A western Michigan man has been sentenced to decades in prison after pleading no contest to the 2021 murders of his parents, whose bodies were found buried in a state game area.
A Kalamazoo County judge on Wednesday sentenced Nicholas Johnson to 29 to 69 years in prison. The Portage man must serve at least 29 years before he is eligible for parole, WWMT-TV reported.
Johnson pleaded no contest last month to two counts of second-degree murder in the February 2021 shooting deaths of his parents, Gary Johnson, 65, and Laura Johnson, 64. Authorities said they were killed in their Portage home about 55 miles south of Grand Rapids.
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Nick Johnson’s parents filed a no-contact order against their son after he broke into their home in 2018.
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After Gary Johnson’s employer reported that he had lost his job, police discovered that he and his wife were missing. Their bodies were later found buried in a wooded area in the Gourdneck State Game Area, about three miles from their home.
A medical examiner ruled their deaths a homicide.
Relatives and friends who gave victim impact statements during Wednesday’s sentencing cited Nicholas Johnson’s mental health issues and said his parents were afraid of him.
“It was never if Nick was going to kill them, but when,” said Deborah Ryder, Laura Johnson’s cousin.
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Johnson’s parents had filed a no-contact order against their son after he broke into their home in September 2019, according to court documents. They also had personal protection orders against him, but those expired before they disappeared.
