Identified! WI - Racine Co., WhtFem 199UFWI, 14-25, cauliflower ear, July 1999 #2 - Peggy Lynn Johnson *Guilty*

[UnlicensedPI]

Welcome to Lee County Sheriff s Office

She does have a Facebook page. I'm not going to link it. We don't know what she told her family members or if they had any involvement at all, so if anyone else comes across it, leave them alone.

 

[UnlicensedPI]

Here's the current arrest record
Welcome to Lee County Sheriff s Office

 

[TmmEye]

 

[PaulR]

I wonder if she was collecting money for "taking care of" Peggy for all these years.

 

[TmmEye]

IMO this was probably one of the many, sad, and disgusting cases of caretaker abuse. Taking advantage of those who need your help, but just there for the money.

 

[Roselvr]

Linda's facebook page is a joke. Her heading is "above all be honest be kind, treat people with love and forgiveness don't tolerate disrespect." It's easy to find, first one that popped up. Looks like she's still in the caregiving business.

which she started in 1997.

Who knows how many years of abuse poor Peggy had from this evil witch! I hope she gets some of that in prison!

 

[momsof3]

At least the photo of Peggy Lynn Johnson looks happy. I so hope her life until 18 when she was cared for by her mother was a happy one.

I'm extremely interested in how they got to murder - even if the suspect had exclusive care, after all of these years, did they have evidence other than exclusive control and failure to report a death? Good for them for charging. Circumstantial evidence is evidence and so often I see very cautious charging even when it is clear what happened.

Also - it looks like the perp has a recent DUI.

ETA - that facebook page is all fundraisers!

Welcome to Lee County Sheriff s Office

 

[Falling Down]

Wonder if there's a body trail with this one.

 

[Hope921]

Racine County Press conference

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=353216338811237

 

[Falling Down]

which she started in 1997.

Who knows how many years of abuse poor Peggy had from this evil witch! I hope she gets some of that in prison!

Any info on the business? Just curious.

 

[sonz82]

I'm guessing her recent arrest for the DUI is how this case was solved? A DNA hit?
I couldn't view the press conference

 

[Fuuro]

I am actually not that surprised that Peggy was murdered by a caretaker at all. The details of her murder and the days leading up to it (being starved, various injuries in different stages of healing) fall in line with this outcome.

Also, for many years, people have compared Peggy's murder with the murder of Mary Kate Chamizo, another intellectually-disabled woman who was murdered in Illinois in the same year.

Two men (I believe) confessed to Mary Kate's murder, but here is another theory that seems all-the-more interesting now that we know what actually happened to Peggy:

Mary Kate Sunderlin allegedly fell into contact with two women, a mother and a daughter, who were known to exploit the elderly and disabled in the spring of 1999. This is when contact between Mary Kate and her family became sparse as the two women attempted to prevent contact. They also used her bank card to withdraw large sums of cash. Even worse, they arranged a secret marriage between Mary Kate Sunderlin and Gonzalo Chamizo a mere 3 weeks prior to Sunderlin’s disappearance.

(From: Mary Kate Sunderlin — Ghost Writer Grown Up)
Caretaker abuse is (unfortunately) not that uncommon, but I'm wondering if Linda may have had other victims. I know that it's highly unlikely, but given that she already tortured, sexually assaulted, and murdered one lady over a period of years, I wouldn't put it past her to kill again.

NEVER MIND: The timeline does not add up. If the theory is true, Mary Kate would have met these women at the same time Linda was living with Peggy.

 

[UnlicensedPI]

LaRoche's husband filed for divorce this past September....I wonder if it had anything to do with the investigation.

 

[PropaneYeeter]

Racine County Sheriff's Office identifies 1999 Jane Doe as Peggy Lynn Johnson

"It was not until only a few weeks ago that Johnson was discovered as a possible identity for the Jane Doe, Schmaling said.

The tip that led to La Roche's arrest came from "a concerned citizen" in Cape Coral who said that La Roche had been "telling people that she had killed a woman back when she lived in Illinois," according to the criminal complaint.



Upon interviewing La Roche's children, the Sheriff's Office learned that Johnson had been taken into the home and "would act as a nanny and housekeeper in exchange for living with the family," according to the complaint. "Laroche’s children recall that Laroche was very abusive to Peggy and that it was not uncommon for Peggy to have signs of injuries from Laroche. At times when not working for the family, Peggy would be made to sleep and stay in a crawl space under the home. Laroche was verbally and emotionally cruel to Peggy, at times screaming at her like an animal. One recalled Laroche stabbing at Peggy’s head with a pitchfork, one recalled Laroche slapping Peggy in the head and face. They all recalled seeing Peggy with injuries and one even asked Peggy what had happened to her after noticing a black eye. Peggy told the child, who was then an adult, that Laroche had punched her.""

 

[Butterfly_Rises]

Racine County Sheriff's Office identifies 1999 Jane Doe as Peggy Lynn Johnson



The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children released a new artist’s rendering in 2012 of an unidentified woman whose body was found in a Raymond cornfield in 1999.

• SUBMITTED PHOTO

Racine County investigators comb the area where the body of a young woman was found in July 1999 along 92nd Street in the Town of Raymond. The woman had been tortured, beaten, sexually assaulted and possibly denied food before she died.



Racine County Sheriff Christopher Schmaling announces Friday the identify of "Jane Doe." She was Peggy Lynn Johnson.




Racine County investigators comb the area where the body of a young woman was found in July 1999 along 92nd Street in the Town of Raymond. The woman had been tortured, beaten, sexually assaulted and possibly denied food before she died.


A funeral service was held for a woman who had been a Jane Doe on Oct. 27, 1999 at Holy Family Cemetery in Caledonia.



Sandi Muleski, of Racine, bows her head during a funeral service on Oct. 27, 1999 at Holy Family Cemetery in Caledonia. The service was held for a woman who had been a Jane Doe, but whose identity was revealed by the Racine County Sheriff's Office Frida



We finally know who she was.

After pursuing thousands of leads over the past 20 years, the Racine County Sheriff’s Office announced they now know the identity of the young woman that had been known as “Jane Doe.”

Her name was Peggy Lynn Johnson.

Johnson's identity, and the identity of the suspected killer, were made public Friday morning during a press conference led by Sheriff Christopher Schmaling.

The suspect in the case has been identified as Linda Sue La Roche.


"After her mother died, Peggy was approximately 18 years old, cognitively impaired, on her own, and went searching for help at a medical clinic in McHenry, Illinois. There, she met a registered nurse named Linda La Roche, who recognized Peggy's disability and took her into her home," Sheriff Christopher Schmaling explained Friday.

Jane Doe to be identified 20 years after her death

 

[Dee Deforest]

Just a completely heartbreaking and disturbing story on so many levels. Rest in Peace Peggy, you deserved so much better than this. You will be missed and you will be remembered.

 

[LilacStar79]

I am still trying to process that she's been identified. I have been following this case for several years now. It's so sad how the most vulnerable people in our society get abused and mistreated. I hope justice is served.

 

[Claireishere]

Wonder if there's a body trail with this one.

She posted about having a veteran living with her

 

[Claireishere]

Also one of Laroches sons has the last name Johnson. I can’t help but wonder if there is a familial connection they haven’t released yet.

 

[Liv27]

Absolutely evil. I’ve followed Peggy’s case for years and it has stuck with me and will continue to. She was a lovely, young lady. I’m so sorry this happened to her. Rest In Peace, Peggy.