DNA dissolves graduate student’s cold murder and finds brutal stabbing in her apartment
A Tennessee graduate student was brutally stabbed to death in his 2004 Knoxville apartment, a painful case that has not been resolved for many years.
Johnia Berry, a 21-year-old university graduate student at the University of Tennessee, was found on December 6, 2004 with more than 20 stab wounds to his neck, head, face, chest, back and legs.
More than two decades later, the case was regained attention by the eye-catching ’20/20′ special title “Blood on the Door” which aired on May 16 and rekindled public interest in creepy crime.
Berry has moved to the Tri-City area to pursue his master’s degree and will graduate with honors from Tennessee State University six weeks before the deadly attack, Witt Report.
But in the early morning of December 6th, everything changed.
At around 4 a.m., Berry was repeatedly stabbed by the invaders to her sleep.
Her roommate, Jason Aymami, was also attacked when she came out of her bedroom, but managed to escape and called 911 from a nearby convenience store.
Despite his efforts to save her, Berry – found insisting on life at the entrance of the apartment – died before he arrived at the hospital.
The subsequent investigation was long and complicated.
Johnia Berry, a 21-year-old graduate student at the University of Tennessee, was found on December 6, 2004, with more than 20 stab wounds to her neck, head, face, chest, back and legs.
Berry moved to the Tri-city area to pursue his master’s degree and will graduate honors from Tennessee State University six weeks before the deadly attack. Pictured: Photos of Johnia Berry’s parents at her childhood home with her fiancé’s family
Police were hit by blood from the scene – splashed on door handles, floors and bedroom doors. Investigators also retrieved the murder weapon in the corridor outside Berry’s room, a curved steak knife.
“For me, the most striking thing is the damage to the weapon,” Knox County Sheriff’s Detective Amylynn Delgado said on “20/20.”
“It was a steak knife, but the hand was broken. The blade is bent…it’s violent, it just gives the power to break the handle.
Due to the huge number of stabbings, investigators suspected personal motives and focused first on those closest to Berry, including her fiancé and roommate.
“We really focus on her closest circles,” Delgado said.
Berry’s fiancé was eventually cleared after cell phone records placed him in Michigan during the murder.
Then noticed Aymami told police that when Berry went to bed, he had been watching TV, claiming he had watched the intruders face to face.
Despite efforts to save her, Berry – found insisting on life at the entrance of the apartment – died before arriving at the hospital
In May 2006, the tragedy struck the investigation itself, and Chief Investigator Assistant Commissioner Keith Lyon died in a car accident while on duty. His death destroyed Berry’s family, and he talked to Lyon almost every day. Photo: Johnia Berry’s mother, Joan Berry
His description – about 5’8″ for the man of 150 pounds), led to the May 2005 compound sketches and billboard movement.
By the end of that year, Gov. Phil Bredesen’s message doubled the reward for the message to $60,000, Watt reported. Investigators conducted more than 300 interviews and tested 80 DNA samples, but still had no motivation.
Then, in May 2006, the tragedy struck the investigation itself, with Chief Investigator Assistant Chief Keith Lyon, who was killed in a car accident while on duty. His death destroyed Berry’s family, and he talked to Lyon almost every day.
Her mother, Joan Berry, told “20/20.” “The detective and sheriff’s office didn’t feel enough, and they were actually working every day. No answer.
In the second year, the family continued to beg for information.
Then, in April 2007, it was a breakthrough when a person who recognized the composite sketch on the billboard contacted the police.
The tip takes police to Taylor Lee Olson, who is in his 20s, for his criminal history.
A few months later, on September 24, the Knox County Sheriff’s Office announced the arrest of 21-year-old Olson in connection with Berry’s murder.
In April 2007, when a person who recognized the composite sketch on the billboard contacted the police, the breakthrough came. The tip leads police to Taylor Lee Olson (pictured), a man in his 20s who has a history of minor crimes
Despite being 6’3′ – much higher than the initial suspect description – Berry’s father Michael Berry (pictured) told Wate that there are still similarities, noting that the sketch “sketch is “the person stabbed at 4 a.m.”.
Officials said Olson initially denied participation and then admitted to entering Berry’s apartment through an unlocked back door, saying he was looking for car keys during the theft.
Despite being 6’3′ – much higher than the initial suspect description – Berry’s father Michael Berry told Wate that there were still similarities, noting that the sketch’s “sketch is” a person stabbed at 4 a.m. gave the sketch. ”
Olson was arrested after he voluntarily submitted his DNA during an unrelated arrest in July. He soon became an interested person and was detained at the West City Mall on September 21.
He was charged with seven counts, including first-degree murder, attempted murder and aggravated theft.
However, before the trial began in March 2008, Olson died in his prison after apparently committing suicide.
The special “20/20” reexamines Berry’s harsh murder, a stagnant investigation and a tenacious determination to her family, especially her mother, to keep the case alive and seek justice for premature life.
