Blood on the Door

Summary

Blood on the Door – A Detailed Summary of 20/20’s "Blood on the Door"

Introduction

The "Blood on the Door" episode of ABC News' acclaimed true crime podcast, 20/20, delves into the tragic and unresolved murder of 21-year-old Johnna Berry. Released on May 17, 2025, this episode meticulously chronicles the harrowing events of December 6th, the subsequent investigation, and the enduring quest for justice by Johnna's grieving family.

Case Overview

On the early morning of December 6th, Johnna Berry and her roommate, Jason Amami, were brutally attacked in their Brendan Park Apartments in Knoxville. The assault left Johnna dead and Jason severely injured but alive. The following narrative explores the chaos of that night, the forensic evidence uncovered, and the relentless pursuit to identify and apprehend the perpetrator.

The Night of the Crime

At approximately 4:15 am, amidst a particularly windy night with minimal police activity, Jason Amami was awakened by Johnna's screams. Believing she was having a nightmare, Jason initially thought to check on her, but the situation quickly escalated.

Jason Amami [00:38]: "He just kept stabbing and stabbing. I remember trying to defend myself like this with my hands. And that's where I got the cuts on my hands."

Jason confronted an assailant in the hallway, resulting in multiple stab wounds to himself before he managed to escape the apartment complex, seeking help at a nearby convenience store.

Immediate Aftermath and Initial Response

Officer Dinah Kidd of the Knox County Sheriff's Department responded to the emergency call from Weigels Convenience Store. Upon arrival, she found Johnna Berry mortally wounded in the apartment.

Officer Dinah Kidd [05:16]: "When the call came out, we then went to the apartment complex to check on the girl and kind of see what we could find there."

Despite efforts to save her, Johnna succumbed to her injuries en route to the hospital. The crime scene was a testament to a violent struggle, with blood traces in every room and a broken knife lying nearby.

Investigation and Key Evidence

Detectives were immediately thrust into a complex case with scant clues. The lack of forced entry suggested that the assailant may have had access to the apartment, raising suspicions about individuals close to Johnna.

Detective [23:07]: "Stabbed so many times. You think this is personal. This is someone who wanted her dead."

Key pieces of evidence included:

• Shoe Print: A blood-soaked shoe print found on a piece of cardboard in the apartment was a potential lead. Forensic analysis linked the tread pattern to a specific type of shoe sold at Walmart, narrowing down suspects.

Johnna's Roommate [22:19]: "There was a very pronounced shoe print and what stood out about the shoe print the most is that it was in blood."

• DNA Evidence: Multiple DNA samples were collected from the scene, including an unknown male's DNA on the knife and in various locations within the apartment.

Detective [21:41]: "There was an unknown DNA that was found on the knife."

Suspects: The Two Jasons

The investigation initially focused on two individuals named Jason in Johnna’s life:

1. Jason White: Johnna’s fiancé, a law student in Michigan. He was quickly cleared of suspicion due to corroborated alibis supported by his cell phone records.

Johnna's Mother [26:34]: "No, there was no suspicions in my mind. I had never crossed my mind that Jason White ever did that."

2. Jason Amami: Johnna’s roommate and final witness to the attack. Although he survived, his account raised questions about his potential involvement or knowledge of the assailant.

Detective [30:51]: "Could he have gotten the knife and used it to commit this crime?"

Jason Amami was initially regarded as a victim but later came under scrutiny due to inconsistencies in his statements and the nature of the evidence.

Breakthrough and Missteps

Years of investigation yielded few results until DNA evidence pointed to Michael Percival. However, his confession was inconsistent with known details, leading to another dead end.

Detective [52:07]: "Those were not the shoes. This was another dead end."

Subsequent efforts focused back on Jason Amami, who underwent polygraph tests that initially suggested deceit but were later deemed inconclusive due to errors in administration.

Taylor Olson: The Final Suspect

A significant breakthrough occurred nearly three years after the crime when Taylor Olson became a person of interest. His DNA matched the unknown samples found at the scene, leading to his arrest.

Detective [64:37]: "Taylor Lee Olson is 22 years old. He lived about 15 minutes from the crime scene, and he was known to have committed some petty crimes, also harassment, theft."

Olson confessed under intense interrogation but maintained that the stabbing was accidental. Tragically, before he could stand trial, Olson died by suicide in his jail cell, leaving lingering doubts and unanswered questions surrounding the case.

Detective [77:44]: "They finally are getting a suspect in this case."

Aftermath and Legacy

The unresolved nature of the case spurred Johnna’s mother, Joan Berry, to advocate for stricter DNA collection laws in Tennessee, known as the Jonna Berry Act. This legislation mandates DNA collection for all individuals arrested for violent crimes, aiming to prevent similar cases from going unsolved.

Johnna's Mother [61:11]: "I want to know who did this to Johnna. We need answers."

Her relentless pursuit not only honored Johnna’s memory but also contributed to systemic changes benefiting other victims seeking justice.

Emotional Perspectives

Throughout the episode, interviews with Joan Berry provide a poignant glimpse into the family's anguish and resilience.

Joan Berry [35:04]: "When we got to the cemetery, it was raining and Jonna was buried in her engagement ring."

Jason Amami's perspective adds complexity, highlighting the psychological toll and public scrutiny he endured, despite being cleared of direct involvement.

Jason Amami [53:55]: "I have told you the 100% truth."

Conclusion

"Blood on the Door" is a heart-wrenching exploration of loss, investigation, and the quest for closure. It underscores the profound impact of violent crime on families and communities while highlighting the critical role of forensic evidence in the pursuit of justice. Despite the eventual identification of a suspect, the untimely death of Taylor Olson leaves a haunting reminder of the fragility of truth and the enduring pain of unresolved grief.

Notable Quotes Summary

• Joan Berry: "She is my pride and joy. She looked beautiful in her wedding gown." [83:09]
• Detective: "Blood is on the doorknob, Blood is on the floor, blood is on the door." [19:05]
• Jason Amami: "He just kept stabbing and stabbing." [00:38]
• Forensic Expert: "Stabbed so many times. You think this is personal. This is someone who wanted her dead." [07:27]

Final Thoughts

This episode masterfully weaves together personal testimonies, forensic analysis, and investigative journalism to present a comprehensive narrative of Johnna Berry's tragic murder. For listeners unfamiliar with the case, "Blood on the Door" offers a compelling and emotionally charged account of one family's fight for justice amidst the complexities of a perplexing criminal investigation.

Transcript

[Ryan Reynolds]

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[Ryan Reynolds]

He just kept stabbing and stabbing. I remember trying to defend myself like this with my hands. And that's where I got the cuts on my hands.

[Detective]

Jason was confronted by the assailant. Someone came into their apartment, had assaulted him and his roommate.

[Forensic Expert]

Because she was stabbed so many times. You think this is personal. This is someone who wanted her dead.

[Narrator]

When you go into her apartment, what is the scene like?

[Officer Dinah Kidd]

You could tell that there was a struggle in there. She fought hard.

[Johnna's Roommate]

Johnna went door to door trying to get assistance.

[Johnna's Mother]

At one point I was praying it wasn't hurt.

[Narrator]

They had made a mistake. Now revisiting the scene of a nightmare.

[Ryan Reynolds]

He pushed me back this way and I fell on the bed like this. I took off and I ra as fast as I could this way.

[Narrator]

Did it trouble you that he ran away from the scene to get help instead of trying somehow to help her?

[Detective]

He's scared. He wants to get away.

[Narrator]

So he ran from here over this way to the convenience store.

[Ryan Reynolds]

I didn't have anything to do with this. If I had something to hide, why would I take this test? 8781.

[Detective]

I believe that's next to Warren House.

[Officer Dinah Kidd]

I'm Officer Dinah Kidd. I work for the Knox County Sheriff's Department. It was around 4:15am on the night of December 6th. It was real windy that night. We didn't have a lot of calls coming in. We felt like we were wrapping up our night because it was only a couple more hours till we'd get off.8791. And then we get the dispatch call that says there's a young man that had ran to the Weigels 1080 with the victim.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Just occurred at Weigels.

[Johnna's Roommate]

328 North Cedar Bluff 9.

[Officer Dinah Kidd]

Standby for a base.

[Narrator]

It's early morning in December when the clerk inside this convenience store gets a startling visitor. A a young man who's bloody, pleading for help. He's barefoot and appears to have been seriously injured.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Knox County 911. Yes, Cedar Bluff Road. There's a man that just walked in the store. He was heavily bloodied. He's bent. Looks like he's been in a fight.

[Officer Dinah Kidd]

A gentleman had called in from the Weigels on Cedar Bluff and stated that he had been attacked.

[Johnna's Roommate]

When he ran up to the Weigels, he had blood all over his clothing. As he entered into the gas station. He had a stab wound to his face. He had cuts on his hands. He was stabbed in the chest. So he did have obvious signs of trauma on his body.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Does he need an ambulance? Yeah, that's what he said. Okay. Can I talk to him, please? Sure, sure. All right. What's your name?

[Officer Dinah Kidd]

Jason.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Am Jason. Now what happened? I just felt somebody stab me right in my chest. Somebody stabbed you? In my face.

[Detective]

And that's the first thing I did.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Was get up and run.

[Officer Dinah Kidd]

He'd heard some noise. He came outside. He came out into the hallway and he had seen someone in the hallway, which then came to him and attacked him. He eventually got away from the attacker and Jason had ran out the door.

[Detective]

He had on clothing that he was sleeping, which was just a pair of shorts.

[Johnna's Roommate]

He had left so abruptly that he didn't even take time to get his glasses or his shoes before leaving the apartment. He just ran out as quickly as possible to flee and get help.

[Narrator]

And while Jason Amamy tells the clerk that he was able to get away, shockingly, he says he wasn't alone in that apartment.

[Ryan Reynolds]

His roommate's still in there. Apparently somebody broke into his house. Is his roommate okay? He doesn't know how. Is he okay? She was screaming very loud. Now, where's your address at rdora R H O D O R A R H O Park.

[Officer Dinah Kidd]

When the call came out, we then went to the apartment complex to check on the girl and kind of see what we could find there.

[Narrator]

21 year old Johnna Berry is barely clinging to life.

[Detective]

They found Jonna laying just inside an entranceway. She was face down and had multiple wounds to her body.

[Narrator]

You were one of the first responders here?

[Officer Dinah Kidd]

Yes, ma' am.

[Narrator]

What do you remember about Johnna be? What kind of shape was she in?

[Officer Dinah Kidd]

She was not in good shape. As soon as you opened the door, she was laying in the corridor at the bottom of the steps. Her apartment was at the top of the steps. And she was covered in blood. That it was her hair. She's got beautiful blonde hair. And it stuck with me because at the time, I thought she might have red hair because there was so much.

[Detective]

Blood, just kind of moaning, making a few sounds, but was unable to talk due to her injuries.

[Johnna's Roommate]

She did have a very large wound on her neck. She also had multiple stab wounds across her body.

[Detective]

Over 25 wounds to her body.

[Johnna's Roommate]

It was very obvious that Johnna had been in a fight for her life and that it was a very violent struggle.

[Detective]

For me, it was one of the worst crime scenes that I have been involved in since being in law enforcement.

[Narrator]

When you go into her apartment, what is the scene like?

[Officer Dinah Kidd]

When we go up the steps and go into the apartment looking for the suspect or anybody else that's injured. The knife was in the floor and it was. It had blood on it, hair on it, and it was bent.

[Johnna's Roommate]

There were six units in the apartment building. There was blood on each of the doors within the six units. And we could tell from that Johnna was the person who went door to door trying to get assistance.

[Forensic Expert]

It's four o'clock in the morning. It's not the middle of the night per se.

[Detective]

One individual thought someone was breaking into his apartment. We call 911-KNOX-COME.

[Officer Dinah Kidd]

911.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Yeah. We hear a lot of noise outside my apartment. There was a lot of banging on the doors back down the stairs. Now I hear some sort of yelling, something.

[Johnna's Mother]

I don't know where it is. Going out.

[Detective]

He looked out his peephole of his door.

[Officer Dinah Kidd]

Do you see anybody outside?

[Ryan Reynolds]

I look after you.

[Narrator]

Critique holding up.

[Officer Dinah Kidd]

What's your name? This hung up on me.

[Johnna's Roommate]

He didn't see anyone.

[Forensic Expert]

It's because Jonna was crumpled on the ground below that peephole. Absolutely heartbreaking.

[Johnna's Roommate]

Unfortunately, the call dropped and there was no other activity.

[Officer Dinah Kidd]

Everything we have once the residence was cleared and we noticed there was no one else injured in the apartment, we go back down the stairs. I go back to her. So I leaned down and was talking to her, asking her if she knew who done this, if she knew where they went. I was just asking her all kinds of questions. Try to help us find out who done this and what had happened. She would move around a bit, but she couldn't answer me. So by this time I just kind of held her hand and waited on EMS to arrive.

[Narrator]

That night, two young people come face to face with an intruder. Jason manages to escape, but Jonna, who was too injured to speak, did not.

[Forensic Expert]

We were wondering what. What led to this horrific tragedy.

[Narrator]

The attacker has vanished, the motive unknown.

[Forensic Expert]

Are our children safe? Are we safe there? We had no idea who did this.

[Narrator]

Police Launch a full scale manhunt across the Knoxville community. Inside that foyer, Jona Berry is still alive, brutally wounded and struggling to hold on.

[Officer Dinah Kidd]

I just held her hand and waited on EMS to arrive.

[Johnna's Roommate]

I remember distinctly that it was raining when I got to the scene.

[Narrator]

Jona dies in the ambulance, her fight ending before she ever reaches the hospital. What do you think that may have meant to her or to you, to even just be there to comfort her?

[Officer Dinah Kidd]

I hope it helped her and to me would mean a lot if that was my child.

[Johnna's Mother]

It was 4am in the morning on December 6th. We got a phone call from Knoxville, Utah hospital. The gentleman on the other end of the phone, he asked to speak to Mike, which was very unusual because nobody called my cell phone and asked to speak with my husband.

[Ryan Reynolds]

She handed me the phone and somebody on there said, are you Michael Berry? And I said, yes. Do you have a daughter, Johnna? And I said, yes, just let you know your daughter was murdered.

[Johnna's Mother]

I heard him say, john has been murdered. At one point I was praying it.

[Narrator]

Wasn'T her, they had made a mistake.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Yeah.

[Johnna's Mother]

My youngest son lives here. So I called him and I said hysterically, it's Johnna. Something's happened. You need to get to ut.

[Narrator]

This had to be a nightmare for everybody.

[Johnna's Mother]

It was. It rained all the way. It was like the angels just crying.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Just something that you never forget.

[Narrator]

After nearly four hours on the road, Jonna's parents finally make it to the hospital.

[Johnna's Mother]

When we got there, my youngest son was in the parking lot. He said, it's true, Mama, it's Jonny.

[Narrator]

Did you have any idea what happened at that moment?

[Johnna's Mother]

No. And the boys identified her body, which was very upsetting to me.

[Narrator]

She was in bad shape.

[Johnna's Mother]

Yes. I wish that I could spare them the heartache and the memory that they'll have forever.

[Officer Dinah Kidd]

John, a smile for the camera, girl. Holy cow.

[Narrator]

Jonna grew up in a tight knit family in Bristol, Tennessee. Take me back. Tell me what kind of a little child she was.

[Johnna's Mother]

Jonna was a very happy child. She was very ambitious. She did dance and cheerleading.

[Narrator]

Two older brothers.

[Johnna's Mother]

She had two older brothers. They were very protective of her.

[Narrator]

You had a beauty salon and. And I imagine she was running around.

[Johnna's Mother]

Yes. She would get a manicure. I polished her little nails. She always wanted makeup on and her hair done. She was my best friend.

[Narrator]

She was your best friend? She was. After high school, Jona heads off to East Tennessee State University where she gets a degree in child psychology. What was it that she aspired to? What were her aspirations?

[Officer Dinah Kidd]

She wanted to devote her life to children. She wanted to help them in any way she could.

[Narrator]

As Jonna grows older, her dreams for her future grow bigger. And she meets her fiance, Jason White.

[Johnna's Mother]

Jonna got engaged when she was 20.

[Narrator]

Kind of young.

[Johnna's Mother]

It was young, but she knew what she wanted, and she worked hard to get it.

[Narrator]

Jona loves children, and that passion leads her to Knoxville, where she begins working toward a master's degree in child psychology. Most here consider this a safe slice of America. Next to the Tennessee River. About 35 miles away, you'll find Dollywood nestled in the great smoky mountains. She's going to school. She's moving, about to get a new degree. That's a lot.

[Johnna's Mother]

But she was so ambitious. She was constantly on the move.

[Narrator]

How does she go about finding a place to live?

[Johnna's Mother]

She was in the process of looking for an apartment, but we hadn't found the exact thing. So she stayed with a friend from college. She rented a bedroom.

[Narrator]

That friend was Johnna's roommate, Jason Amami.

[Johnna's Mother]

I'd known Jason for a couple years prior when she was in college.

[Narrator]

He was somebody you were familiar with?

[Johnna's Mother]

Yeah, we knew him, and he was a good friend. It was just a temporary thing.

[Narrator]

Were you at all questioning or concerned about Jason Amamaze?

[Johnna's Mother]

Jason was stabbed also. But Johnna's brothers and her dad wondered why Jason didn't help her.

[Narrator]

And police have their own questions. They sit down for the first of several interviews with Emmy.

[Johnna's Roommate]

He was able to explain to us that he woke up in the middle of the night because he heard a scream. Jason knew that Jonna did have nightmares, so at first, he assumed that she could have just been having a nightmare. But as he got up, he noticed that there was a male figure backing out of Jonna's bedroom.

[Detective]

Jason was confronted by the assailant. He was stabbed about six, six to eight times.

[Johnna's Roommate]

At that point, Jason didn't hear any more screams for Johnna. He wasn't sure if she had escaped the apartment or not. He just ran out as quickly as possible.

[Psychologist]

You have an initial reaction to any attack, and that's gonna be fight flight. Freeze.

[Narrator]

To unravel the mystery of Jonaberi's murder, police zero in on a critical piece of evidence found at the scene.

[Forensic Expert]

When officers go inside the apartment, they see so much blood. It's everywhere. Then they see a bloody shoe print.

[Narrator]

A single shoe print soaked in blood. Could this be the clue that unmasks the killer?

[Officer Dinah Kidd]

Jonna was funny, charismatic, intelligent.

[Johnna's Mother]

She just had this aura about her.

[Officer Dinah Kidd]

That just drew people in.

[Johnna's Roommate]

Who would.

[Johnna's Mother]

Want to hurt Somebody that was so pure.

[Narrator]

Christmas was Johnna's favorite time of year, her family says. And just hours before the murder, she and her mom were on the phone talking about picking up gifts for the holidays.

[Johnna's Mother]

I said, I did some Christmas shopping today and she said, oh, I did too. We talked a little more and we said good night and I love you and I'll talk to you tomorrow.

[Forensic Expert]

The night she died, she had been wrapping Christmas gifts for children.

[Johnna's Mother]

Johnna had them separated, you know, in little piles, they said, with the kids names on them.

[Johnna's Roommate]

It just seems so tragic. Right before Christmas.

[Narrator]

Fear gripped the city of Knoxville. A young woman savagely stabbed in her own home and her killer on the loose.

[Forensic Expert]

21 year old Johnna Berry and her roommate were stabbed in their Brendon park apartment.

[Johnna's Roommate]

It really left the community feeling unsettled.

[Forensic Expert]

I'm a news anchor here at WATE in Knoxville and I have covered the Johnna Berry case since the very beginning. This seemed to be a crime. Out of nowhere. There were so many questions and people were wondering, what on earth is going on?

[Narrator]

To this day, Johnna's mom Joan, can't shake the image. Her daughter bleeding, terrified, pounding on doors and nobody answering. When you heard that, she frantically ran asking for help and nobody answered their doors. What did you make of that?

[Johnna's Mother]

It angered me at first. You know, I, I can understand someone not opening the door at 4 o' clock in the morning. You know, I can understand that people don't want to get involved. Why couldn't you be more like Johnna and want to help people? She would have helped anybody.

[Detective]

Some of the folks in the apartment complex possibly could not have heard the knock on the door due to it being in the middle of the night and the bedroom being located so far away from the front door. Some people we learned were not at home.

[Narrator]

Detectives begin a full scale investigation. And there's one thing that is impossible to ignore. The sheer amount of blood in Johnna's apartment. How bloody was this crime scene?

[Detective]

There was blood in not only in Johnna's bedroom, Jason's bedroom, blood in the living room, blood on the back door, blood out the back of the apartment, going down the stairs.

[Forensic Expert]

Blood is on the doorknob, Blood is on the floor, blood is on the door.

[Detective]

Looked like there had been some type of fight in Johnna's bedroom.

[Narrator]

This had been a struggle.

[Officer Dinah Kidd]

Yes, you could tell that there was a struggle in there. You could tell that she fought hard.

[Johnna's Roommate]

Numerous samples of blood were taken from the crime scene. The blood samples were sent to the TBI for analysis. This is the exit that the perpetrator took the night of the crime. We can see that this door is ajar. There's no evidence of a forcible break in.

[Detective]

Detectives wanted to find out was how the person was got into the apartment without no forced entry. Being there was a door left unlocked. Did they have a key? Were they let in?

[Johnna's Roommate]

There was some speculation that Johnna had been on the phone with her fiance and perhaps the excitement of wrapping the gifts and just having these other distractions that she forgot to lock the door.

[Detective]

Could it have been a friend of theirs that was in the apartment? Was it somebody that had gotten upset with Jason or John? So there's a lot of different theories that were being thought about of what could have happened.

[Narrator]

Investigators also discover curious items in the apartment, like a hat and a CD case they believe belonged to the killer.

[Detective]

The Atlanta braves hat, the CD case, All of those things were leading us to believe that someone else possibly had entered the apartment. Since these things did not belong to either one of the occupants of the apartment.

[Johnna's Roommate]

The murder weapon was discovered in the hallway directly outside of Jonna's bedroom.

[Officer Dinah Kidd]

The knife was in the floor, and it had blood on it, hair on it, and it was bent.

[Detective]

The hair that was found on the knife appeared to be from Jonna.

[Johnna's Roommate]

We knew right away that the knife came from inside the home. It was part of a matching set that was from the kitchen. What stood out to me the most about the weapon is how damaged it was. The handle was broken, the blade was bent. I could only assume that it had hit bone, that it was used multiple times. It was very violent, just given the force to break the handle.

[Narrator]

While the murder weapon reveals a violent struggle, there's a single piece of evidence left on the blade which might point to the hand that held it.

[Detective]

There was a partial fingerprint that was found on the knife. There was an unknown DNA that was found on the knife.

[Narrator]

Now, that's gotta be important because now that's gonna be something that's gonna lead you to somebody.

[Detective]

Oh, yes, Very, very important. If we can match a fingerprint or a partial fingerprint to someone that would help. Our guys photographed it, sent that off to the lab to see if they would be able to get the fingerprint off of there and see if it was in any kind of system or database that they had.

[Narrator]

But police aren't finished yet. In Jason's room, they discover a piece of cardboard, and on it a damning piece of evidence.

[Johnna's Roommate]

There was a very pronounced shoe print and what stood out about the shoe print the most is that it was in blood.

[Narrator]

Detectives also take note of the shocking number of times that Jona was stabbed.

[Johnna's Roommate]

Johnna's autopsy revealed that she suffered over 20 stab wounds, some of them to her neck, head, and face, as well as her chest, back, and legs.

[Narrator]

She had close to 26 stab wounds.

[Johnna's Roommate]

The nature of the crime was a very intimate, personal crime.

[Detective]

It kind of led to maybe thinking it was somebody that knew her, that had gotten mad at her, maybe a crime of passion. So we were looking at people who were close to her because she was.

[Forensic Expert]

Stabbed so many times. You think this is personal. This is someone who wanted her dead. This had to be someone who knew her.

[Narrator]

And that's when detectives begin looking closely at the two Jasons in Johnna's life. Could one of them know more than he's letting on?

[Johnna's Roommate]

Everything that we learned about Johnna as a person was just that she was an absolute sweetheart. There was nothing that we learned about her that would give us any indication that she had any enemies or was anyone to hurt her.

[Narrator]

Investigators are busy tracking down anybody in town who might have had a connection to Johnna. Despite being in Knoxville for only six short weeks, she was known to quite a few people.

[Johnna's Roommate]

Jona worked at a local hospital, and the individuals she was working with were of troubled youth. And we weren't sure. Would it be possible that one of the patients heard her speaking about her personal life or knew where she lived?

[Narrator]

Jonna also worked part time at a jewelry store in the west town mall, and detectives learned that she had some concerns about a suspicious car.

[Detective]

When she. She left the mall one night, there was a car circling the parking lot. She thought maybe somebody that she had spoken to in the store where she worked maybe was following her. We looked at surveillance video. Never did come up with anything from the mall. As far as the hospital goes, that was sort of a dead end. It never produced any kind of information.

[Johnna's Mother]

Either Johnna had no enemies. Nobody ever accepted expressed being angry with her, or she never had any trouble with anybody. We had no earthly idea of who could have done this.

[Johnna's Roommate]

We really focused mostly on her closest circle. The first people that we wanted to clear from Johnna's murder were Jason, the roommate, and Jason, her fiance at the time.

[Psychologist]

The violent nature of the. The numerosity of the wounds all hinted towards some sort of personal relationship that she may have had with somebody.

[Narrator]

Joan Berry says her daughter met Jason White at a party when they were both students at east Tennessee state university, and the romance moved quickly.

[Johnna's Mother]

We're very fond of Jason. She got engaged at Christmas, and she couldn't wait to show me her ring. She wanted more than anything to be his wife and be a mom and.

[Officer Dinah Kidd]

Raise a child with him and have.

[Johnna's Mother]

Them grow old together. She was so excited to marry him.

[Narrator]

After graduation, Jason moves to Michigan to get his law degree, while Johnna moves to Knoxville to continue her studies.

[Officer Dinah Kidd]

He was in Michigan, and every night she would go to sleep with them, talking. And then when she would go to.

[Narrator]

Sleep is when he would hang up.

[Johnna's Roommate]

In speaking with Jason White, he had explained to us that he talked to Johnna that night.

[Detective]

Detectives learned through his cell phone records that his cell phone appeared to be in Michigan the entire time.

[Johnna's Mother]

No, there was no suspicions in my mind. I had never crossed my mind that John Jason White ever did that.

[Johnna's Roommate]

Very quickly within the investigation, Jason White was cleared as a suspect.

[Narrator]

Police are also interested in talking to the other Jason in Johnna's life, her roommate, Jason Amami.

[Johnna's Roommate]

So how are you doing?

[Ryan Reynolds]

I am doing good.

[Narrator]

Police interview Jason the day after he gets out of the hospital, where he was treated for wounds to his chest, face, and hands.

[Forensic Expert]

Once Johnna's fiance was ruled out, all eyes went to her roommate. And one of the first questions investigators asked him was, do you have a romantic interest in Johnna?

[Johnna's Roommate]

As far as your relationship with Johnna, how long have you known her?

[Ryan Reynolds]

I've known her for probably over five years.

[Narrator]

Did you guys ever date?

[Johnna's Roommate]

No, never.

[Ryan Reynolds]

I was living in Knoxville, and she needed a place to stay, so I said, I'd be happy to let you live with me and it wouldn't be a problem.

[Narrator]

She's got her fiance. This is another guy. What did you make of the arrangement for her to move in with a guy as a roommate?

[Johnna's Mother]

I was fine with that. I'd known Jason for a couple years. He was a boyfriend of one of her good friends, too, so. And even her fiance, Jason White, he didn't have a problem with it.

[Narrator]

He tells Detective Delgado that on the night of the attack, he was watching tv. When Johnna decides to go to bed.

[Ryan Reynolds]

She probably went to sleep about 10:30. I probably went to sleep 12, 12:30 around there.

[Johnna's Roommate]

What do you remember after that?

[Ryan Reynolds]

I just remember hearing waking up, hearing screams. I looked at my alarm clock. I believe all I remember seeing a 4. So probably 4am Sometimes.

[Narrator]

Jason says it's not the first time he's been awakened by Johnna screaming. At night, she sleeps very light.

[Ryan Reynolds]

She told me when she first moved in. She said, you know, if I wake up and I'm scared or something, you know, Just come in and check on me, make sure I'm okay.

[Johnna's Roommate]

At first, he assumed that she could have just been having a nightmare. But as he got up and he was leaving his room to enter her bedroom, he noticed that there was a male figure.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Next thing I remember is I'm on my bed and he's on top of me. I just remember fighting with him. He punched me in my face. I kept telling him. I was like, what do you want? He just kept telling me, shut up. Shut up. And then I felt a sharp pain right here. And that's when I knew he had a knife.

[Detective]

He grabbed the knife to try to get it away from the individual. He kicked the individual in the growing area. The individual went back against the bedroom wall. He saw an opening that he would be able to get out of the bedroom.

[Johnna's Roommate]

At that point, he didn't hear any more screams for Johnna. He wasn't sure if she had escaped the apartment or not. But at that point, he just ran out of the apartment as quickly as possible. You ran out of the apartment.

[Johnna's Mother]

Did you take anything with you?

[Ryan Reynolds]

I didn't even think about it.

[Detective]

What were you wearing?

[Ryan Reynolds]

I was wearing blue. Blue workout shorts, which I wore to the gym, and a pair of boxers.

[Officer Dinah Kidd]

Okay.

[Ryan Reynolds]

And that's all I was wearing. I just ran straight out the door and right across the street, and I was banging on some of the doors.

[Narrator]

At the other complex, investigators zero in on an important point in Jason's story. He came face to face with his attacker, Johnna's killer.

[Johnna's Roommate]

Now, let's just go through what this guy looks like.

[Ryan Reynolds]

He's got short hair, kind of like mine. It's like a brownish blonde color.

[Johnna's Roommate]

He felt confident that he would be able to identify the person, provide a sketch of what this individual looked like. This is Tom. Tom, this is Jason. Tom's going to help you with the composite.

[Narrator]

Using Jason's detailed description of that attacker, police are able to generate a photorealistic computer. Computer composite of their suspect. So he's able to give you some details about what this intruder looked like?

[Detective]

Yes, because he was face to face with that person. So he's really the only living survivor that can give us a description of the individual.

[Narrator]

Despite Jason's cooperation, investigators say they still have lingering questions about Johnna's roommate.

[Psychologist]

There was no forced entry, and I think that that led investigators to probably focused a little bit more on Jason.

[Detective]

Amamib also, you know, we had to look at. The murder weapon came from within the apartment, within their own knife set. So, you know, Jason had access to that. Could he have gotten the knife and used it to commit this crime? Could he have cut his own finger? It'd be pretty hard to stab yourself in the face close to your eye, but we couldn't rule that out.

[Narrator]

Is j Is Jason a victim or a suspect? Investigators take him back to the scene of the crime. Will his story hold up?

[Ryan Reynolds]

He just kept stabbing and stabbing. That's at the point to where I noticed he finally had a knife.

[Johnna's Roommate]

The walkthrough was really important for us. Look for inconsistencies regarding what he was telling us about the scene. What happened that night.

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[Johnna's Mother]

John and I talked about her wedding plans. We looked at several venues. We did purchase the wedding gown, and I'm grateful that Jonah got to experience that in her life.

[Narrator]

Just days ago, Joan Berry was helping her daughter plan a dream wedding. But after Jona's violent murder, her mom is now planning her daughter's funeral.

[Johnna's Mother]

When we got to the cemetery, it was raining and Jonna was buried in her engagement ring. She still had some blood around her cuticles and her fingernails. So I cleaned her nails and that was the last thing I could do for her.

[Officer Dinah Kidd]

She had so many plans for her life and she was going to live life on her own terms. And that was taken from her. Brutally and violently taken from her.

[Narrator]

Her brother was supposed to play the piano.

[Johnna's Mother]

At her wedding.

[Narrator]

At a wedding, right? And now he's playing at her funeral. How does a family switch gears like that?

[Johnna's Mother]

You don't have no choice. We had no choice.

[Narrator]

But there's an unexpected guest at the funeral just 48 hours after he was released from the hospital. Johnna's roommate, Jason Ameme, attends the funeral and so do detectives.

[Psychologist]

There was a lot of chatter about the fact that Jason had run from the scene and leaving Johnna there essentially to die.

[Forensic Expert]

People thought he had to have some kind of role in this because of his actions or inaction.

[Narrator]

Did it trouble you that he ran away from the scene to get help instead of trying somehow to help her?

[Johnna's Mother]

It did for a while, but, you know, after you had a time to process things and really think about it, you know, I thought he was just trying to get out too, you know, because he was attacked.

[Narrator]

Detectives want an exact picture of what happened inside Johnna and Jason's apartment with his detailed play by play, Jason takes them as close as possible to being in that room when the attack happened.

[Detective]

Date is December 9, 2004.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Thomas, 1559.

[Johnna's Roommate]

We had him, like, look around to see if anything was missing, if anything had been stolen or disrupted.

[Psychologist]

There was an Atlanta Braves baseball cap that was found in Johnna's bed that was not there before, was not owned by Johnna, was not owned by Jason Amamy.

[Detective]

The partial shoe print on the cardboard, the Atlanta Braves hat, those things were leading us to believe that someone else possibly had entered the apartment.

[Narrator]

In the sheriff's office video of the walkthrough, you can see that Jason's wounds from the attack are still fresh and visible. Still, he's able to calmly describe the evening's events in great detail.

[Ryan Reynolds]

I came home from the gym and the door was locked. Jonah is sitting right here.

[Johnna's Roommate]

The walkthrough was really important for us to watch his body language, Listen to him look for inconsistencies regarding what he was telling us about the scene, what happened that night.

[Narrator]

He tells police the same story he did in his interview the day of the murder. Jonah went to sleep first. He went to bed around 12:30 and then was awakened around 4:00am I heard.

[Ryan Reynolds]

A scream, but I didn't say a word. My door was totally closed to my room. I woke up just from my sleep here. I remember walking this way.

[Detective]

He says he opened his bedroom door, which was closed. He was confronted by someone.

[Ryan Reynolds]

And he is right there, and I'm still looking down. And I remember doing this and having him face me and grab me like this. And then he pushed me back this way and I fell on the bed like this.

[Psychologist]

At first he was confused. He wasn't sure if he was being punched or being stabbed.

[Ryan Reynolds]

He just kept stabbing and stabbing. And that's at the point to where I noticed he finally had a knife. I remember trying to defend myself like this with my hands. And that's where I got the cuts on my hands.

[Psychologist]

And Jason described pushing them back towards.

[Detective]

The wall of the bedroom.

[Psychologist]

That information was corroborated by blood smear on the drywall.

[Narrator]

Jason says he no longer heard Johnna screaming and didn't know if she had escaped the apartment or not.

[Ryan Reynolds]

I took off and I ran as fast as I could this way.

[Detective]

He said that when he left the apartment, he had to unlock the front door to get out.

[Ryan Reynolds]

And as I ran through here and got the door open, I just ran. I didn't even stop in here. I ran down through here and down these stickers.

[Narrator]

So Johnna's roommate goes running from this apartment complex. What route did he take?

[Detective]

Johnna's apartment is located over this way. So he ran out of the apartment complex. He saw a figure off in the distance. He thought it was the person that was still chasing him or looking for him.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Came this way and looked closer at it, and I saw a figure come from behind this little cabana here and kneel down in between one of these bushes here on the other side of the pool. And it was kind of like somebody going like this.

[Narrator]

After knocking on doors at a neighboring apartment complex, but not getting any help, Jason takes off down the road.

[Psychologist]

I think the biggest information that we got from the walkthrough was he felt like he was being pursued. And you kind of started to understand how and why. He made it all the way to the 24 hour convenience store before he could summon help.

[Ryan Reynolds]

I bolted down to the street and I got behind the car. He started yelling even more. They didn't even stop. I remember going just right next to these bushes here. I remember scaling right about this point right here. And then when I got to the door here, I looked inside, noticed the clerk I got to hear, told him to get help.

[Narrator]

After that minute by minute account that was consistent with his earlier statements, Detectives are now less convinced that Jason could be the killer. But is he telling the full truth?

[Johnna's Roommate]

When Jason was confronted by the polygrapher, he became very upset.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Turn your chair around. Let's talk. Yeah. Your scores were substantial. Tight. Where are my mind at? I have told you the 100% truth.

[Narrator]

And new physical evidence leads to more questions than answers.

[Detective]

There was Johnna's DNA, Jason Amami's DNA, and there was an unknown DNA that was collected.

[Forensic Expert]

They realized there's a third party that was in that room.

[Narrator]

And a twist so wild, not even seasoned investigators could see it coming.

[Johnna's Roommate]

I felt very confident. This has to be her guide.

[Forensic Expert]

Why would anybody want to cop to a crime they didn't commit?

[Narrator]

A family still looking to track down.

[Forensic Expert]

A murderer tonight, nearly three years after.

[Narrator]

Their daughter and ut coed is killed in. What is that like for you as a family to have your daughter murdered and no one arrested for it?

[Johnna's Mother]

That was the only thing on my mind from morning to night. That's all I could think about.

[Forensic Expert]

When it comes to this mother wanting to find answers, she would stop at nothing.

[Johnna's Mother]

You need to know who did this to Johnna. We need answers.

[Detective]

We would follow up with the tips.

[Narrator]

That we would get ruling out suspects.

[Ryan Reynolds]

All I'm trying to tell is the truth, and I'll be Jason, that you haven't told it to, and I've told.

[Officer Dinah Kidd]

You the 100% true.

[Narrator]

And seeing what's left.

[Detective]

There was an unknown DNA that was collected from several locations inside and outside of the apartment.

[Narrator]

Now, that's got to be important because now that's going to be something that's going to lead you to somebody. You get the case of Johnna Barry and you're running samples. Give me an idea of how that works.

[Johnna's Roommate]

There's no other person, literally no other person in the world but you, that could have left that sample.

[Detective]

You know what happened to this girl here in Knoxville. We don't Have a murder every day. When something like this happened to Johnna Barry to kind of shook up the neighborhood.

[Narrator]

Brendan Park Apartments calls itself a peaceful retreat here in West Knoxville. But one early decision morning, that peace was shattered. 21 year old Jona Berry had been brutally stabbed in her own apartment.

[Johnna's Mother]

In a million years, I would never have thought that this would have happened to my daughter.

[Forensic Expert]

21 year old Johnna Berry and her roommate were still in their Brendan park apartment on December 6. The roommate who survived was able to call police. But Johnna didn't make it. And her killer is still on the loose.

[Johnna's Roommate]

Based on the description that Jason gave us, we had a composite sketch made.

[Narrator]

This is who sheriff's investigators are trying to identify. He's in his 20s, about 5ft 8 inches tall, 150 pounds.

[Psychologist]

The thing about the composite, it has some really distinguishing features. Kind of almond shaped eyes, widow's peak, kind of a blunted nose, but a white male.

[Forensic Expert]

If you think you have information that could help the case, you're asked to call the sheriff's office.

[Narrator]

Leads were coming in, but leading nowhere. Meanwhile, Johnna's mom turns her grief into frustration. The weeks go by. No arrest. What is that like for you as a family to have your daughter murdered and no one arrested for it?

[Johnna's Mother]

We called every day. We would call the detectives.

[Forensic Expert]

There was that feeling that detectives in the sheriff's office weren't doing enough, when in reality they were working this every day and there just weren't any answers. Jona Berry's family is still upset over a lack of closure.

[Psychologist]

I can tell you that the two detectives assigned to the case were running nonstop, chasing down leads, going through tip lines. All of those things were happening, but the end result wasn't there.

[Johnna's Roommate]

It was very hard for me not to have an answer for Jonna's parents and speaking with them on a daily basis, letting them know there's nothing new, there's no more leads.

[Johnna's Mother]

I became so worried that it would become a cold case and we would never get answers. I kept it in the media. I did everything that I could.

[Narrator]

You turned your grief into action.

[Johnna's Mother]

I did, I did.

[Narrator]

Yesterday there were at the track in Bristol. Today a church in downtown Knoxville.

[Forensic Expert]

She called me every time she was doing something different. Hey, we're going to put flyers at the the cleaners. Can you come?

[Narrator]

Joan used her own money to put billboards all over town, including a heavily traveled stretch of I40.

[Johnna's Mother]

We had several billboards with Jonah's pictures with a picture of the composite on them and $70,000 reward.

[Johnna's Roommate]

A local grocery store chain had information about seeking help to solve the unsolved murder. On their delivery trucks, we handed out flyers.

[Detective]

Family and volunteers put flyers on cars in the neighborhoods around through there.

[Officer Dinah Kidd]

I don't think I could ever be.

[Johnna's Mother]

As strong as Joan. She wouldn't stop. She digs in and she just goes. That was the only thing on my mind every day from morning to night. That's all I could think about was who would. Who would. Who would kill Jonna?

[Narrator]

While the investigation has made little progress in naming a suspect, things are moving ahead on the forensics front.

[Johnna's Roommate]

Inside Jonna's apartment, there was a very pronounced shoe print in blood.

[Detective]

We ended up seeing, sending off the cardboard that the tread pattern was on. And we got information back from that that this tread appeared to be this type shoe. Faded glory. Most have sold at Walmart.

[Narrator]

The shoe print ID is the most promising evidence so far, leading detectives to their strongest suspect.

[Detective]

We got a tip a few streets over from the apartment complex that an individual had been involved in some crimes, some thefts, and that led us to an individual named Michael Percival. He lived in a trailer park, probably within a few miles of the apartment complex. When we went into the trailer to talk to him, the carpet cleaner was sitting there next to the living room.

[Narrator]

A carpet cleaner isn't necessarily suspicious in and of itself, but what if somebody was using it to clean up blood tracked in on the bottom of their shoe? Detectives, ask Percival if they can look at his shoes.

[Detective]

Detective Delgado retrieved the shoes from Michael Percifal, and she noticed the tread on those being similar to the tread that were found in the apartment. Jason. Amen. She kind of elbowed me and showed me the tread, and we were both kind of like, holy cow, this could really be, you know, the shoes.

[Psychologist]

I saw Captain hall, and he said, we've got him. He still had the shoes. Kevin. He still had the shoes. Everything looked like it was lining up for us. Michael Percival was the individual responsible for Johnna's death.

[Narrator]

But does the shoe fit?

[Detective]

We can't believe what he's saying. You know, it doesn't make any sense.

[Narrator]

And there are more questions for Jason Amamy as his patience wears thin. 100% I have anything to do with this. I'm in a liar.

[Ryan Reynolds]

I am in love.

[Officer Dinah Kidd]

I feel like a substitute.

[Narrator]

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[Johnna's Roommate]

I felt very confident this has to be argai.

[Detective]

Both of us were kind of big eyed.

[Psychologist]

It was just like, we've got it solved. We couldn't believe that he kept the shoes.

[Narrator]

Investigators bring Percival in for an interview. And in a shocking admission, the teenager says he witnessed the murder.

[Johnna's Roommate]

When Michael first admitted to being at Johnna's house, he explained that this was part of a drug deal gone wrong.

[Detective]

He said that he went there with a drug dealer to collect money from John and Jason for drugs that they had purchased. He said that he entered the apartment and. And this individual that he came with was stabbing Johnna and Jason inside the apartment.

[Narrator]

But as detectives keep questioning him, they say his story just isn't adding up.

[Johnna's Roommate]

There was nothing to indicate at all that Jason or Jonna were involved in drugs. So it was very inconsistent with what we knew about the victims.

[Officer Dinah Kidd]

Jonna was never involved in drugs. She was very straight laced.

[Narrator]

Investigators take a closer look at Percival's shoes that they believe might have been at the crime scene.

[Detective]

We sent those off for analysis and the analysis came back it was not an exact match.

[Forensic Expert]

Those were not the shoes. This was another dead end.

[Johnna's Roommate]

Michael Percifal was ultimately cleared.

[Forensic Expert]

Why would anybody want to cop to a crime they didn't commit?

[Detective]

We learned through the investigation that Michael Percival liked attention.

[Narrator]

Now back at square one, investigators are re examining the case.

[Forensic Expert]

There's this one person detectives keep coming back to and it's Johnna's roommate, Jason Amami.

[Narrator]

While evidence such as the CDs, a baseball cap and that bloody shoe print suggest a third person might have been in the apartment. Detectives still have questions. Questions for Jason.

[Johnna's Roommate]

We wanted to 100% make sure that Jason wasn't involved in this in any way, even if there was another person involved, that he didn't let them in.

[Narrator]

So police ask him to take a polygraph test. He agrees, and the test is videotaped.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Are you ready to take the test? Sure. All right. If you would let me pick up my sweatshirt. You. Yeah, if you would.

[Johnna's Roommate]

One of the main reasons that we asked Jason to take a polygraph is just simply to see, like, how cooperative he would be with it.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Do you know for sure who caused the death of Johnna Berry? No. Did you have prior knowledge that the person who stabbed Johnny would be at your apartment that night? No.

[Narrator]

But then things take a sudden turn in the interview room when the polygrapher begins to interrogate Jason.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Jason, listen to me. Yes. You know, I think you're a. You're a smart boy, but you did a part of me on that test. Did I really? You really did. Turn your chair around. Let's talk. Yeah. Why do you think you. Why do you think you failed in test? I was 100% truthful.

[Detective]

The polygrapher basically started interviewing. Interviewing Jason Amee and accusing him of being the killer.

[Ryan Reynolds]

I've been doing this for a long time, and there's something that you have not told me. Did you stab that girl? No, I did not stab her at all. Did you get just angry, perhaps, over something that you said or something that happened there, and you just lashed it out? Never. All I'm trying to determine is the truth, and I'm getting my point, Jason. You haven't told it to me.

[Narrator]

Where am I lying, then?

[Ryan Reynolds]

I have told you the 100% true.

[Johnna's Roommate]

It was the first time we really saw Jason react emotionally in the sense you could tell. He was very angered and offended by the question.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Are you saying I did it? I'm saying it certainly was fine.

[Psychologist]

It was confrontational. The polygrapher was not just asking questions, but was essentially involved in a heated interrogation.

[Narrator]

100% I have anything to do with this.

[Ryan Reynolds]

I don't care what that box says. I voluntarily took this. If I had something to hide, why would I take this test? Why would I get the end? Why would I do this? Calm down. I'm getting mad here. I ain't getting out. Calm down. I feel like a suspect now. Calm down. Calm down.

[Detective]

He's very, very upset. It took a little bit to get him calmed down.

[Narrator]

Police are reviewing Jason's test results when they discover there's an error.

[Detective]

The polygrapher said that he failed the test. When we had two other polygraphers look at the results, they basically said that he passed the test.

[Narrator]

Besides passing the polygraph, detectives also aren't able to link that bloody shoe print or partial fingerprint on the knife to Jason. So he's ultimately cleared.

[Psychologist]

Jason was originally from Colorado, and shortly after, he relocated back to Colorado, Michael.

[Johnna's Mother]

And I traveled to Colorado and visited with him. He answered our questions and had time for us. And I'm sure this has affected Jason, too.

[Narrator]

Jason has not only suffered the trauma of the attack, but he's also facing public scrutiny and innuendo.

[Psychologist]

Jason was a good kid who got caught up in this, in the circumstances of it and made a decision of flight that was involuntary and took a lot of heat and a lot of flack for that and has.

[Narrator]

Weeks after the murder, a new bombshell development. When lab results come back from blood at the crime scene.

[Detective]

There was Johnna's DNA, Jason Amamy's DNA, and there was an unknown DNA inside and outside of the apartment.

[Narrator]

Could this DNA belong to the killer? Detectives are racing to find out.

[Johnna's Mother]

That was the key to getting the.

[Officer Dinah Kidd]

Person that did this.

[Johnna's Mother]

Wow. They're going to be able to find who murdered her.

[Narrator]

I see memories of Johnna everywhere in the house, right?

[Johnna's Mother]

Yes. These are Johnna's little baby shoes.

[Narrator]

They rest here.

[Johnna's Mother]

That's what.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Where.

[Johnna's Mother]

They stay here all the time. Yeah.

[Narrator]

Even though years have gone by since their daughter's murder, this is my pride and joy.

[Johnna's Mother]

I love this.

[Narrator]

In nearly every corner of every room, mementos of Jonna.

[Johnna's Mother]

This is Johnna's room. We call it Johnna's room. And I still have her wedding gown. You still have have her wedding gown after 20 years. This is it.

[Narrator]

That's beautiful. The dress, her wedding gown, all the beading. Oh, look at the train.

[Johnna's Mother]

She looked beautiful in it. Yes. 20 years old. She had picked out a wedding band for Jason, and we bought it. So Jona's dad wears the wedding band. He wears it every day.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Well, still. God, she worked so hard and did so many things. That was a small gesture.

[Johnna's Mother]

I'm glad that she got to experience being engaged and planning a wedding.

[Narrator]

Weeks after Johnna's murder, investigators still don't have a suspect. But then, a break in the case. DNA results have just come in.

[Johnna's Roommate]

There were three DNA samples found at the scene. Jonna's, Jason, and an unknown male perpetrator.

[Detective]

The unknown sample it was found in Jonna's bedroom. It was also found in the living room, and it was found on the back door and outside on the back deck. And we know that they exited out the rear of the apartment because the unknown DNA is not only on the back door, but it leads down the back stairwell. We found no unknown DNA on the front door leading out the front door.

[Narrator]

Detectives also make a key discovery on the murder weapon.

[Detective]

There was an unknown DNA that was found on the knife.

[Narrator]

The race is now on to find out who the DNA belongs to.

[Johnna's Mother]

We thought they're going to be able to find who murdered her.

[Narrator]

But after running that unknown DNA through a law enforcement database, investigators get some disappointing news.

[Detective]

The DNA comes back to us. There's no one in the system that that comes back to.

[Forensic Expert]

They don't know who it belongs.

[Ryan Reynolds]

To.

[Johnna's Roommate]

It seemed unusual to us that a person would commit a crime with such violence if they didn't have some sort of other violent history.

[Narrator]

They ran the DNA. And no match.

[Johnna's Mother]

No match.

[Narrator]

While meeting with investigators, Joan learned something else that shocks her.

[Johnna's Mother]

Tennessee doesn't take DNA if you're arrested for a violent crime, only if you're convicted. I was absolutely shocked, and I even said, wow, well, that needs to be changed.

[Narrator]

And that's exactly what Joan does for more than two years. Hoping it might lead to her daughter's killer, she pushes for a new DNA law.

[Johnna's Mother]

I would go to the capitol and introduce myself and ask them if they would support the DNA law.

[Narrator]

We're talking about any violent crimes such.

[Forensic Expert]

As murder, rape, even robbery.

[Narrator]

Those people arrested would have to submit their DNA.

[Officer Dinah Kidd]

Joan is a fighter, and she rose.

[Johnna's Mother]

Up like a phoenix.

[Detective]

Johnna Berry was her name and her parents. Joan is sitting in the back of the chamber here with me today. Have been on a crusade. Well, a victory today for family and.

[Psychologist]

Friends of murdered UT student Johnna Berry.

[Johnna's Mother]

I think this is a very important bill for every citizen in the state of Tennessee.

[Narrator]

You pushed and pushed, and you got this law passed in Tennessee. You changed the law?

[Johnna's Mother]

Yes, we did.

[Narrator]

Jonna's law.

[Johnna's Mother]

It is. It's called the Jonna Berry act.

[Narrator]

But ironically, even after changing the law, Joan discovers there's still no match with that unknown DNA in her daughter's case. How did you find the strength to keep pushing?

[Johnna's Mother]

And this was most important thing in the world to me to find out who murdered Jonas.

[Forensic Expert]

When it comes to this mother wanting to find answers, she would stop at.

[Narrator]

Nothing to keep her daughter Jonna's name out in the public. Joan goes on national talk shows.

[Forensic Expert]

Joan, what has it been like all.

[Johnna's Mother]

These years, there's no words to explain what we've gone through. She.

[Narrator]

Even those on the Montel Williams show seeking a psychic's help really need to know.

[Johnna's Mother]

We need to know who did this to Jona. We need answers.

[Forensic Expert]

Heartbroken warrior. That's who Joan is.

[Johnna's Mother]

That was my prayer, always to have an answer. And I believed in my heart that God would answer my prayers, even if.

[Narrator]

It took a while.

[Johnna's Mother]

And one day he said, what are you worried about?

[Ryan Reynolds]

It's gonna be okay.

[Johnna's Roommate]

As the investigation into Johnna's murder went on, it really expanded. Thousands of tips came in.

[Detective]

We would follow up with the tips that we would get. Every person that we came in contact with, we asked them to voluntarily commit to a DNA sample.

[Johnna's Roommate]

We looked into any person that we possibly could, but it was just dead end after dead end.

[Narrator]

Then about two and a half years after Jona Berry's death.

[Ryan Reynolds]

So in this lab, we actually have dual purpose.

[Narrator]

A forensic scientist makes a key discovery.

[Ryan Reynolds]

I said, oh, wow, this might be something.

[Detective]

Our chief of detectives called and said that we all needed to get together. He needed to talk to us.

[Johnna's Roommate]

And he's like, get here as soon as you can.

[Forensic Expert]

A family still looking to track down a murderer tonight, nearly three years after their daughter and ut coed is killed in her apartment.

[Narrator]

The main thing that you're going on is DNA evidence.

[Detective]

Yes, we have the unknown DNA. It was really our only connection to the person that was connected to this crime.

[Forensic Expert]

We thought, will we ever have this case solved? Then the case makes a turn. Someone called in a tip after looking at the composite sketch, and they said, that looks like someone I know, and that someone is Taylor Olson.

[Narrator]

Looks very similar.

[Detective]

Yes.

[Forensic Expert]

Taylor Lee Olson is 22 years old. He lived about 15 minutes from the crime scene, and he was known to have committed some petty crimes, also harassment, theft.

[Detective]

He also had an outstanding warrant for his arrest out of another jurisdiction. We arrested him, asked him about the crime.

[Narrator]

Does he present in any way at all to you that he might have a connection to this?

[Detective]

He said that he didn't know anything about the crime. He voluntarily gave us his DNA.

[Johnna's Roommate]

Given that Taylor Olson only had smaller petty crimes, he didn't really fit the profile of who we were looking for.

[Detective]

We just thought, hey, you know, this is just another person that looks like the composite sketch.

[Narrator]

Olson's DNA is then sent to a lab to compare it to the unknown DNA found at the crime scene.

[Forensic Expert]

It comes back. It is a match to the blood of that unknown person found at the crime scene.

[Johnna's Mother]

So in this lab, we actually have dual.

[Narrator]

Jennifer Millsaps, the forensic scientist at the lab, made the match.

[Johnna's Mother]

I looked at it a couple times.

[Johnna's Roommate]

I wasn't too sure.

[Ryan Reynolds]

I wanted to make sure that it.

[Narrator]

Actually was a match, and I hadn't confused something, so we actually ran it.

[Johnna's Roommate]

Twice to verify it.

[Narrator]

That must have been a big moment.

[Johnna's Roommate]

Oh, yeah, it was. Huge. Amazing. Probably one of the happiest moments of my life.

[Detective]

We were all very excited, high fiving each other, celebrating, gave Brad a big.

[Johnna's Roommate]

Hug or something, because we just. We couldn't believe it finally happened.

[Narrator]

You get a phone call, there's a match.

[Johnna's Mother]

I couldn't believe what I was hearing, so I said, I want to put you on the speakerphone, because I wanted Mike to hear, too, because I didn't trust what I was hearing. It was the blessing that God had answered my prayer.

[Detective]

So when we come back to town, we learn that Taylor Olson has a couple more outstanding warrants for his arrest, a burglary and a theft.

[Narrator]

At that time, detectives don't have a warrant to arrest him for murder.

[Detective]

So we go into mode of looking for him and trying to locate him on those arrest warrants.

[Psychologist]

He was found, ironically, in the mall where Johnna worked. In the parking lot of the mall.

[Detective]

He was inside the trunk of a car. He was trying to hide from the officers, so we took him into custody.

[Narrator]

You had your suspect?

[Detective]

We had a suspect. We wanted to give him an opportunity to explain why his DNA or his blood was found there in the crime scene.

[Ryan Reynolds]

What's up, Taylor? How you doing?

[Johnna's Roommate]

It was very important to us that he didn't have any upfront knowledge that we were going to talk to him about Johnna or the DNA.

[Detective]

Do you know why you're here? Pretty much what for.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Guys have accused me of breaking into his house and stealing a bunch of steel.

[Detective]

Had you ever heard about the Johnna Berry homicide case before?

[Ryan Reynolds]

Mm.

[Detective]

So you'd never seen Johnna Berry before, like, in person?

[Ryan Reynolds]

Yeah. No, I never met her.

[Narrator]

Detectives decide to confront Olson with the DNA evidence.

[Detective]

After I sent your sample off to the TBI lab, they got us a report back. It's a match for your DNA being in Johnna Berry's apartment.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Is this a joke? No. Like, I really don't know anything.

[Detective]

Like, trust me, it's not a joke. Is there any reason that you can expect explain your blood being in Johnny Berry's apartment?

[Ryan Reynolds]

My blood was in Johnna Berry's apartment. Right. You're serious? Yeah.

[Johnna's Roommate]

He was very adamant that he was not there. He denied any Involvement.

[Ryan Reynolds]

You think I killed someone?

[Detective]

I'm just talking about the evidence is.

[Ryan Reynolds]

What I'm talking about. I've never killed anyone.

[Detective]

We knew he was there, of course, because of the blood, his DNA being there. So we're here to give you an opportunity, okay, to, you know, tell us what happened, why you were there, and why your blood was there.

[Ryan Reynolds]

I have never been there. I ain't no killer. I haven't killed no one. I've never killed anybody. No.

[Johnna's Roommate]

There was no doubt in my mind at that point that this was the person that we'd been looking for. We have your blood there.

[Ryan Reynolds]

So I'm pretty much, huh.

[Detective]

We're giving you the opportunity to explain.

[Ryan Reynolds]

I don't have an explanation.

[Detective]

Finally, you know, we were just like, hey, he's just going to keep going and going with this story and nothing's ever going to change.

[Johnna's Roommate]

It almost seemed like he thought that he was going to get away with it.

[Narrator]

Olson is questioned three days in a row, and on the final day, investigators are about to make a breakthrough.

[Detective]

I've been sitting out here in the hallway listening to this that you're talking about, and I'm just about sick of it. Why did you do this to this girl?

[Forensic Expert]

And finally he said, okay, I was there.

[Ryan Reynolds]

I can't believe this happened.

[Detective]

You got the knife away from that person, went kind of crazy.

[Narrator]

Starting a business can seem like a daunting task unless you have a partner like Shopify. They have the tools you need to.

[Johnna's Roommate]

Start and grow your business.

[Narrator]

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[Psychologist]

Nicole Kidman returns for The Hulu Original Nine Perfect Strangers Season 2.

[Johnna's Roommate]

Breathe in.

[Narrator]

Breathe out.

[Ryan Reynolds]

This is safe.

[Narrator]

We take you back to a core trauma.

[Forensic Expert]

Breathe in.

[Johnna's Mother]

Breathe out.

[Narrator]

She is manipulating us.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Breathe in.

[Johnna's Roommate]

Breathe.

[Johnna's Mother]

Why are you resisting?

[Narrator]

Is it too late to get a refund?

[Ryan Reynolds]

The all new season of Nine Perfect Strangers is now streaming on Hulu and.

[Psychologist]

Hulu and Disney plus new episodes May 21st.

[Narrator]

Come see you, Nacho.

[Ryan Reynolds]

You want both three?

[Narrator]

Yeah.

[Johnna's Roommate]

This is your opportunity to tell because this is your last chance. Your last chance to get your voice out there. You tell your side of it. We already know her side.

[Narrator]

On his third day of taped interrogation, Taylor Olson continues To deny any knowledge of Jona Berry's murder.

[Johnna's Roommate]

Why don't you tell me what happened when you were inside?

[Ryan Reynolds]

I don't know.

[Johnna's Roommate]

He would just say, I don't have an explanation. Don't have an explanation. So finally we just said, like, enough's enough.

[Detective]

Taylor, I've been sitting out here in the hallway listening to this you're talking about, and I'm just about sick of it. You know what happened to this girl? Look at this. You were there. You know what happened to her. We know you were there. The evidence shows you were there. Why did you do this to this girl?

[Ryan Reynolds]

I. Oh, my God.

[Detective]

Why'd you do that?

[Johnna's Roommate]

And that's when you really saw Taylor change. Like once he saw the crime scene photo. This is what happened. This is what you did. Like you need to talk about this.

[Narrator]

Finally, with evidence of the crime staring him right in the face, Taylor Olson began sharing his own account of the night of the murder.

[Ryan Reynolds]

I just didn't understand what happened. I just did you have blood on you.

[Detective]

Were you cut?

[Ryan Reynolds]

I don't remember if I was cut.

[Narrator]

Eventually, more details begin trickling in. As Olson says, he was out that night with a friend named Noah Cox.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Me and Noah went out and jacked a CD player out of a car, and we kind of got lost from each other. Someone came out and we were breaking into cars and yelled at us, ran off.

[Narrator]

I don't know where the hell he was now. Wandering around on his own. Olson says he suddenly found himself outside Jonna's apartment.

[Detective]

He says he goes up back steps of Jonna and Jason Amami's apartment.

[Ryan Reynolds]

I was looking for some keys and then. And someone said, who are you or what are you doing? Or something. And I was like, you know, chill out. And then I just heard like a yell. And then I just felt the pain.

[Detective]

He goes in Johnna's bedroom. Johnna wakes up. He says they get into a confrontation and she has a knife. Stabs him on the arm, fought with her over the knife.

[Forensic Expert]

She did fight back hard. She fought for her life. That's why the stabbing kept going on and on.

[Detective]

You got the knife away from that person and just went kind of crazy.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Yeah, I guess they were sleeping with it. I just freaked out.

[Narrator]

As for Jason Amami, Olson says he. He had no idea that another person was in the apartment.

[Ryan Reynolds]

I didn't even remember anything about the guy until the news said it was two people. I didn't realize everyone got hurt like that.

[Detective]

Did you just go in there and things just went wrong?

[Ryan Reynolds]

I really don't know her, man. I've never met her.

[Johnna's Roommate]

There was no reason for him to select that apartment other than the fact that it was the first apartment he came to that had an open door.

[Forensic Expert]

And Jonna, according to her mom, was a stickler for locking the door every night. Nobody knows why the door was unlocked on that night.

[Narrator]

After nearly three years of unanswered questions, with investigators looking at people in Jonna's life and complete strangers alike, Olson's confession is startling. And to wind up having a random person, a break in, nobody who's really connected to her, that's not common, is it?

[Detective]

No, not really. It wasn't. It was a surprise to us, and I think everybody else was kind of surprised, too.

[Narrator]

Now that Knox county detectives know Taylor Olson's full story, he prepares to tell his mom and sister the truth.

[Detective]

Would you rather talk to your mom on the telephone or would you rather talk to her in person?

[Ryan Reynolds]

I'd like to see her.

[Forensic Expert]

She really is. Being a mom, you kind of have to feel for her. What's going on? What has my son done?

[Johnna's Roommate]

What happened?

[Ryan Reynolds]

Tay the trick. Taylor.

[Officer Dinah Kidd]

I love you.

[Ryan Reynolds]

It was an accident. Are you sure they were. Taylor, I need to know.

[Johnna's Mother]

It's okay.

[Ryan Reynolds]

I want to know the truth. Okay, Dude, I could tell you. Okay. Your brother had an attorney. That's okay, too. Did they offer you one? When did you tell him the truth? Today. How did that come about? I got my. My blood's on the night and my blood's like. No.

[Johnna's Mother]

Did they get the DNA back?

[Officer Dinah Kidd]

Okay. And it matches.

[Johnna's Mother]

Taylor.

[Forensic Expert]

Okay, listen, I'm gonna help you. I want to make sure that this.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Is for real and that you did it.

[Narrator]

No, I don't know.

[Forensic Expert]

And at that point, you feel their brokenness over this horrific crime.

[Johnna's Mother]

Taylor, I want you to know something.

[Ryan Reynolds]

I want you to start praying. Cause there is a God and he loves you and will forgive if this is true. I'm so sorry, Mom. Taylor.

[Narrator]

After coming clean to his family, Olsen now faces the press.

[Johnna's Roommate]

Did you mean to kill her? Why'd you do it?

[Ryan Reynolds]

Was it an accident? But you stabbed her 26 times.

[Forensic Expert]

And his look was one of the complete surprise, shock. Baffled.

[Narrator]

He told reporters it was an accident.

[Johnna's Mother]

How's that an accident? Accidents happen one time, not 20 plus. No. That angered me that it was an accident.

[Detective]

After 33 months of wondering and waiting, Johnna Berry's parents finally came face to.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Face with the man charged with killing.

[Forensic Expert]

Their daughter, 22 year old Taylor Olson. He's facing seven counts, including first degree murder.

[Narrator]

But just as Taylor Olsen is about to go on trial, he does something that utterly rocks everyone involved in the case. You finally are getting to court. And then you get shocking news.

[Forensic Expert]

Our top story Tonight, this man, 22 year old Taylor Lee Olson of Knoxville, is behind bars. Now, today's announcement providing some relief to Johnna's family who have spent years and countless hours searching for her killer.

[Narrator]

What was that like for you to see him and to come face to face with him in court?

[Johnna's Mother]

You look at that person and it's like, I know you're not supposed to hate anybody, but I hated him.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Cameras were not allowed inside the courtroom for today's hearing.

[Detective]

But inside, 22 year old Taylor Lee Olson did not enter a plea when he was arraigned.

[Narrator]

Olson faces a seven count indictment, including three counts of felony murder and one count of first degree murder.

[Forensic Expert]

They're planning for a trial. And then we get word Taylor Lee Olson is dead. He hanged himself in his jail cell.

[Psychologist]

I got a call the Monday after Easter that he had been found in his jail cell, that he had fashioned a ligature with sheets.

[Narrator]

You finally are getting to court and then you get shocking news. He's taken his life.

[Johnna's Mother]

When I got the news, I. I became very upset. I even cried.

[Narrator]

What were the tears for?

[Johnna's Mother]

Just tears of relief because we don't have to fight the system.

[Narrator]

But Joan Berry wants confirmation with her own eyes that her daughter's killer is really gone.

[Johnna's Mother]

I called the DA's office and I said, I know you probably think I'm just crazy old woman, but I want to see him dead. Just the way I had to look at my daughter dead.

[Psychologist]

Joan and Mike wanted that. We met in the conference room in the District Attorney's office and showed them photographs of Taylor Olson's autopsy.

[Johnna's Mother]

To some people, it might sound cruel, but I think it gave me some closure.

[Psychologist]

I think that the Barrys needed to see the photos of Taylor Olson because they were deprived of the right of trial.

[Narrator]

Though there's no trial, the case isn't exactly over because in writings left behind in his jail cell, Taylor Olson tries to argue his innocence from beyond the grave.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Read a bunch of letters, said I didn't do it, and hung himself. That's a coward's admission of guilt.

[Narrator]

Olson writes a long note called the Story where he tries to shift blame by bringing back a familiar name.

[Forensic Expert]

Taylor Olson said he didn't do it and that Noah Cox, his friend, is the one who committed the crime.

[Johnna's Roommate]

Noah Cox was the individual that Taylor said he was with when they were Breaking into vehicles and were separated.

[Narrator]

In an audio recording with investigators, Noah Cox denies breaking into cars with Olson that night, and he's adamant that he was never in Johnna Berry's apartment.

[Detective]

Mr. Cox, were you present in the apartment when Johnna Berry was murdered?

[Johnna's Mother]

No, sir.

[Ryan Reynolds]

The whole story just really doesn't make sense.

[Detective]

We had talked to Noah Cox. He had submitted to a DNA sample. His DNA didn't come back as a match to the unknown sample.

[Forensic Expert]

There was no evidence showing that Noah Cox was ever in that apartment.

[Johnna's Roommate]

There's no other blood samples, fingerprints, nothing to indicate that anyone but Taylor was there.

[Narrator]

Taylor Olson's partial fingerprint was ultimately found on the murder weapon. Was there any part of you that felt any sadness for the outcome?

[Johnna's Mother]

I felt sad for his family. Two families lives had been ruined, you know, Painfully. I'll never see my daughter again. Now they'll never see their son again.

[Narrator]

Through their pain, Joan and Mike Berry stay busy focusing on the laws they've changed and all the victims they've helped. Now here we are at the tbi.

[Johnna's Mother]

Where there is big change, there is change.

[Narrator]

There's now a memorial to Jonna at the Tennessee Bureau of Investigations in Knoxville DNA lab.

[Johnna's Mother]

Long after we're gone, she'll still be helping others.

[Narrator]

To be able to have made that kind of change in a state law, that must be gratifying, even in the midst of your heartbreak.

[Johnna's Mother]

It is very gratifying. But it's also sad that this had to happen to my daughter.

[Narrator]

And when Joan and Mike aren't tirelessly fighting for victims rights, every senator vote.

[Ryan Reynolds]

On the bill, every sleeve has every slim vote in it.

[Johnna's Mother]

You do remember that one.

[Ryan Reynolds]

August 26th, her 21st birthday.

[Narrator]

They take time to savor the bright, wonderful memories their daughter left behind, including a note written to each of them on her high school graduation day.

[Johnna's Mother]

I still have the letters, so I'd like to read it to you. And it says, dear Mom, I want to thank you for being my mom. You have always been the one I could turn to no matter what. The only true friend that I've ever had. I only hope that someday that I'll be a mom as good as you are. I hope that I have made you proud, and I hope I will continue to make you proud in the future. I love you. Your daughter, Chana.

[Officer Dinah Kidd]

I love you guys.

[Johnna's Mother]

She loved life, you know? I can still see her in her little red convertible with the top down and her ponytail blowing in the wind. John is dead, but she's not dead in my heart. I plant flowers in her memory. Sometimes I'm outside, I think butterflies remind me of her.

[Narrator]

So she's still with you.

[Ryan Reynolds]

She is.

[Narrator]

Such emotional words from a mother to. After her daughter's murder, Joan Berry actually started a support group to help families and victims of violent crime.

[Ryan Reynolds]

And Deborah, as you know, she also.

[Narrator]

Continues to advocate for DNA arrest laws. Today, 34 states require that DNA is collected after an arrest. That's our program for tonight. I'm David Muir. And I'm Deborah Roberts. From all of us here at 2020 and ABC News, good night.

[Ryan Reynolds]

This episode is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. It's Brad Milkey, host of ABC's daily news podcast Start Fiscally Responsible Financial geniuses, monetary magicians. These are things people say about drivers who switch their car insurance to Progressive and save hundreds. Visit progressive.com to see if you could.

[Forensic Expert]

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[Ryan Reynolds]

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