Joanne Johnson, 93, murdered in her Augusta, Kansas home, September 2023

[Seattle1]

Ugggggh. Horrific. I had immediate flashbacks to this case:

Teenage girls brutally murder 85-year-old woman ‘just for fun’ in 1983

Anna Brackett, 85, opened her door on June 14, 1983, and saw two teenage girls. They told her that strange men were following them and they asked to come inside to use the phone. What happened next…

www.nydailynews.com

Just for clarification, this 1983 murder occurred in Auburn, CA.-- not Kansas. I'd expect nothing less than leniency from CA. JMO

 

[acehard]

Wow, so awful!! I can't believe they only got 8 years!

If you're sentenced as a juvenile, the max sentence is until you're 22 (depending on the state)

 

[SMK777]

Just for clarification, this 1983 murder occurred in Auburn, CA.-- not Kansas. I'd expect nothing less than leniency from CA. JMO

True. It was particularly horrific because the girls stressed that it had been enormous fun for them:

During the murder, Anna begged Collier and Wolf to stop, telling them that she was dying. Wolf told detectives she turned to her and said, “good.”8 After killing Anna, Collier and Wolf tried to steal her car, but they were unable to get it to start, so they took off on foot and ran back to Collier’s home.

During the confessions, Collier said that the murder was so “enjoyable” that “we wanted to do another one.” She said that they wanted to go out and celebrate, telling the detectives, “To honestly tell you the truth – this goes for me and Shirley both – we didn’t feel any badness. We felt good inside. We wanted to go out and celebrate. We were just full of laugher and were just like it was fun. We enjoyed it.”

From July 1983 Sacramento Bee and Auburn Journal

 

[Seattle1]

Piecing it together -- Augusta High School, Park, Crime Scene -- each within 2 minutes by car, or 10 minute walk. They wouldn't be strangers to the neighborhood. JMO

Augusta High School to 1711 Robbins St

www.google.com

 

[annpats]

Arresting news now cites the victim was axed to death.

Father of 14-year-old girl arrested for murder in Augusta speaks out

A quiet street in Augusta was the scene of a horrific crime over Labor Day weekend in 2023. Police say a family member found 93-year-old Joanne Johnson dead at her

www.kake.com

AXED to death?!

There is something seriously wrong when two 14 year old girls axe a 93 year old woman to death.

What turns young girls into such violent killers?!

It's beyond my comprehension.

May Joanne Johnson rest in perfect peace.

 

[LadyL]

The father of one of the girls who was arrested is speaking out. He doesn't believe his daughter was involved.

Father of 14-year-old girl arrested for murder in Augusta speaks out

A quiet street in Augusta was the scene of a horrific crime over Labor Day weekend in 2023. Police say a family member found 93-year-old Joanne Johnson dead at her

www.kake.com

yeah sorry pops not a chance that's the way it happened JMO

 

[LadyL]

From the quoted MSN link:

A shocking new detail is that local parents say their kids at Augusta High School witnessed the 14-year-old girls being pulled out of class, arrested, and escorted off the property.

The school released a statement saying:
<modsnip - pasting more than 10% of an article is a copyright violation>

oh well maybe it will act as a deterrent to other young criminally-minded youth

 

[Inthedetails]

I'm wondering if this was Labor Day weekend, and this was a burglary gone wrong. Homeowner surprised them by being home.

Arresting news now cites the victim was axed to death.

Father of 14-year-old girl arrested for murder in Augusta speaks out

A quiet street in Augusta was the scene of a horrific crime over Labor Day weekend in 2023. Police say a family member found 93-year-old Joanne Johnson dead at her

www.kake.com

I hate this thought, but I'm thinking it might have been a thrill kill.

A 93yo woman, even if active, is likely at home much of the time. It wouldn't be a surprise to encounter her in the house, imo. And even if the victim surprised them, was an axe handy? I picture this house as tidy and the victim doesn't look the type to keep an axe by her comfy chair, ykwim? (I know we don't know for sure, I am speculating.)

And I'm thinking if the girls entered the house to steal, they might have been more likely to confess before now, with guilt weighing on them when all they wanted was some cash, not to hurt an old lady.

I think they intended to kill and have been relishing their accomplishment. I'm curious where the weapon came from. Did they find it somewhere and then come up with a murderous fantasy and plan?

Btw, I'm assuming their story about the man forcing them to watch him kill the victim with an axe means the weapon was an axe, though I don't think that has been officially confirmed. ?

jmo

 

[SMK777]

AXED to death?!

There is something seriously wrong when two 14 year old girls axe a 93 year old woman to death.

What turns young girls into such violent killers?!

Snipped and bolded for focus.
I know in the case of the 2 teens who stabbed the 85 year old woman to death in California in 1983, some years later a journalist wrote the book, Little Girl Lost, and in it there was a great deal of information about their upbringings: Trauma, extreme sexual abuse, domestic violence, neglect. It was the author’s (Joan Merriam) opinion that they had become monsters due to being robbed of their childhoods, and subjected to years of intolerable abuse.

 

[Seattle1]

Snipped and bolded for focus.
I know in the case of the 2 teens who stabbed the 85 year old woman to death in California in 1983, some years later a journalist wrote the book, Little Girl Lost, and in it there was a great deal of information about their upbringings: Trauma, extreme sexual abuse, domestic violence, neglect. It was the author’s opinion that they had become monsters due to being robbed of their childhoods, and subjected to years of intolerable abuse.

I'm saddened that these juvenile offenders appear to be younger and more brazen every day. I'm thinking of the 13 yr old girl in TN who murdered her 8 year old cousin in July by smothering the child, and then staged the body to appear as if sleeping peacefully.

And another cousin murder followed weeks later in PA -- 13 yr old stabbed his 10 yr old cousin repeatedly in the head. They were at a sleepover at their grandmother's home.

Both of the cases above include victims known to their killer. But perhaps these murders were just more convenient for the defendants.

Age 13/14 and killing a stranger, as in this Augusta, KS case, is mind boggling.

I also wonder if these girls were high at the time of the murder and looking for money for another fix. I'm pretty confident they are both known in the juvenile system. MOO

 

[airportwoman]

I'm wondering if this was Labor Day weekend, and this was a burglary gone wrong. Homeowner surprised them by being home.

Arresting news now cites the victim was axed to death.

Father of 14-year-old girl arrested for murder in Augusta speaks out

A quiet street in Augusta was the scene of a horrific crime over Labor Day weekend in 2023. Police say a family member found 93-year-old Joanne Johnson dead at her

www.kake.com

That article looks like it was written by an AI bot, and probably was.

 

[airportwoman]

Sep 27, 2019
You don't have to be a big town with big budgets to have big ideas. Motivated by a school bond issue that passed overwhelmingly 10 years ago, city leaders in Augusta, Kansas were inspired to create a better community for their residents. They launched the Pride and Progress Initiative which poured money into parks, splash pads, fields - amenities that allowed this community to find balance and harmony in the beautiful place they call home.

Augusta, KS population sits around 10,000-- where more than half of the residents own their own home.

Augusta, Kansas - Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

simple.wikipedia.org

According to this, the primary minority in town is Hispanic, and they are about 5% of the population. I had wondered about that, when I saw the "white guy" reference. (I also have a feeling he does not exist.)

Augusta, Kansas - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[airportwoman]

I'm saddened that these juvenile offenders appear to be younger and more brazen every day. I'm thinking of the 13 yr old girl in TN who murdered her 8 year old cousin in July by smothering the child, and then staged the body to appear as if sleeping peacefully.

And another cousin murder followed weeks later in PA -- 13 yr old stabbed his 10 yr old cousin repeatedly in the head. They were at a sleepover at their grandmother's home.

Both of the cases above include victims known to their killer. But perhaps these murders were just more convenient for the defendants.

Age 13/14 and killing a stranger, as in this Augusta, KS case, is mind boggling.

I also wonder if these girls were high at the time of the murder and looking for money for another fix. I'm pretty confident they are both known in the juvenile system. MOO

People like this have always existed. We just have the Internet and CNN to inform us of crimes outside our local areas.

 

[airportwoman]

Just for clarification, this 1983 murder occurred in Auburn, CA.-- not Kansas. I'd expect nothing less than leniency from CA. JMO

And society was not the same in 1983. I'm old enough to know that for myself.

 

[Herat]

oh well maybe it will act as a deterrent to other young criminally-minded youth

Why coddle them

It was a horrible, brutal murder.