Johnson sentenced to life for murder, files immediate appeal

Craig Johnson, 48, was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole Tuesday in Cheyenne County district court for the Dec. 11, 2011 murder of April Smith.

During the trial, prosecutors theorized that Johnson killed Smith because of jealousy over her continued relationship with her husband, Ed Smith, from whom she was separated.

“Mr. Johnson is a person that has a very checkered criminal history,” said assistant attorney general Corey O’Brien, who prosecuted the case.

In the past, Johnson showed an ongoing tendency for violence, in addition to his actions in this crime, O’Brien told the court.

“The murder in this case was one that exhibited nothing but the most selfishness,” O’Brien said.

Smith experienced a painful death, he said. She was bound, choked, suffocated and stabbed multiple times before she died.

“This is a man that the maximum sentence was invented for,” O’Brien said.

O’Brien asked the court for not only the required life sentence for the first degree murder charge, but also a significant sentence for the two additional charges of use of a weapon to commit a felony and possession of a deadly weapon. The prosecution asked for the highest sanctions available in order to send the message that the state will not tolerate a murder of this type.

Defense attorney Kelly Breen told the court that he did not think any additional sentence could communicate more clearly to the public how harshly the court views a murder like this one. Extra years for the additional weapons charges added on to the guaranteed life sentence for murder would not make any real difference in Johnson’s imprisonment.

“The gratuitous use of piling on years, I think it’s not an example of anything that’s useful in the judicial system,” Breen said.

He added that his client maintains his innocence.

“Let’s not act like we’re going to do justice by throwing a maximum sentence on top of life,” Breen said.

Most felons would not be prosecuted for possession of a deadly weapon for owning kitchen knives, he said.

“Kitchen knives aren’t deadly weapons unless they’re used as deadly weapons,” Breen said.

Johnson became emotional when he spoke to the court briefly before sentencing.

“I have not been a good person, but I did not kill April Smith,” he said.

Johnson then asked the court for a chance to make an appeal.

“I will try to prove my innocence,” Johnson said.

District court judge Derek Weimer sentenced Johnson to 40-50 years imprisonment for use of a deadly weapon to commit a felony and 10-20 years for possession of a deadly weapon by a prohibited person, to run consecutively with the life sentence for first degree murder.

Before passing the sentence, Weimer spoke to the court about the disturbing nature of this murder.

“She was beaten, she was stabbed and she was ultimately choked to death,” Weimer said.

The victim in this murder was tortured and died painfully, the judge told the court.

“This is as heinous a crime as there can ever be,” Weimer said.

A jury of five men and seven women found Johnson guilty of first degree murder on Dec. 16, 2013 in Cheyenne County district court. The jury deliberated for three hours before coming to a verdict, following a weeklong trial.

Smith and Johnson met at the convenience store where Smith worked as manager in early 2011. Johnson and Smith started dating soon after she and her husband separated in the spring of that year. Johnson moved in with Smith that fall at her Sioux Meadows apartment, eight miles west of Sidney.

Neighbors and friends alleged that Smith and Johnson fought in the weekend before she died because Smith had allowed her husband to fix the brakes on her van. Smith was found in her apartment with her ankles and wrists bound, ligature marks on her neck and multiple stab wounds.

Johnson fled Nebraska in Smith’s van and was found days later in Michigan, where a routine traffic stop turned into a high speed chase.

Breen and Todd Lancaster with the Nebraska Commission on Public Advocacy represented the defense in this case while O’Brien and George Welch, both assistant Nebraska attorneys general and special appointed Cheyenne County attorneys, represented the prosecution.

“The outcome of this case is attributed in large part to the diligent efforts of several law enforcement agencies, including the Cheyenne County Sheriff’s Office, Nebraska State Patrol, Michigan State Patrol and Michigan’s Jackson County Sheriff’s Office,” said Cheyenne County attorney Paul Schaub in a press release. “My thanks also goes out to the Nebraska Attorney General’s Office. Their work was outstanding.”

Johnson filed an appeal immediately following the sentencing.