RACINE COUNTY, Wis. (SPECTRUM NEWS)-- A break in the case of a woman found dead outside a Racine County farm two decades ago. In 1999 a young woman’s body was found in the Town of Raymond. Her identity remained a mystery until now, along with the name of the woman they believe killed her.
Friday, the Racine County Sheriff’s Office said Peggy Lynn Johnson of McHenry, IL was the woman found in 1999. Johnson was 23 years old at the time of her death.
The District Attorney’s Office has filed charges against Linda Sue La Roche, the woman they say Johnson lived with at the time of her death. La Roche now lives in Florida, but will soon be brought back to Wisconsin where she faces murder charges.
The Racine County Sheriff’s Office says Peggy Lynn Johnson was cognitively impaired. She met La Roche five years before her death when she entered a medical clinic where La Roche worked. According to court documents, Johnson moved in with La Roche, where she endured years of brutal abuse.
For members of the Racine County Sheriff’s Department who have worked for decades to solve this case, it means a lot to finally have answers.
“Over the last 20 years, we have dedicated thousands of investigative hours to bring this heartbreaking murder to its resolution. That day has arrived today.” Said Racine County Sheriff Christopher Schmaling.
Johnson did not have any relatives and was never reported missing. Her mother, father, and brother were all dead by the time she met La Roche at the clinic. Johnson is buried at a cemetery in Caledonia with a grave marked as “Jane Doe”. The sheriff’s office says she will soon be re-buried at a cemetery in Illinois next to her mother.