Homicide an enduring mystery

KATARA JOHNSON: 20 YEARS LATER

homicide an enduring mystery

Family seeks closure in unsolved case

Twenty years ago this past week, gunfire tragically ended Katara Johnson’s hopes and dreams, and her family’s life changed forever.

Her death is an unsolved mystery the family never recovered from, according to her brother AJ Johnson.

“Tara’s murder fractured the family. We were ‘that Johnson family of Taylor,’ and after Tara’s murder it all went away, everyone went their own separate direction,” Johnson said. “Taylor was a small town then, everybody knew everybody. That’s why I left town. I didn’t want to be rubbing elbows with the person that did this, or people who knew something and weren’t saying anything.”

According to the Williamson County Sheriff’s Office, on Aug. 25, 2004, Katara Johnson worked a late shift at the Taco Bell in Taylor. After closing, she left work and drove to her home on North Dolan Street, where she lived alone, though family members resided next door.

The next day, the 21-year-old woman was found shot to death inside her dwelling. Her stolen red Mitsubishi Lancer was later found at the Thorndale Community Pool.

Ohio-based podcast True Crime Garage recently explored the case and discussed the relevance of a party hosted by Johnson the Saturday before she was killed, relating that police said they questioned over 50 people and were interested in more information on that gathering.

According to the Department of Public Safety, the party was at the Taylor Community Center.

The podcast also discussed a phone call made to Johnson’s missing phone by her mother some time after the death, and the report there were voices laughing in the background when the call was answered pointed to potential witnesses.

Her brother said he finds it’s difficult to believe there haven’t been more leads in the case.

“For me, I just didn’t think we would be at 20 years still seeking justice for Tara. I believe someone would have come forward,” Johnson said.

The Sheriff’s Office took over the investigation from the Taylor Police Department in 2019. “We understand how someone could be frustrated if their loved one’s murder has not been solved in all these years. We understand that. That’s why the sheriff still has someone working these cold cases because we all understand that,” Mark McKinney with the sheriff’s Criminal Investigations Division told the East Wilco Insider last year.

“We all want nothing more than to identify the suspect and hopefully prosecute someone in each and every one of these (cold) cases. That’s what we come to work every day and try to do,” he added.

As of press time, the Sheriff’s Office had not responded to new inquiries from the Taylor Press on the status of the probe.

“I definitely believe there’s people out there who have information or know what happened to her. I know that Taylor is seen as a smaller town and people talk amongst themselves in smaller communities,” McKinney said earlier. “Her car following her death was moved out to the Thorndale city pool. I believe that someone knows something about how that car got out there and what really happened to her that night in 2004.”

The Taylor Police Department has not given up on solving the case, either.

“The Taylor Police Department’s highest priority is to solve the Katara Johnson murder. Initially, this crime was a joint investigation between the Taylor Police Department and the Texas Rangers,” said Chief Henry Fluck. “As of right now, it is unfortunate that Katara Johnson’s murder is unsolved. However, it remains an active investigation case with the Taylor Police Department. In addition, we are pleased that the resources of the Williamson County Sheriff’s Department Cold Case Unit are also being used to investigate this murder.”

The chief added, “We believe that there are persons in the Taylor community who have knowledge of the circumstances of this heinous crime that would lead to the arrest of the murderer. We strongly encourage those persons to come forward and talk to the Taylor police detectives.”

Johnson’s half-sister, Anissa Robinson, said a loved one’s violent death is never really anything a person comes to grips with.

“You’re never the same. A person you loved and cared for was robbed of their life and nothing will ever be the same,” she said. “It’s been 20 years of frustration, 20 years of pain and unanswered questions. It’s heartbreaking.”

Robinson said having the crime solved would bring closure, if not forgiveness.

“You hold on to hope, but you know you may never have an answer. So you name your children after her. You wear purple, her favorite color, on special days. You find a way to cope. But you don’t forget,” she said.

Katara would have been 41 this year. In this cold case and others, Williamson County Crime Stoppers offers cash rewards for tips that lead to an arrest, and tipsters can remain anonymous.

Contact Crime Stoppers by phone at 1-800-2537867, online at www. wilcocrimetips.org or with the mobile app “P3Tips.”

Meanwhile, the sheriff’s cold case unit can be reached at 512-943-5204.