Viciously Murdered

Summary

Cold Case Files: "Viciously Murdered" Released January 21, 2025 | Hosted by Paula Barros

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Overview

In the gripping episode titled "Viciously Murdered," Paula Barros delves into the harrowing and unresolved case of Susan Schwartz, a young woman whose brutal murder in 1979 left her family and community in shock. This case, emblematic of the one-third of American murders that remain unsolved, showcases the relentless pursuit of justice by dedicated investigators and the transformative power of forensic advancements. The episode masterfully intertwines personal narratives, investigative procedures, and breakthroughs in technology that eventually brought closure decades later.

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The Crime

On October 22, 1979, Susan Schwartz, a 24-year-old woman, was found brutally murdered in her well-kept home in Alderwood Manor, Washington. Susan's body was discovered by her boyfriend, Bill Hassler, who arrived home to a scene of unspeakable violence.

Notable Details:

• Location: Alderwood Manor, Washington
• Victim: Susan Schwartz, 24 years old
• Discovery: By her boyfriend, Bill Hassler

Distressing Description:

Ken Christensen [02:08]: "The house was off the main road. It wasn't very large. The home looked very tidy, very well kept. But there was a body in the bathroom... She was nude and she appeared to have a gunshot wound to her head."

Susan was found with her hands tied using an electrical cord, a black bra gagged over her mouth, and multiple gunshot wounds to her head, indicating an execution-style killing. The absence of signs of a burglary, despite the home's tidy appearance, immediately suggested a personal motive behind the crime.

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The Investigation Begins

Detective Ken Christensen of the Snohomish County Sheriff's Office was among the first responders to process the grim crime scene. His initial assessment raised suspicions that the murder was far from a random act of violence.

Key Observations:

• Lack of Ransacking: No signs of forced entry or significant theft.
• Forensic Clues: Unique carpet prints suggesting the presence of two individuals.

Christensen's Frustration:

Ken Christensen [03:14]: "Maybe she had interrupted a burglar. It didn't make any sense because most burglars run when they're confronted by somebody."

Despite thorough processing of the scene, investigators struggled to find concrete leads. The meticulous nature of the crime scene and the absence of a clear motive left the case stalling.

Initial Forensic Findings:

Jim Scharf [11:33]: "The cause of death was multiple gunshot wounds to her head... It appears that she was attacked... There was nothing."

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Personal Impact and Family Tragedy

Susan's murder had a profound impact on her family, particularly her 13-year-old sister, Valerie Rao. Valerie recounted the family's devastating realization of Susan's death and the ensuing fear that echoed the loss of their sense of security.

Valerie's Heartache:

Valerie Rao [07:26]: "When this terrible thing happened to my sister, I was 13 years old... It was nice. It was nice. I was at school, and they came to my class and took me to the office... Our family was just devastated. Numb. They were really numb with shock."

Her testimony underscored the emotional toll the case took on the Schwartz family, highlighting the enduring trauma caused by Susan's violent death.

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Initial Leads and Suspects

The investigation initially focused on Bill Hassler, Susan's boyfriend, who was devastated by the loss. However, his alibi, corroborated by colleagues at work, eventually ruled him out as a suspect.

Bill's Alibi:

Jim Scharf [10:40]: "Sue's boyfriend, Bill Hassler, he was very emotional, very upset when they talked to him about what happened when he came home and found her."

Detectives also explored potential connections to Gregory Johnson, Karen Smith's abusive husband, due to his strained relationship with Susan. However, without substantial evidence, his involvement remained speculative.

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Cold Case Revival: 1986 and Beyond

Seven years after Susan's murder, another similar killing occurred in Seattle involving Molly McClure. Sherwood Knight, with a criminal record, was arrested for Molly's murder, which bore striking similarities to Susan's case. This overlap suggested the possibility of a serial offender.

Molly's Murder Parallels:

Jim Scharf [17:44]: "In 1986, there was a murder in Seattle that bore many similarities to Sue's murder... There was a pillow next to her head that had blood on it and a bullet hole shot through it."

Despite these similarities, the lack of direct evidence linking Sherwood Knight to Susan's murder meant Susan's case remained unresolved, drifting into obscurity for decades.

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The Cold Case Team and Forensic Breakthrough

Nearly three decades later, in February 2005, Valerie Rao rekindled hope by approaching the Snohomish County Cold Case team. Leveraging advancements in DNA technology, investigators re-examined the evidence, although initial DNA tests did not yield new leads.

Valerie's Determination:

Valerie Rao [21:15]: "I kept wishing, I kept wanting for the person to be caught, but I think I lost hope that it would ever happen... A lot sooner."

The persistence of the Cold Case team and the family's unwavering dedication set the stage for an unexpected breakthrough years later.

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A Decades-Long Revelation: 2008 Breakthrough

In July 2008, a pivotal moment occurred when Sherwood Knight, while serving time for Molly McClure's murder, received a deck of cold case playing cards. Recognizing his name and the connection to Susan Schwartz, Knight reached out with critical information implicating his half-brother, Gregory Johnson, in Susan's murder.

Sherwood's Revelation:

Jim Scharf [27:32]: "Sherwood Knight... said that he had information about who killed Sue Schwartz."

Knight detailed an encounter on the day of Susan's murder, where Gregory Johnson verbally confessed his role in the crime. This confession, although fraught with intimidation tactics, provided the necessary link to formally charge Johnson.

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Gregory Johnson’s Arrest and Trial

With compelling testimony from Sherwood Knight and a reluctant but crucial witness—Gregory's girlfriend—Detectives were able to locate and arrest Gregory Johnson in Seattle in 2011. Facing overwhelming evidence, Johnson opted for a plea deal to avoid the uncertainties of a trial.

Trial Dynamics:

Lisa Paul [38:28]: "Gregory Johnson pled guilty to a second-degree murder charge... approximately 25 years."

Despite the conviction, Johnson never fully accepted personal responsibility, instead blaming Susan for meddling in his relationship. The family's sense of justice was mixed, finding solace in the conviction yet grappling with the decades-long anguish.

Valerie's Reflections:

Valerie Rao [38:48]: "I wanted him in there for life... We didn't really have a choice. The evidence just... it wasn't there."

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Emotional Aftermath and Legacy

The resolution of Susan Schwartz's case brought a measure of closure, yet the emotional scars endured by her family and friends remained profound. Valerie Rao expressed both gratitude and frustration over the delayed justice, emphasizing the importance of coming forward with information to prevent such prolonged suffering.

Karen Smith’s Sentiments:

Karen Smith [34:07]: "Sue was special. She was just a good person. And we just don't have that many good people in this world anymore."

Valerie's heartfelt message underscored the lasting impact of Susan's loss and the enduring quest for justice that defines many cold case stories.

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Conclusion

"Viciously Murdered" serves as a testament to the relentless pursuit of truth and justice by both law enforcement and grieving families. Through unwavering determination and the evolution of forensic science, the harrowing case of Susan Schwartz was eventually unraveled, providing a semblance of closure after over three decades. This episode not only highlights the personal tragedies intertwined with unsolved crimes but also celebrates the rare triumphs that offer hope to countless other unresolved cases.

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Notable Quotes:

• Ken Christensen [03:14]: "Maybe she had interrupted a burglar... It was an execution. She was killed by somebody that she knew."
• Valerie Rao [07:26]: "Our family was just devastated. Numb. They were really numb with shock."
• Jim Scharf [27:32]: "Sherwood Knight... said that he had information about who killed Sue Schwartz."
• Valerie Rao [38:48]: "I wanted him in there for life... the evidence just wasn't there."

Transcript

[Marissa Pinson]

Hi, cold case listeners. I'm Marissa Pinson. And before we get into this week's episode, I just wanted to remind you that episodes of Cold Case Files, as well as the A and E classic podcasts, I Survived American justice and City Confidential, are all available ad free on the new A and E Crime and Investigation channel on Apple Podcasts and Apple plus for just $4.99 a month or $39.99 a year. And now onto the show. The following episode contains disturbing accounts of physical and sexual violence. Listener discretion is advised.

[Valerie Rao]

I didn't understand. My sister sue was viciously murdered. Why? Why?

[Ken Christensen]

I don't think I've ever seen anything so hurtful.

[Valerie Rao]

There was nothing that we could do.

[Jim Scharf]

There just weren't any good leads.

[Ken Christensen]

I found it extremely frustrating. I felt that I should have done more.

[Karen Smith]

The questions were always there in my mind.

[Jim Scharf]

There was a murder that bore many similarities to Sue's murder.

[Valerie Rao]

Just a little bit of information and that's all we needed. Hope meant finding who did it to her. That person was still out there, maybe harming other people.

[Marissa Pinson]

There are over 100,000 cold cases in America. Only about 1% are ever solved. This is one of those rare stories. It's October 22, 1979, in Alderwood Manor, Washington. Ken Christensen is a former detective with the Snohomish County Sheriff's Office.

[Ken Christensen]

I was a Snohomish county deputy sheriff assigned to the detective division. I was contacted by the dispatcher. They were requesting that. That I respond to an address in the Alderwood area regarding a homicide and that they needed somebody to process the crime scene for fingerprints.

[Marissa Pinson]

Susan Schwartz's boyfriend arrives home after a day at work to find the 24 year old woman dead on the floor.

[Ken Christensen]

The house was off the main road. It wasn't very large. The home looked very tidy, very well kept. But there was a body in the bathroom. A female subject. Her hands were tied behind her back with what appeared to be some type of electrical cord. She was nude and she appeared to have a gunshot wound to her head.

[Marissa Pinson]

Jim Scharf is a former detective with the Snohomish County Sheriff's Office.

[Patrick Vanderwaest]

There was a pillow next to her head that had blood on it and a bullet hole shot through it. And there was blood on the floor and all over her face. She had a black bra wrapped around her face like a gag. There were.22 caliber shell casings that were laying on the floor there. It appeared that she'd been shot in the head, execution style. After she'd been Tied up. So it was a horrific crime.

[Ken Christensen]

Maybe she had interrupted a burglar. It didn't make any sense because most burglars run when they're confronted by somebody.

[Marissa Pinson]

As police processed the house, the carpet seemed to offer up some possible clues.

[Patrick Vanderwaest]

This was plush carpeting, and you could see that there were distinctive prints of two different sizes. A smaller one and a larger one. She was barefooted, so there was no barefoot prints that were on the carpet. We had two different suspects that we were looking at, so it could have been possible that it was two of them that were together when the murder happened.

[Ken Christensen]

I processed everything that I could possibly think of in hopes of finding some latent fingerprints. I processed the cabinet that the stereo was on. It appeared that whatever was touched was taken. There were some things on the kitchen table, but they didn't appear to have been disturbed. A lot of times, burglars will go up and they'll put their hands on a window, shading the window so that they can see inside the house. But I was able to find nothing.

[Marissa Pinson]

Friends say Susan Schwartz was a free spirit and a role model to her little sister, Valerie Rao.

[Valerie Rao]

I thought she was just the coolest kid on the block. She was so stylish and pretty. My sister was barely five feet tall, so she would wear these gigantic platform shoes, and she would hem her pants all the way down to the ground so you couldn't even see her feet. Underneath all of her clothing, she had the most beautiful reddish auburn hair. And if she would have just let it curl naturally, it would have just been gorgeous. But no, that the straight hair was the thing. In those days. Everybody had it down to their waist, and it had to be straight, perfectly straight to be cool. So she would go through this incredible braiding process and rubber band wrapping process down her hair at nighttime to try to make it straight. She would take her bangs and pull them down and. And tape them to her head at night before she went to sleep. So she would. You would hear her in the bathrooms in the morning ripping that tape off. Rip, ow, rip, ow. And she'd have these red marks on her forehead after she would come out of the bathroom. And they'd slowly fade throughout breakfast and go away. But every morning, she'd have those bangs taped to her forehead. She was quiet and kind, and she took time to listen to me, even though I was a lot younger than her. She never made fun of my ideas or my thoughts. That was a really big thing. She made friends, but not a lot of people in her actual inner circle. I Don't think. Very private person. And she had her friend Karen.

[Marissa Pinson]

Karen Smith is Susan's best friend.

[Karen Smith]

I was a freshman, and sue was a sophomore at the high school. We didn't know each other. We were in a class, and I turned around in my chair and started talking. And she just kind of sat there and looked at me because she was kind of, like, shocked we didn't know each other. I don't know why I did it. But pretty soon we just began hanging out and we just started to be best friends. She was very logical, where I was just out there. And she was very intelligent. She used to walk around with a book in her hand or thesaurus. She loved to develop her vocabulary. We just enjoyed doing things, you know, like sometimes dressing up and modeling and taking pictures of each other. And we had fun. We used to have a saying, let no man come between us. Nothing came between us. She was always willing to give what you needed to make things better.

[Valerie Rao]

When this terrible thing happened to my Sister, I was 13 years old. We were starting to develop more friendship, despite just being sisters, because I wasn't just that bratty little kid. We actually could talk about stuff that we did have in common. So it was nice. It was nice. I was at school, and they came to my class and took me to the office. They didn't tell me anything. Then my mom came and we went and got my brother, and we went home. She took us in and sat us down in the living room. And she was trying to explain to us that sue was gone. And we didn't understand what gone meant. That she said that she had been killed. And I was just in shock. I think I just sat there crying. Our family was just devastated. Numb. They were really numb with shock.

[Marissa Pinson]

As police scour Susan's home, something feels off.

[Ken Christensen]

There was no ransacking. It just didn't feel right. Burglars don't go in there and shoot somebody to steal $150 worth of stereo equipment.

[Patrick Vanderwaest]

It's pretty unusual to have a homicide occur during the commission of a burglary. So it was a real puzzling case.

[Ken Christensen]

After being at the crime scene, there was no doubt in my mind that it wasn't a burglary. I don't think I've ever seen anything so depressing and so hurtful as to see a naked woman bound up with a gag, stuffed in her mouth and shot in the head. I couldn't. I can't fathom it. It was an execution. She was killed by somebody that she knew.

[Valerie Rao]

The feelings that I had. It was just overwhelming terror and shock, anger and the ever present. Why, why, why would someone do that to her? For a 13 year old kid, that just kind of shut me down for a while. Our family was just destroyed.

[Ken Christensen]

Whoever the killer was was comfortable enough to walk up to the house, tie her up, put a gag in her mouth and shoot her.

[Marissa Pinson]

Detectives begin to question witnesses. They start with the man who found Susan's body. Her boyfriend, Bill Hassler.

[Valerie Rao]

Sue was everything to Bill. I mean, he just worshiped her entirely.

[Karen Smith]

He was very much a loner. He didn't have a lot of male friends or anything.

[Marissa Pinson]

Patrick Vanderwaest is a former detective with the Snohomish County Sheriff's Office.

[Jim Scharf]

You had to look at the boyfriend first. His boyfriend, Bill Hassler, he was very emotional, very upset when they talked to him about what happened when he came home and found her.

[Valerie Rao]

That poor guy, he. He was just like a zombie. I've never seen anyone so devastated.

[Marissa Pinson]

Despite Bill's shock and sadness, investigators can't rule him out just yet. They interview neighbors about what they saw and heard.

[Jim Scharf]

Earlier that day, there was a person that heard what sounded like a squealing noise around 9:45 in the morning coming from the area of Sue's house. They didn't think much of it at the time. You know, if that squealing noise was when sue was shot, it does give a time frame when the murder happened. Sue's boyfriend, Bill Hassler, had an alibi for the day. We did know at that time that he was at work, so his alibi panned out. So he was ruled out.

[Marissa Pinson]

While police searched for leads, the medical examiner conducts Susan's autopsy.

[Jim Scharf]

The cause of death was multiple gunshot wounds to her head. There's also lacerations to her head. The lacerations meant that it appears that she was attacked. First hit in the head maybe would have dazed her. That would have led the person to be able to take control and then tie her up. Even though she was naked, there was no signs of a sexual assault.

[Marissa Pinson]

Susan's murder leaves her family shocked and terrified.

[Valerie Rao]

Having sue so viciously murdered in her own home robbed me of every bit of security that I think I had ever had as a kid. Because home should always be safe. I was terrified that something was gonna happen. I couldn't wrap my head around someone coming into her house and doing that to her home wasn't safe anymore.

[Marissa Pinson]

Police shift their focus to question Karen Smith, Susan's best friend, who recently separated from her abusive husband, Gregory Johnson.

[Karen Smith]

The police asked me if I Knew anybody that might have something against Sue. My husband Greg didn't like sue because he thought that she was trying to break us up. She didn't particularly like Greg. She just thought that he was basically an abusive type person. She didn't trust him and she would let me know about that. Eventually he started feeling it. He spent most of his time trying to keep me away from her because he knew that she knew what he was doing and what he was doing was wrong, him being physically violent with me.

[Jim Scharf]

The detectives did go and talk to Gregory Johnson. He was cooperative. They asked him where he was on the day of the murder and he said he was fishing. Detectives tracked down the people he was fishing with and, you know, memories are not that great. So the people weren't able to really verify he was there or not there. I think he remained a person of interest. But then there's really nothing else to indicate that Greg was involved.

[Marissa Pinson]

As police struggle to find answers, Susan's 13 year old sister takes on a grim task.

[Valerie Rao]

I actually was asked by Bill personally to come and take out my sister's possessions. He couldn't do it. It was not a crime scene any longer at that point. But I knew I was looking at the place where she died and at the footsteps of the people that walked through her blood as they went through her house. So it was terrible. It was absolutely terrible. I will never, ever get rid of that memory, ever. I can't. That stays in my brain forever. Never, ever forget that memory.

[Marissa Pinson]

For months, detectives search for Susan's killer. But without a motive or any suspects, the case stalls.

[Ken Christensen]

I find it extremely frustrating. There's a point at which you've run out all of your leads, you've checked with everybody and you simply can't do anything else and it becomes inactive.

[Karen Smith]

I was calling the police on a regular basis there for a while, but it went cold pretty quickly. I'd say within the first six months it probably started to get put away.

[Marissa Pinson]

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[Jim Scharf]

In 1986, there was a murder in Seattle that bore many similarities to Sue's murder. The victim was Molly McClure and she was lying on her stomach. She had her hands tied behind her back with an electrical cord. There was a gag in her mouth. She had injuries to her head.

[Marissa Pinson]

Police zero in on the suspect. Sherwood Knight lives in the building and has a criminal record.

[Jim Scharf]

Sherwood Knight had been arrested for the murder.

[Karen Smith]

He killed her. Very much similar to the way sue was killed.

[Jim Scharf]

Because of the similarities, the same person could have been responsible.

[Karen Smith]

This man could have done it.

[Patrick Vanderwaest]

Detectives tried to figure out if it could be related to Susan Schworer's murder because the MO Was very similar.

[Marissa Pinson]

Lisa Paul is a former senior deputy prosecutor for Snohomish County.

[Lisa Paul]

In Molly's case, she was sexually assaulted and Susan was not. But the other similarity between the two was that Sherwood Knight knew both of the women.

[Marissa Pinson]

Police are surprised to learn that Sherwood Knight has a connection to Susan Schwartz. Knight turns out to be the half brother of Gregory Johnson, the estranged, abusive husband of Susan's best friend, Karen.

[Lisa Paul]

Sherwood was familiar with Susan because she kind of traveled in the same circles as his half brother.

[Karen Smith]

As Gregory Johnson, Sherwood Knight was always nice to me. We called him Cave. When I found out that Cave had murdered that woman, it didn't make any sense to me. Why would he do that? What did she do to him?

[Patrick Vanderwaest]

We found out the connection between Sherwood Knight and Greg Johnson being half brothers and that Greg Johnson was married to Karen, who was Susan's best friend. We wanted to interview him that day.

[Marissa Pinson]

Snohomish detectives track down Gregory Johnson and find him in prison doing time for robbery. It was not. Not the first time he had been behind bars. And Johnson has a story to tell that he says took place on the day of Susan Schwartz's murder.

[Patrick Vanderwaest]

He says, I was with my brother Sherwood. I was driving him around with a couple other guys looking for a place to burglarize. And we pulled into this driveway, and the three of them went in, and they came out of the house, and Sherwood had a gun in his hand. And he says, we better not get caught for this one. And later on that night, I was watching the news on tv and they said that Susan Shores was murdered.

[Marissa Pinson]

Johnson implicates Sherwood Knight. But the word of a convicted criminal alone isn't enough to charge him.

[Jim Scharf]

Sherwood Knight was in jail because of Molly McClure's murder. He had an attorney, so he could not be interviewed about Sue's case. Even though it seemed important, there wasn't a lot to go on with Sue's case, there was still a lack of evidence.

[Lisa Paul]

In 1986, Sherwood Knight was convicted of a rape and murder of Molly McClure.

[Marissa Pinson]

Knight gets life without parole. But since detectives can't connect him to Susan's murder, her case goes cold until February 2005, 25 years after Susan's murder.

[Valerie Rao]

I kept wishing, I kept wanting for the person to be caught, but I think I lost hope that it would ever happen. Because it just went on for so long. I mean, so long. I had given up hope of ever finding out who did that to My.

[Patrick Vanderwaest]

Sister to Sue Snohomish county formed the Cold Case team In February of 2005, November of that year. Gary Schwarz told us that his sister Susan had been murdered in 1979, and he wanted us to work on that case. Detective Vanderweist and I went through all the evidence and had it sent off for DNA testing because there was no such thing as DNA back in 1979.

[Lisa Paul]

The police collected, I think, almost 100 items of evidence from the scene, and there's invariably some DNA that's going to be found.

[Patrick Vanderwaest]

The only DNA that came back matched Susan Schworer's. We didn't have any other different profiles.

[Lisa Paul]

There was no forensic evidence that helped determine who committed this crime. There was nothing.

[Marissa Pinson]

It's now July 13, 2008, 28 years and nine months after Susan's murder, when a phone call to Susan's friend Karen from the mother of Gregory Johnson and Sherwood Knight adds a new mystery to the case.

[Karen Smith]

Over the years, I kept contact with Greg's mom. She was the grandmother of my son. We were talking on the phone, and she said, I got this letter from Cave or Sherwood, and I'm going to mail it to you. Sherwood Knight is a half brother to Gregory Johnson. It was from Kawe to Greg, saying, you were supposed to help me out while I'm in prison. If you don't help me out within two weeks, I'm going to spill the beans on you and let you see what it's been like for me all these years.

[Lisa Paul]

Sherwood Knight had some medical issues. He didn't want to die in prison. He wrote a letter kind of saying, you know, you better come up with some money for an attorney so that I can pursue my case, or I'm going to tell the crime that you committed.

[Patrick Vanderwaest]

The letter was interesting because it kind of was cryptic. It didn't really say exactly what it was talking about.

[Karen Smith]

It would have been something really bad. Greg was a very, very terrible person. He was abusive to me from when we got married. He's vicious. I think in the back of my mind, I felt that it had something to do with Sue. Sue's murder. I didn't know what to do with the letter. I was, like, shocked. First of all, I just put the letter to sue for six months because I was a little bit fearful. Greg was violent, quite violent. I came across a letter again six months later, and I decided, you know, I have to do something with this letter. So that's when I decided to mail it to the Snohomish county detectives. I Just didn't want the responsibility of having that letter.

[Jim Scharf]

There wasn't much to go on with the letter because it was very vague. It did not specify what Sherwood was talking about when he talked about the secret. The letter did bring Sherwood Knight and Greg Johnson to the top of the list of the possible suspects.

[Marissa Pinson]

Knight's letter to his half brother Gregory Johnson doesn't solve the case, but it reminds Karen of all the support Susan gave her 20 years earlier when she was struggling in an abusive marriage to Johnson.

[Karen Smith]

Sue would tell me, you don't deserve this, Karen. You need to get out. You can have a better life. Sue helped me leave the first time.

[Valerie Rao]

Her friend Karen had stayed with her for a couple of weeks before she was finally able to make the arrangements to get away from Greg Johnson.

[Karen Smith]

She got me out of there. She helped me pack. My son Greg Jr. Was 6 months old when she helped me leave. Greg was so angry that sue helped me leave him. Two and a half years later, when I found out that sue was shot, I immediately went back to Washington for the funeral. I called Greg. We actually started to get back together. You have this daydream, this Cinderella dream in the back of your head that he's gonna change, but the abuse just continues on. I left Greg for good around 87 or 88. That was the last time I talked to Greg.

[Marissa Pinson]

Detectives refuse to give up on finding Susan's killer. In 2009, they try an innovative tactic, hoping to jumpstart the case.

[Patrick Vanderwaest]

Our detective in Florida had put out a deck of cold case playing cards and put them into the prisons. And they'd solved more than a half a dozen cases. So if I can put a different homicide on each card with a picture of the victim and put them into the prisons, then they're going to play these cards and be familiar with these cases that they're reading. On the back it says that Crime Stoppers will pay you a reward if you call in a tip.

[Jim Scharf]

The hope was that somebody in looking at these cards would be willing to come forward.

[Patrick Vanderwaest]

The cases that I thought were the most innocent victims, I tried to put them on the aces and the face cards. So we put Susan Schwarz on the queen of hearts.

[Valerie Rao]

When the deck came out, I was going through and saw that she was the queen of hearts. It was so fitting because she was such a tiny, sweet, just big hearted person. So it was perfect. I cried.

[Marissa Pinson]

It's now April 15, 2011, 31 years and seven months after Susan's murder.

[Lisa Paul]

In 2011, Sherwood Knight was thinking about his own situation. He had been playing cards with the other inmates with these cold case cards, and he noticed the of Susan Sherwood.

[Jim Scharf]

Knight, who was serving a life sentence, said that he had information about who killed Sue Schwarz.

[Patrick Vanderwaest]

He told us that on the day that Susan Schwarz was murdered, he was down fishing on the pier, and Greg Johnson, his half brother, drove up.

[Jim Scharf]

Greg had told him that, hey, if the police come asking about me, tell him that I was fishing with you on the. Sherwood said that he asked him why, and Greg responded, because I killed Sue.

[Patrick Vanderwaest]

Sherwood said he was pretty shocked, and he could see in the car that there was a girl sitting in the front seat. If Greg had just killed Susan, maybe this girl was with him and might know something.

[Lisa Paul]

The police knew that Gregory Johnson had a girlfriend, but that was new information to them.

[Patrick Vanderwaest]

We need to figure out who that girl was.

[Jim Scharf]

Locating and talking to Greg's girlfriend would be crucial.

[Patrick Vanderwaest]

It gave us a lot of hope that we were now on the right track. I thought it was going to be the break in the case. When Sherwood Knight told us that the girlfriend was sitting in the car when Greg was telling him that he killed Susan, we felt that this girlfriend was our prime witness.

[Jim Scharf]

We identified her. We had located an address in the Seattle area. We were going to go and see if she had any information.

[Marissa Pinson]

If the ex girlfriend, known as M.M. is willing to talk to police, she might have vital testimony about the case.

[Jim Scharf]

We immediately drove to her address to attempt to talk with her.

[Patrick Vanderwaest]

We arrived. She put her dogs away. She had three or four dogs. We sat down in the dining room. She was totally willing to talk about her relationship with Greg Johnson. That lasted quite a while.

[Jim Scharf]

She confirmed that when she was 17 that she was in a relationship with Greg, that he was physically abusive to her. He choked her. He beat her up.

[Patrick Vanderwaest]

She was afraid of him, but she was also afraid to leave him.

[Jim Scharf]

She gave no indication that she had any knowledge that Greg had done any harm to Sue. After the interview, we explained to her and said, hey, listen, in the crime scene, there were some smaller footprints, so we'd like to get a DNA sample just to rule you out. When I asked her about the DNA, I could see her behavior change. I could see her get defensive, pulling her legs up close to her on the chair. And I could see that she truly seemed to be afraid. She knew something, and she said she didn't want to get involved. And she got up from the chair and said she had to put her dog out.

[Patrick Vanderwaest]

She gets up and she walks around the table behind me. So I got up behind her and I said, you were there, weren't you? And as she turned, turns over her shoulder, she whispers to me, I was there. And then she says it again, I was there. And she just kind of melts into my chest. And I just give her a big hug. And I said, it's okay. It's okay. She'd been holding this secret for 32 years, and now it was going to be exposed. And you could see that it was just crushing her.

[Marissa Pinson]

The witness, M.M. begins to describe what happened on that terrible day.

[Jim Scharf]

Greg said he needed to go for a ride to see somebody. So she got in the car. They pulled up to a house. He went inside, and then he came back out and said, there's somebody in the shower. You need to come with me. So she went to the house.

[Patrick Vanderwaest]

She observed that there was a woman taking a shower. Because the bathroom door was open.

[Jim Scharf]

Greg directed her to grab some things out of the house and bring it back to the car. She did that. She was sitting there by herself.

[Patrick Vanderwaest]

When he didn't come out, immediately behind her, Mm decided, I wonder if he's in there gonna rape her because she's nude in the shower. She got back out and went back into the house, and she sees Greg pulling open the shower curtains and grabbing Susan, who's saying, what are you doing in my house? Get out of here. You're not supposed to be here. Leave me alone. And Greg starts beating her with the pistol that he has out in his hand. He pulls her out of the bathtub and ends up forcing her down onto the floor. And he uses this electrical cord to tie her hands behind her back, and she's face down on the floor. The girlfriend ends up watching Greg put a pillow over Susan's head, putting the gun up to the side of her head and pulling the trigger. At that point, he looks up, and he sees his girlfriend is in the house and witnessing what he just did. And he shoots Susan two more times and then tells his girlfriend, that's what happens to people that mess with me. Don't you ever tell anybody what you saw, or I will kill you, and I will kill your mother.

[Jim Scharf]

She took that threat very seriously and really thought that at any time she came forward that he would track her down.

[Patrick Vanderwaest]

I'm hanging on every word that she's telling us. We were just so fortunate to have that.

[Jim Scharf]

I was excited to sit there and have somebody as an eyewitness. It was just a great feeling. There was no doubt in our mind that she was telling us the truth. We were ecstatic. We knew it was enough to get Greg. Our next step was to go track him down. I was just thrilled that we had found somebody that was an eyewitness, which is very rare.

[Patrick Vanderwaest]

We knew that this one witness was enough to put Greg away for this murder.

[Jim Scharf]

I was eager to go track down Greg.

[Marissa Pinson]

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[Jim Scharf]

We did locate an address For Greg down in Seattle. So myself and detective Scharf went down to Seattle, went to his house. We saw him coming up the street, and he's eating some popcorn, Just kind of casual, carefree. Greg was cooperative. He agreed to talk with us. We sat in the car, interviewed him, but he would not admit any involvement in the murder.

[Patrick Vanderwaest]

So Pat told him, you're free to leave if you want to leave. And Greg kind of was nonchalant about it, and he really didn't start walking away. So I got out of the car and told him that he was under arrest for killing Susan Schwarz. And I put my handcuffs on him.

[Valerie Rao]

My brother called me to tell me that there had been an arrest. I think the first thing that really hit me when I received the news initially is that overwhelming sense of relief, because there was always that fear that that person was still out there, maybe harming other people.

[Lisa Paul]

Initially, we charged, granted, Gregory Johnson with first degree murder. This particular case having occurred, what, 30 years earlier, I started to kind of worry because of the age of it. Are all the witnesses going to be alive? Are they all going to remember? Is there any evidence which has been lost?

[Marissa Pinson]

The prosecution faces a tough decision. Go to trial or offer Gregory Johnson a plea deal.

[Lisa Paul]

It made me think that a sure thing without having to put the victim's family through what's a very traumatic experience was the right thing to do. And so he engaged in plea negotiations with his attorney.

[Jim Scharf]

Anytime you go to trial, there's always the unknown. It only takes one person to have a jury to have doubt.

[Lisa Paul]

Gregory Johnson pled guilty to a second degree murder charge. Our recommendation was 298 months, which is almost 25 years. The judge did follow that during the sentencing.

[Valerie Rao]

I wanted him in there for life. I didn't want to do any kind of a plea deal, but we didn't really have a choice. The evidence just. It wasn't there, and he could have ended up walking away.

[Lisa Paul]

In a brutal murder like what happened to Susan Schwarz. I don't think justice is ever served. I don't think there's any sentence that. That can make it right, that can provide justice. But I felt at the end of the day that Gregory Johnson got an appropriate sentence.

[Marissa Pinson]

Gregory Johnson pleads guilty, but he never accepts personal responsibility for killing Susan Schwartz.

[Lisa Paul]

During the sentencing, he blamed Susan for what he called meddling in his relationship, when really she was just being a compassionate friend. He showed no remorse for having killed her.

[Valerie Rao]

She was meddling in his business. She was best friends with your wife, who you were beating on she wasn't meddling. She was being a friend.

[Karen Smith]

I never imagined that Greg was capable of murder. It used to make me feel guilty that I'd ever introduced him to Sue. Now it just makes me mad.

[Valerie Rao]

I believe she was killed for the simple fact of helping her friend, and that's what this whole thing comes down to. And that makes it even worse for me. I am still really conflicted about the Witness. Yes, I am first and foremost grateful to her, but I'm also frustrated with the Witness because of the fact that it literally took us almost 32 years to get the information that we needed. If you have information, tell somebody. Let people know, so that families like mine don't have to wonder for decades and decades who did this horrible thing to their family. I just. I really wish we'd gotten the information sooner. A lot sooner.

[Karen Smith]

Sue was special. She was just a good person. And we just don't have that many good people in this world anymore.

[Valerie Rao]

She just died too young. She didn't have a chance. We don't know what things she could have done, and we never will because somebody decided to take that away from us. I miss her. I miss what could have been. I'm sorry that this happened to you. I wish I could take it back. I love you. And I'll never stop loving you.

[Marissa Pinson]

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[Jim Scharf]

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