NC NC - Denise Johnson, 33, Stabbed & House Set on Fire, Outer Banks, Kill Devil Hills, 13 Jul 1997

[CptCari]

If you haven't listened to the newest season of the podcast- you should. There is an interesting connection in both cases that may be very revealing in the investigations to come.

 

[Rabo Karabekian]

Just listened to the whole series on the Denise Johnson murder today.

CO level of 25% is high, definitely had to do with breathing in smoke while there was fire, but I felt like there were a few options neither the podcast nor the third party medical examiner explored. That the full medical examination/autopsy report was not provided to the podcast or accessible to the public via FOI requests may preclude any definitive answers to my questions. Further, it sounded like the body was moved (drug) out of the house by the fire department thereby contaminating the scene and possibly clues as to what really happened.

Most of my questions relate to the timing of death. They took the blood sample from what the podcast's consulting forensic pathologist called a "secondary" source (I believe that was the word) which I recall to be one of the ventricles of the heart. Because it is so close to the lungs, it raised a few questions in my mind. We were told the victim's throat was slit very badly and it was implied that the carotids were both also cut.

1. What is the standard % of CO in a ventricle of a person confirmed to have died from smoke inhalation only? Someone not also bleeding out at the same time.
2. Could the cut to the throat have served as a tracheotomy thus allowing the victim to suck in a lot of oxygen and fire byproducts (and some blood) while bleeding out more slowly than has been hypothesized? It seems like the body/brain would continue trying to breathe and that until death occurred, air would have primarily entered through the giant hole in her trachea along with some blood.
3. What differences are there between primary, secondary and tertiary locations from which to take blood for forensic examination of CO concentration purposes? Is the concentration of CO expected to be higher nearer the lungs? I recall the third party ME saying that a primary (and thus better?) location would be the femoral artery. Would blood CO concentration taken there provide a more realistic picture of how much smoke the victim actually inhaled or how long she was alive after the fires had been burning? I.e., does the fact that the ventricle is much nearer to the lungs mean that a much shorter duration of inhalation of fire byproducts lead to a higher concentration of CO in the blood than if it were taken from a "primary" location?
4. Were the lungs and trachea examined for the presence of inhaled blood? I guess we may never know.
5. I guess what I'm getting at is whether it's really that cut and dried that the victim woke up to a house already partly on fire and then had her throat slit after surprising the people who might have been there for her roommate. Wouldn't the perp(s) have also had to breathe in a lot of smoke in order for this to happen in that order? More smoke than the victim, even?

Of course the big question is: Here we are in May of 2021, more than a year after the podcast confirmed that the investigation was no longer considered cold and providing hints that other forensic evidence not previously examined wasn't off the table now. What has happened since? My personal theory: Based on the fact that the only two people who stonewalled and provided zero information when they weren't actively being deceitful were Eric and Theresa (VA Beach). I am guessing the detectives already have very strong suspicions about them, despite Eric's allegation that he passed a "lie detector", but that because 1) The fire department and fire itself really screwed up the crime scene and 2) The original detectives botched the circumstantial and hard evidentiary part of the case so bad, so long ago, that this case is never formally solved until (as was mentioned) someone comes forward with a direct accusation or highly relevant remembered fact that gives authorities "something to hang their hats on" and move forward with charging one or both of them (provided the DA deems the case prosecutable).

 

[ccdigger]

I have managed to figure out the full name of Eric. Does anyone know what Teresa’s last name was?

Can you please message me this name as well. I am actively looking into this case. Best.

 

[ccdigger]

I have managed to figure out the full name of Eric. Does anyone know what Teresa’s last name was?

Can you please message me this name as well. I am actively looking into this case. Best.

 

[ItsComplicated]

Hello fellow Sleuthers interested in this case in particular! I’m curious as to why the Stacey Stanton case ~ which COULD be related to Denise’s case in some way(s), according to Delia D’Ambra’s work from the CounterClock podcast ~ does not have it’s own the thread. I have looked and I haven’t seen it. Let me know if I’m overlooking it. If there is not already a thread for Stacey Stanton, should I initiate?

 

[katvina]

I have managed to figure out the full name of Eric. Does anyone know what Teresa’s last name was?

what is his last name?

 

[Abraham12/20/68]

In the first season of "Counter Clock" the clerk at the gas station refers to a tall blond that follows Denise around the store. She says that she sees her around sometimes and often wears a memorable american flag bathing suit. I would think that people in there lives at the time would remember if Theresa often wore a similar bathing suit.

Also during the podcast I don't recall them directly addressing why Denise was naked or where her clothes were located. Did she sleep nude? where there clothes of hers near her body etc. That could speak to the profile of the killer.

 

[Abraham12/20/68]

Also I know this isn't Denise but when it comes to Stacey Stanton, isn't it ironic that the suspect "Mike" tries to borrow a friends pickup that day before anyone knows that she is dead. Makes you wonder what he was hoping to use that for

 

[Jayniv02]

I have managed to figure out the full name of Eric. Does anyone know what Teresa’s last name was?

Did we ever find this out? If so if someone could private message me, I would like to do some digging around.

 

[CastlesBurning]

New lead appears in Denise Johnson cold case 26 years after her murder - The Coastland Times