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

[DSCrime]

Thank you @Amstorrs for sharing this info.

I work with people that have IDD (intellectual and developmental disabilities), and as a group home manager, I know the ins and outs of the system VERY well.

It varies widely from state to state however, and is very progressive. With Peggy’s mother dying 25 years ago, it wouldn’t surprise me that no one followed up. Even as recently as 25 years ago, most people with IDD were still sent to institutions as children, and caring for your child at home didn’t pay social security benefits that it would now. Because she was at home and likely “off the books” (unless she received other social services), she probably didn’t even have a case worker.

 

[Cubby]

I believe during the press conference they said something about Peggy walking into a hospital and that's when Linda decided to take care of her. I've also been wondering about a possible family connection and the general family situation with Peggy before Linda came in.

I believe during the press conference they said something about Peggy walking into a hospital and that's when Linda decided to take care of her. I've also been wondering about a possible family connection and the general family situation with Peggy before Linda came in.

I was thinking along the lines of why Peggy chose the facility she did to seek assistance. Was it the county health department? Or, could she have chosen the particular facility she did seeking Linda as a distant family member?

With cognitive disabilities currently in IL students receive services until they are 21. If they have an IEP they qualify until they are 21. I don't know if that was the case in the late 90's.

I'm still blown away by the circumstances of this case. Linda ranks right up there with Nathan and Stephanie Sloop. By the time all the info comes out she might even outrank the Sloops.

 

[Jenny0101]

Mark my words; this is only going to get uglier. LL reminds me of Pam Hupp.

 

[doyoulovemepfg]

I am physically ill reading about LL.

I hope justice comes swiftly for Peggy so she can finally be fully at peace.

 

[ladylolly]

i bet she told the current one and he reported it upon splitting up.

I just read on Wikipedia, that Linda visited Illinois and told various people that she killed someone, and one of them reported it to the police, i'm not sure if that was one of her husbands or not

 

[faithx]

Link to the criminal complaint

 

[TmmEye]

After reading Linda’s stories and combining evidence, here’s my take on what happened:

Peggy got Linda very angry at her and Linda tortured her very heavily by beating her painfully. Linda tried to make it appear they were dead by consuming sleeping pills, but failed, and her husband got home. Linda told Peggy to pour the pills down the sink and then she fainted from the abuse. The two freaked out, and Peggy sent her husband to take the kids for ice cream so she could clean up the scene and dump Peggy. She drove out to Wisconsin, dumped the body, and then came home, and they arrived home finding Peggy gone.

 

[Al Ka]

Below is good article with big quality photos. Very sad that her sister found out this way that she had another sister out there and on top of it learned about her horrendous end. Must have been a lot to take in.

Her name is Peggy: The events that led to the death of Racine County's Jane Doe

Her name is Peggy: The events that led to the death of Racine County's Jane Doe

If you check comments under above article, there is someone claiming to have known Peggy under different surname and stayed with her shortly after her mum's death.
===

Short timeline

Sept. 23, 2019: A “concerned citizen” in Florida tells police that they heard Linda LaRoche talking about how she killed someone in Illinois.

Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2019: LaRoche taken into custody.

Friday, Nov. 8, 2019: Sheriff Christopher Schmaling announces that Jane Doe has been identified as Peggy Lynn Johnson. Minutes later, the Racine County District Attorney’s Office publishes charges filed against LaRoche for first-degree intentional homicide and hiding a corpse.

Timeline of events in the life of Peggy Lynn Johnson, Racine County's Jane Doe

 

[Al Ka]

Link to the criminal complaint

Thank you for the link. Absolutely horrendous to read, especially page 2 - autopsy details. Injuries were even worse that we imagined.

I really feel for Peggy, 5 years of this hell. I hope woman and whoever else was conspirator in this will get life sentences.

 

[proctorelites]

Peggy's brother & parents all dead & suddenly her new found family share her last name in 2019, decades later? Beating, burning raping and brutalizing a disabled woman didn't bother any of this famiky before, what changed? The police are what MADE the change. Im sure there is so much more to come and I hope whoever raped Peggy, if there is semen, they need to be charged. Im so disturbed by this its one of the cases I've never forgotten. everything she did leading up to her arrest shows us she was scared she was going to jail & not remoseful. She wasnt sad & drunk bc she killed a disabled woman in 1999, not at all, her freedom was on the line & she knew it was all over, it was her freedom that had her knee knocking stumbling drunk through her neighborhood blabbering abt a dead girl and killing her back in Illinois IMOO. Just disgusted by this.

 

[Claireishere]

I think it's two different husbands. A former husband who was there when Peggy died, and her current one? That's how I'm reading it.

Yes her first was a johnson

 

[Claireishere]

I think, but am not positive, Linda's children were already adult age when she took Peggy into her home.

That's two decades into adulthood they remained silent.

I think La Roche is her second husband's name. Not certain tho.

I read an interview earlier that said the kids reported that Peggy was taken in under the guise of being the kids nanny. That Peggy was treated terribly though despite that.

 

[Sierras]

Peggy had beautiful eyes and a beautiful smile. She looks like a sweet person in her pictures. I'm so sorry about what happened to her. She did not deserve that.

 

[imstilla.grandma]

I’m so sad about this case. I lived here when they found her and I still live here. We visit her grave a couple times a year. I’m going to make one last visit this weekend knowing she will be moved soon. What a horrible and sad life she had. Seeing the pics of her as a child smiling just makes me cry.

I’m so sorry. I know how sensitive close surroundings to a crime can be. We attach ourselves and it stays burned into our memories with sensory scars. Bless you for your active motions. Maybe for just a moment when you do visit, as you close your eyes ~ think of us at WS for just a moment. Take a breath of life into your lungs as you do. Blow out and feel a sense of peace. If you wouldn’t mind.

 

[imstilla.grandma]

Direct link to video:
https://abc7chicago.com/video/embed/?pid=5684380
"We have dedicated thousands of investigative hours to bring this heartbreaking murder to its resolution," said Schmaling. "That day has arrived today."

"She suffered long-term and horrific abuse at the hand of Linda La Roche," said Schmaling.

"The utter barbaric brutality inflicted on this young woman is something that none of us will ever forget," Schmaling said.

La Roche is charged with first degree intentional homicide and hiding a corpse. She has waived extradition to Wisconsin.

According to the criminal complaint, La Roche's children admitted to police they saw her abuse Johnson, and the suspect's former husband said he came home one day to find her dead on the floor.

Johnson's body was dumped in Raymond, Wisconsin, about 40 miles northeast of McHenry. Her body was exhumed in 2013 with the hope of using advancing technology to identify her. She was reinterred in 2015.

Authorities said she will be exhumed once more and re-buried next to her mother in Belvidere, Illinois.
Nurse charged in 1999 cold case beating death of cognitively impaired McHenry woman found in Wisconsin field

eta: I don’t understand this part: Why is the former husband not culpable in some way? I’ll go read the complaint someone was so kind to post. Thank you.

According to the criminal complaint, La Roche's children admitted to police they saw her abuse Johnson, and the suspect's former husband said he came home one day to find her dead on the floor.

 

[imstilla.grandma]

Peggy's brother & parents all dead & suddenly her new found family share her last name in 2019, decades later? Beating, burning raping and brutalizing a disabled woman didn't bother any of this famiky before, what changed? The police are what MADE the change. Im sure there is so much more to come and I hope whoever raped Peggy, if there is semen, they need to be charged. Im so disturbed by this its one of the cases I've never forgotten. everything she did leading up to her arrest shows us she was scared she was going to jail & not remoseful. She wasnt sad & drunk bc she killed a disabled woman in 1999, not at all, her freedom was on the line & she knew it was all over, it was her freedom that had her knee knocking stumbling drunk through her neighborhood blabbering abt a dead girl and killing her back in Illinois IMOO. Just disgusted by this.

Yes. Yes. Yes. All of what you said.

 

[imstilla.grandma]

According to a criminal complaint, Johnson sustained trauma and had been sexually assaulted. She was malnourished, had road rash across her torso and suffered a broken ribs and nose.

Her death was ruled as a homicide by sepsis pneumonia as a result of infection from injuries sustained from chronic abuse.

La Roche admitted that she drove Johnson to Wisconsin and let her out of the car in a rural area, per the criminal complaint.

She asserted that Peggy was not injured when she was dropped off, contradicting information from an autopsy regarding the condition of her body, according to the criminal complaint.

Johnson's DNA was entered into a nationwide unidentified victims database. DNA submitted for genealogical testing. Her body was also exhumed for chemical isotope testing.

Johnson's mother, father and brother are all deceased. She also has a sister she has never met, according to the sheriff's office.

Watch a stream of the news conference below announcing details on the case, via CBS 58:

McHenry woman identified as victim of 1999 cold case murder in Wisconsin

 

[Cubby]

I read an interview earlier that said the kids reported that Peggy was taken in under the guise of being the kids nanny. That Peggy was treated terribly though despite that.

The following is from the criminal complaint linked upthread.


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.

 

[imstilla.grandma]

Link to the criminal complaint

This is the best part of the complaint:

In 2019, through the use of Familial DNA testing, members of Peggy Johnson’s family were located and her identity confirmed.
bbm: Another success story for DNA testing.

 

[Bit of hope]

From the Criminal Complaint

"In November of 2019, Laroche’s former husband, RWJ, also confirmed that Laroche was extremely abusive to Peggy. That Laroche was what some described as a “force to be reckoned with”. RWJ reported that he recalled seeing Peggy at his home for the last time. He had come home from work and found Peggy lying on the ground lifeless. Laroche told him Peggy had overdosed and she was going to take her away from their house so they would not be involved. Laroche told him to take the kids out for ice cream. He recalled Laroche being gone for approximately 2 ½ hours and then returning home without Peggy. RWJ states that he never saw Peggy again".

Don't want to sound a bore but shouldn't this man be accounted for his lack of taking action.....