Forensic Files - Season 4, Episode 9 - Accident or Murder? - Full Episode | Forensic Files

and then what are you going to do on the morning of february 20th 1989 something
terrible happened to janice johnson a 35 year old housewife and mother of two children uh claire i gotta go i'll talk
to you later okay [Music] the investigation into that morning's event would raise questions that persist
to this day [Music] so [Music] 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
eleven-year-old darla and nine-year-old dawn we had two lovely girls and you know
perfect very less concerned we were always together like even asking anybody around the community whenever they seen
us we were the four of us we always together very very rarely we ever went anywhere
individually clayton was an industrial arts teacher at the local high school janice was a homemaker
the johnsons were 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 that she
didn't like to just sit around and do nothing so we were always busy doing something
um and like we never went anywhere without doing it as a family the morning of february 20th 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 moments later the telephone rang clayton answered on the basement extension
[Music] and told her i was going to give her a kiss goodbye and i clayton then left for work stopping
along the way at a local gas station [Music] a few minutes later a neighbor stopped by the johnson's 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 when i first seen her i didn't recognize
her because of like all the tubes and and swelling so i got and i'd look almost twice to realize it was her and
it's just just one of those things i want to see every day 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 ever
seen my father cry my first reaction was that it wasn't it wasn't real like you want to believe it didn't happen
that's one of the hardest things i've ever done in my life is to tell the two girls that their mother passed away
[Music] 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 [Music] 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 described the bloodstains they said there was a small blood stain
on the floor at the bottom of the steps and the blood stain with bloody hair on the concrete wall next to the third step
[Applause] this recreation 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 five and a half 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 you think so i don't know well you better look for me
claire thompson said they'd talk for 10 minutes and that the call ended around 7
15. oh sure okay witnesses saw clayton johnson at the gas station at the same time
[Music] a minute or two later a neighbor found janus 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 have passed
that clayton really made what might be called a dreadful mistake clayton johnson's mistake
was to fall in love soon after janice's death clayton started dating and later married
22 year old tina waybritt 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 janus 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
non-payment and pretty soon uh fact became confused with rumor rumor was fact and the more people talked the more
people wondered whether this lovable teddy bear clayton johnson was a wife killer
so police decided to reopen their investigation into janice johnson's death [Music]
homicide investigators went back to re-interview the woman 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 murder 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 monies that
he collected he was in trial for this new girlfriend that he that he that he had lived move in with him
clayton johnson was found guilty of first degree murder and was sentenced to life in prison
i don't know how yet i stood up i could feel my knees and everything get weak and i took all my power was just keep
standing up not falling down just it was a shock i'll tell you have you ever felt like
you were reading a book it's what it seemed like it didn't seem like it was it could be happening in my life
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 the in canada that is in the united
states and in england very often probably as often as 40 to 50 of the time a bad science has played a significant
role in a wrongful conviction but the first thing lockyer noticed wasn't just questionable science
it was a problem with the timeline 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. sure she said the call with janice lasted 10 minutes until about 7 50.
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 kill his wife
uh 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 of killed his wife was in my view completely ridiculous
blood spatter expert herb mcdonald was also skeptical he believes that the witnesses 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 blood stain 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 another story that changed was claire
thompson's in her original statement she said she called janice around 7 40 and that the
call lasted 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 murdered 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 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 assault 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 the 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 an awful lot of the misinterpretation
that occurred in this case 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
[Music] 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 ballgame versus your change of life style the whole thing you know it's
it's a rude awakening johnson's team of forensic experts did not believe that his wife's injuries
were consistent with the bludgeoning death and they did not think that she had fallen forwards
as was originally reported they believed that janus 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
mcdonnell but after studying the case file mcdonnell 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 lockher and advise him that i
just i could not do my recreation and i've done many of these reconstructions or recreations if you like
i was very disappointed and i told him i was about to tell him that i 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 look at me way up high suddenly here am i i'm flying in the production of the
musical peter pan various characters fly across the stage in a harness mcdonald called the high school
borrowed the transom and the operator and hired a model the same height and weight as janice johnson
mcdonnell 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 [Music] 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 janet
johnson occurred over her right here it's remarkable when you see it because the blue marks appear
on the model's head exactly where the injuries are found on janus's left and right temples
james lochter believes that janice johnson was still on the telephone when clayton was at the gas station
and that the call ended at 7 50 just as her neighbor was arriving at the house uh you know i've gotta go i'll talk to
you later [Music] she grabbed her car keys ran up the steps and lost her footing
[Music] as she fell backwards her head became wedged in the five and a half 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 just very happy back with my family 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 and i just want to get back with my
family i'm really happy right now because that means my dad's actually going to see me graduate
i've got my father back in my life although authorities have made no final decisions about the case and there's
always the chance of a re-trial many believe it will simply be dismissed for a crime forensic experts say didn't
happen six years in prison is enough that's quite right indeed clayton johnson wasn't convicted of a
murder that he didn't commit he was convicted of a murder 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 whilst giving us all a different opinion
as far as you know the justice system is concerned because i mean i've always been brought
up right from the time i could walk around that you know the police were your friend that you held them on a
certain level and just after going through this it makes you think twice [Music]
[Music] [Applause] [Music] you

Janice Johnson was found dead at the foot of her basement stairs. Police in Nova Scotia had to unravel the circumstances surrounding Janice's death and answer the question: Was it an accident or murder?

Forensic Files is the longest-running true crime series in television history. Evidence and interviews with experts help solve real crimes, disease outbreaks and accidents around the world.

Brief Summary

The episode details Janice Johnson's death, Clayton's wrongful conviction, and his eventual exoneration after new evidence emerged.

Key points

The Tragic Death of Janice Johnson. On February 20, 1989, Janice Johnson suffered a fatal accident that shocked her family and community.
Clayton Johnson's Arrest. After a reopened investigation, Clayton Johnson was arrested and charged with first-degree murder.
Exoneration After Six Years. New evidence led to the release of Clayton Johnson after spending six years in prison.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

I think it was the first time I ever seen my father cry.

Reflecting on the moment of loss.

4:14WatchNov 4, 2021

Tension

75/ 100High tension

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