Two young daughters, 11-year-old

Darla and 9-year-old dawn.

We had two lovely girls that

Were perfect, as far as I was

Concerned.

You can ask anybody -- whenever

They seen us, the four of us

Were usually always together.

Very, very rarely we ever went

Anywhere individually.

Narrator: clayton was an

Industrial-arts teacher at the

Local high school.

Janice was a homemaker.

The johnsons where a deeply

Religious family and very active

In their church, volunteering

Much of their free time to

Church activities.

We were always out visiting

People and doing this and that.

My mom was the type of person --

She didn't like to just sit

Around and do nothing, so we

Were always busy doing

Something.

And, like, we never went

Anywhere without doing it as a

Family.

Narrator: the morning of

February 20, 1989, was a typical

One for the johnson family.

After the children left for

School, clayton carried some

Laundry to the basement for his

Wife.

[ Telephone rings ]

Moments later, the telephone

Rang.

Clayton answered on the basement

Extension.

Sure, janice is right here.

Hi.

It was claire thompson, our

Next-door neighbor.

She wanted jan, so she took the

Phone, and I went up and got my

Coat and come back in and told

Her I was going, give her a

Kiss goodbye, and left.

I got to go.

Okay, bye.

See you tonight.

Narrator: clayton then left

For work, stopping along the way

At a local gas station.

Janice!

Janice!

Narrator: a few minutes

Later, a neighbor stopped by the

Johnsons' home.

He discovered janice at the

Bottom of the stairs.

She was bloody and unconscious,

But still alive.

Clayton heard the news when he

Arrived at work and rushed to

The hospital.

I didn't recognize her

Because of all the tubes and the

Swelling and stuff like that,

And I had to look almost twice

To realize it was her.

And it's just -- I don't know,

It's just one of those things

That don't want to see every

Day.

Narrator: janice had

Sustained severe head injuries

From what was assumed to be an

Accidental fall down the

Basement steps.

Despite the best of medical

Treatment, janice died of her

Head wound several hours later.

She was just 35 years old.

I think it was the first time

I'd ever seen my father cry.

My first reaction was that it

Wasn't real, like you want to

Believe it didn't happen.

That was one of the hardest

Things I've ever done in my

Life, is to tell the two girls

That their mother passed away.

Narrator: the small community

Of shelburne rallied around

Clayton johnson and his two

Daughters, as they paid their

Last respects to a loving wife

And mother.

But that support soon crumbled

When clayton johnson started

Dating a woman 30 years his

Junior.

Narrator: after

Janice johnson's death, the

Chief medical examiner,

Dr. Roland perry, performed an

Autopsy.

He was hampered to some extent

By the fact that there were no

Photographs of the accident

Scene.

In a misguided effort to be

Helpful, two family friends had

Washed the blood from the

Basement before photographs

Could be taken.

This is a police video, shot

Later, as the women describe the

Bloodstains.

They said there was a small

Bloodstain on the floor at the

Bottom of the steps, and a

Bloodstain with bloody hair on

The concrete wall, next to the

Third step.

This re-creation shows the

Position of janice johnson's

Body when paramedics arrived.

Her head was on the floor.

Her leg was above her head on

The step.

In her left hand, she was

Holding her car keys.

Although dr. Perry found

Janice johnson's wounds to be

Unusual, he ruled the death a

Freak accident, concluding that

She had fallen forward down the

Steps to her death.

He suspected that her skull had

Become wedged in a 5 1/5-inch

Space between the wooden steps

And the adjoining concrete wall,

Which crushed both sides of her

Head.

When she landed on the concrete

Floor, she sustained the wound

To the top of her head.

Since janice johnson was thought

To be in the house alone at the

Time of the incident, foul play

Was ruled out.

Janice was on the telephone with

Claire thompson, who said she

Heard clayton kiss janice

Goodbye before leaving for work.

[ Laughs ]

You think so?

I don't know about that.

Well, you'd better look for

Me.

Narrator: claire thompson

Said they talked for 10 minutes,

And that the call ended around



Can I call you later?

Oh, sure.

Okay, talk to you then.

Bye.

Narrator: witnesses saw

Clayton johnson at the gas

Station at the same time.

A minute or two later, a

Neighbor found janice in the

Basement and called paramedics.

The call was logged in at 7:52.

That was, so to speak, the

End of that.

Of course, clayton and his

Daughters had to deal with the

Great loss that they had

Suffered.

It was only after some 18 months

Had passed that clayton really

Made what might be called a

Dreadful mistake.

Narrator: clayton johnson's

Mistake was to fall in love.

Soon after janice's death,

Clayton started dating and later

Married 22-year-old

Tina waybrint.

She was a member of the

Johnson's church and was 30

Years his junior.

In the close-knit, conservative

Community of shelburne, this new

Relationship raised a few

Eyebrows.

Police also discovered that

Clayton johnson had purchased a

$120,000 Life-insurance policy

On janice two months before she

Died.

A background check revealed that

Clayton johnson was also having

Financial difficulties, and that

Utility services were sometimes

Cut off in their home for

Nonpayment.

And pretty soon, fact became

Confused with rumor, rumor with

Fact, and the more people

Talked, the more people wondered

Whether this loveable teddy

Bear, clayton johnson, was

A wife k*ller.

Narrator: so police decided

To reopen their investigation

Into janice johnson's death.

Narrator: homicide

Investigators went back to

Reinterview the women who

Cleaned up the blood after

Janice johnson's death.

To their surprise, two years

Later, one of the women recalled

Seeing more blood in the

Basement than she originally

Reported -- on the walls, across

The length of the floor, and on

Piles of lumber along the far

Wall.

Investigators took this new

Information, along with the

Autopsy photos, to two of

Canada's most respected

Pathologists.

Three years after his wife's

Death, clayton johnson was

Arrested and charged with

First-degree m*rder.

Johnson pleaded "not guilty" to

The charge.

Prosecutors introduced the new

Blood-spatter testimony and also

Raised the issue of johnson's

New love interest.

Clayton johnson was on trial

For events that happened after

The accident.

He was on trial for the

Insurance money he collected.

He was on trial for this new

Girlfriend that he had move in

With him.

Narrator: clayton johnson was

Found guilty of first-degree

m*rder and was sentenced to life

In prison.

I don't know how I stood up.

I could feel my knees get weak,

And it took all my power just to

Keep standing up and not falling

Down.

It was a shock, I'll tell you.

Have you ever felt like you

Were reading a book?

[ Laughs ]

That's what it seemed like.

It didn't seem like it could be

Happening in my life.

Narrator: johnson was ordered

To serve his sentence in the

Atlantic maximum-security

Institution.

From there, he contacted the

"Association in defense of the

Wrongfully convicted" in

Toronto.

His story caught the attention

Of the director of the

Organization, james lockyer.

As you go back through the

Miscarriages of justice in both

Our country -- in canada, that

Is -- in the united states, and

In england, very often --

Probably as often as 40 to 50%

Of the time -- bad science has

Played a significant role in a

Wrongful conviction.

Narrator: but the first thing

Lockyer noticed wasn't just

Questionable science -- it was a

Problem with the time line.

Claire thompson said she was on

The telephone with

Janice johnson on the morning of

Her death.

In her original statement,

Thompson said she heard clayton

Kiss janice goodbye at

Approximately 7:40.

She said the call with janice

Lasted 10 minutes, until about



A witness said clayton johnson

Was at the gas station at the

Same time -- 7:50 -- when

Claire thompson said she was

Ending her call to janice.

The neighbor found janice's body

And called paramedics at 7:52.

Clayton was aware that janice

Was expecting company that

Morning.

Any theory that he would k*ll

His wife in a time span of

Seconds or minutes, when he

Could legitimately expect three

Different people to show up at

The house in that very time that

He was supposedly assaulting his

Wife -- you put all that

Together, the theory he k*lled

His wife was, in my view,

Completely ridiculous.

Narrator: blood-spatter

Expert herb macdonell was also

Skeptical.

He believes that the witness'

Original statements were

Probably the most accurate.

The neighbors, at that time,

Reported that the blood was

Consistent with an accident.

Now, obviously, they're not

Qualified to interpret

Bloodstain patterns, but had

They seen a lot of spattering,

Or if they'd seen blood up on

The walls and ceiling, I think,

At that time, even though they

Were cleaning it up, they would

Have a clear recollection of

What it looked like and

Especially where they washed it

Up.

Narrator: another story that

Changed was claire thompson's.

In her original statement, she

Said she called janice around



For 10 minutes.

Two years later, she said she

May have called closer to 7:30.

This created the window of

Opportunity for johnson to have

m*rder*d his wife.

James lockyer asked two forensic

Pathologists to review the

Forensic evidence

Independently --

Dr. Linda norton of

Dallas, texas, and

Dr. James ferris of vancouver.

They both examined the case file

And autopsy photos, and it was

What they didn't see that they

Found most intriguing.

There are no defense wounds,

And in a bludgeoning of this

Nature, considering the location

Of the head wounds, one would

Expect to see defensive wounds

If this were an actual

Bludgeoning death.

Narrator: during an attack,

Most individuals instinctively

Raise their hands to protect

Themselves.

As a result, their hands and

Forearms sustain injuries.

There's absolutely no

Evidence that any of the

Injuries were as a result of

Some form of homicidal as*ault.

Narrator: janice johnson's

Car keys were in her hand when

Paramedics arrived.

The lack of arm wounds and the

Car keys also cast doubt on the

Original forensic report, which

Stated that janice fell forwards

Down the steps.

What occurred is that she

Slipped at the top of the

Stairs, and she fell backwards

Instead of forwards.

And, of course, most falls down

The stairs are forward falls.

Backward falls are uncommon, and

I think that's what led to a lot

Of the misinterpretation that

Occurred in this case.

Narrator: clayton johnson's

New defense team now had two

Major hurdles -- first, to prove

To the court that johnson was

Innocent, and also to show how

Janice johnson really died.

Narrator: by the time

Clayton johnson's new defense

Team gathered their information,

He had spent six years behind

Bars.

It was a life johnson had no

Choice but to get used to.

It's a whole new ball game,

As far as your change of

Lifestyle.

It's a rude awakening.

Narrator: johnson's team of

Forensic experts did not believe

That his wife's injuries were

Consistent with a bludgeoning

Death, and they did not think

That she had fallen forwards, as

Was originally reported.

They believed that janice had

Fallen backwards.

To get johnson's conviction

Overturned, his lawyers needed

To find a way to show how the

Accident really happened.

They turned to blood-spatter

Expert herb macdonell, but after

Studying the case file,

Macdonell couldn't figure out a

Way to recreate an accidental

Fall down the basement steps.

The very night that I was

About ready to call

James lockyer and advise him

That I just could not do my

Re-creation -- and I've done

Many of these

Reconstructions, or

Re-creations, if you like --

I was very disappointed, and I

Was about to tell him that I

Just couldn't do it, and that

Night I read the morning

Paper -- I frequently don't read

The paper until a day late --

And on the front page, here's

"Peter pan" at west high school.

And, of course, I thought,

"Hey."

♪ I'm flying ♪

Flying!

♪ Look at me, way up high,

Suddenly, here am i, I'm

Flying! ♪

Narrator: in the production

Of the musical "peter pan,"

Various characters fly across

The stage in a harness.

Macdonell called the high

School, borrowed the transom and

The operator, and hired a model

The same height and weight as

Janice johnson.

Macdonell then built a replica

Of the johnson's basement steps.

He videotaped the entire

Procedure and put blue chalk on

The wall and step where

Witnesses saw the blood.

With the model at the top of the

Steps, she fell backwards.

When her head fell into the gap

In between the third step and

The concrete wall, the chalk

Marks on the model's head were

Consistent with the injuries

Found on janice johnson.

There's no question that that

Is a good explanation for how

The wounds on janice johnson

Occurred over her right ear.

It's remarkable when you see

It because the blue marks appear

On the model's head exactly

Where the injuries are found on

Janice's left and right temples.

Narrator: james lockyer

Believes that janice johnson was

Still on the telephone when

Clayton was at the gas

Station...

[ Laughs ]

Narrator: ...and that the

Call ended at 7:50, just as her

Neighbor was arriving at the

House.

Uh, you know, I've got to go.

I'll talk to you later.

Narrator: she grabbed her car

Keys, ran up the steps, and lost

Her footing.

As she fell backwards, her head

Became wedged in the 5 1/2-inch

Gap between the step and the

Cement wall.

Her feet pulled her head from

The gap, flipping her body over

Onto the basement floor,

Producing the gash found on the

Top of her head.

When all of this information

Came to light, canadian

Prosecutors took the unusual

Step of releasing

Clayton johnson from prison.

He had spent six years behind

Bars.

] I'm just very happy to get

Back with my family, and I'm

Very pleased with the decision

Of justice freeman.

And I couldn't ask for a better

Legal team than what I've got.

[ Sniffles ]

I just want to get back with my

Family.

I'm really happy right now

Because that means my dad's

Going to see me graduate.

I've got my father back in my

Life.

Narrator: although

Authorities have made no final

Decisions about the case and

There's always the chance of a

Retrial, many believe it will

Simply be dismissed.

For a crime forensic experts say

Didn't happen, six years in

Prison is enough.

Well, that's quite right,

Indeed.

Clayton johnson wasn't convicted

Of a m*rder that he didn't

Commit, he was convicted of a

m*rder that never happened.

We've made an error, so, once

You recognize you've made an

Error, you do the best you can

To rectify it.

And the best way to rectify this

Case is simply to acquit this

Man, exonerate him, and let him

Go on with his life.

What I was getting was all

Different opinions as far as the

Justice system's concerned,

Because I've always been brought

Up, from the time I could walk,

That the police were your

Friend, that you held them on a