For the week of September 17 - 23, 2003

Murder investigation
continues to await
lab results

More than 700 gather for memorial service

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"They never met a stranger. We will always remember the big smiles from both of them."

—BILL HOOTEN, Diane Johnson’s cousin-in-law

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By GREG STAHL
Express Staff Writer

Blaine County law enforcement officers on Monday said they are continuing to wait for a report from the state crime lab in Boise before making arrests or releasing information regarding the Sept. 2 murders of Bellevue residents Alan and Diane Johnson.

"Until we get the results from the lab, we probably won’t make any hasty decisions," said Blaine County Chief Deputy Sheriff Gene Ramsey on Monday.

Bryan Higgason, Alan Johnson’s brother, was married in the Johnsons’ back yard 25 days ago. At a memorial service last week, he said that he always looked up to his older brother. "Alan has exceeded any expectations of what a brother should be—and what a man should be," he said. Express photo by David N. Seelig

But lack of closure didn’t prevent a large crowd from gathering in Hailey on Thursday, Sept. 11 to bid the couple farewell and to celebrate their lives.

More than 700 of the Johnsons’ family, friends, coworkers and well-wishers converged on the old Wood River High School auditorium for an hour-long memorial service to honor the husband and wife, who’d been married 20 years. The 675-seat auditorium overflowed. Some sat on the floor. About 50 more gathered at the room’s two rear doorways.

"From talking with the funeral director, this is the biggest funeral, probably, ever in this building," said the Rev. John W. Morgan, who was the Johnsons’ pastor at St. Charles Catholic Church in Hailey.

Morgan and other speakers stood near a small table, where two boxes containing the ashes of Alan and Diane Johnson were placed. Between the boxes was a small, framed photograph of the couple.

For the most part, the memorial was a time to remember the lives of a couple described as giving, strong in faith, smiling, hard working and forgiving.

"They never met a stranger," said Bill Hooten, Diane Johnson’s cousin-in-law. "We will always remember the big smiles from both of them."

Hooten described Diane Johnson as a garlic lover, an excellent parent, a social woman with a warm smile and a person who never liked to say goodbye.

Bryan Higgason, Alan Johnson’s brother, was married in the Johnsons’ back yard 25 days ago. He said that he always looked up to his older brother.

"Alan has exceeded any expectations of what a brother should be—and what a man should be," Higgason said.

Both were repeatedly acclaimed as family people.

"Alan loved his family above all else," Higgason said.

"Matt and Sarah (the couple’s children) came first in their lives," Hooten said.

Now two weeks following the shooting deaths of the Bellevue husband and wife, investigators said they are continuing to wait for information from the state crime lab in Boise that could help wrap up the case.

By Tuesday, no one had been arrested for the murders of Johnson, 46, and his wife Diane, 52, who were shot in the bedroom of their Glen Aspen Drive home in southern Bellevue. Blaine County Sheriff Walt Femling said authorities were investigating three "people of interest," qualifying that the three are not yet considered suspects.

Chief deputy Ramsey clarified that none of the "people of interest" have been dropped from consideration.

Speculation about a possible murder-suicide has been ruled out, Femling said.

"This is a double homicide," he said. "The evidence has told us that."

Diane Johnson was shot in the couple’s bed while Alan was taking a shower, Femling said. The sheriff declined to elaborate about where Alan Johnson was shot or where his body was found. The murder weapon, a rifle of an unspecified caliber, was found in the home’s master bedroom, where the shootings unfolded. The rifle was typically stored in the Johnsons’ guest house, which was rented to a tenant. The Johnsons did not own the weapon, Femling said.

Sarah Johnson, the Johnson’s 16-year-old daughter, was home at the time of the shootings. According to reports from neighbors, Sarah Johnson ran into the street following the sound of the gunshots and was screaming.

Matt Johnson, the Johnson’s son, was attending college at the University of Idaho in Moscow and arrived in Bellevue by late afternoon of the shooting.

Authorities have stressed that the residents of the Wood River Valley can rest assured that there is no elevated level of danger, despite the fact that the killer could be going about his or her life freely.

"I think the evidence at the scene speaks for itself," Ramsey said. "That evidence speaks very strongly that this isn’t a random killing."

Ramsey said Matt Johnson has returned to his classes in Moscow and Sarah Johnson is living with guardians who were specified in the Johnsons’ will. She is attending high school classes somewhere outside the Wood River Valley but inside Idaho, he said.

"Even though we’re cautious in this case, I know the general public is not in danger of any crazed person running around," Ramsey said.

The Johnsons were married on April 23, 1983 and lived in Bellevue until the time of their death.

According to his obituary, Alan was an avid trap shooter and was considered to be one of the premier trap shooters of Southern Idaho.

Alan’s love for his children and the outdoors meant that he would be found either at their games and activities or out with his dog, Sage, hunting ducks and geese.

Alan was well known in the community for his hard work and attention to detail, but was never too busy to stop and chat or lend a helping hand.

According to her obituary, Diane Johnson worked for many years at the Hailey Medical Clinic and more recently worked for Blaine County Collectors.

"It is not possible to condense Diane’s personality into words," according to her obituary. "She was a loving, giving person, who never knew a stranger."

 

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