201: The Murder of Carrie Daugherty

WEBVTT

1
00:00:01.760 --> 00:00:05.879
Southern Fried true crime covers cases that
are not suitable for young listeners, and

2
00:00:05.919 --> 00:00:10.560
there may also be some explicit language
used. Today's episode is more graphic than

3
00:00:10.640 --> 00:00:17.839
usual. Listener discretion as strongly advised. In the city of Knoxville, Tennessee,

4
00:00:18.399 --> 00:00:22.079
Tuesday, March eighteenth, two thousand
and eight was a beautiful, cool

5
00:00:22.079 --> 00:00:27.440
spring day with highs in the sixties. Twenty four year old Carrie Dougherty had

6
00:00:27.440 --> 00:00:31.399
to work that night. She was
a server and sometimes bartender at a local

7
00:00:31.440 --> 00:00:36.320
watering hole. Her roommate, twenty
six year old Amanda Close, didn't wait

8
00:00:36.399 --> 00:00:40.920
up for her. Carrie was a
closer that night and wouldn't be home until

9
00:00:40.920 --> 00:00:46.439
after one am. After a turbulent
period, Amanda and her boyfriend were back

10
00:00:46.439 --> 00:00:50.119
together. She spoke with him on
the phone before she went to sleep,

11
00:00:50.679 --> 00:00:54.719
and she didn't think she had anything
to worry about. Micah Johnson, her

12
00:00:54.759 --> 00:00:59.000
twenty one year old boyfriend, had
gotten help after struggling with major mental health

13
00:00:59.000 --> 00:01:03.560
issues. He had checked into a
psychiatric ward for a week. He was

14
00:01:03.640 --> 00:01:08.959
prescribed antipsychotic medications and he appeared to
be doing better. So as Amanda drifted

15
00:01:10.000 --> 00:01:14.120
off to sleep that night, she
might have thought everything was fine. That's

16
00:01:14.159 --> 00:01:17.719
probably why when she woke up briefly
to the sound of a loud bang in

17
00:01:17.760 --> 00:01:21.680
her front yard, she didn't think
anything of it. She rolled over and

18
00:01:21.760 --> 00:01:26.480
went back to sleep, But then
Amanda woke again. This time it was

19
00:01:26.519 --> 00:01:30.799
to police officers, a swat team, and a hostage negotiator pounding on her

20
00:01:30.840 --> 00:01:36.640
front door, and that's when Amanda
realized that things weren't fine. Her boyfriend

21
00:01:36.680 --> 00:01:40.400
Mikah certainly wasn't fine, even though
he had led her to believe that he

22
00:01:40.640 --> 00:01:47.439
was, and her friend and roommate
Carrie would never be fine again. Welcome

23
00:01:47.480 --> 00:01:53.760
to episode two oh one, The
Murder of Carrie Doherty. Carrie Amanda Doherty

24
00:01:55.000 --> 00:01:57.640
was born on May eighth, nineteen
eighty three, and Chattanooga, Tennessee,

25
00:01:59.079 --> 00:02:04.359
to parents Carol and Steve. The
Dougherties were a big family. Carrie was

26
00:02:04.400 --> 00:02:07.840
one of eight siblings. She had
five brothers and two sisters, and she

27
00:02:07.919 --> 00:02:13.759
had more aunts, uncles, and
cousins than you could count. Carrie attended

28
00:02:13.759 --> 00:02:17.400
Saint Jude Catholic School from kindergarten through
eighth grade, then Notre Dame High School,

29
00:02:17.439 --> 00:02:22.240
where she graduated in two thousand and
one. She had grown into a

30
00:02:22.280 --> 00:02:27.400
beloved young woman. She was bubbly
and kind. Her high school classmates voted

31
00:02:27.439 --> 00:02:31.520
her most spirited, and they chose
her for Homecoming Queen. Carrie was the

32
00:02:31.560 --> 00:02:37.280
epitome of the girl next door,
wholesome, sweet and involved in everything.

33
00:02:38.080 --> 00:02:40.680
She was on the cheerleading squad,
in the student council, and was a

34
00:02:40.800 --> 00:02:46.800
leader for her church's youth ministry.
Needless to say, everyone knew that Carrie

35
00:02:46.840 --> 00:02:50.960
was going places, and the first
place she went after high school was spring

36
00:02:51.039 --> 00:02:55.639
Hill College, a private Catholic university
in Mobile, Alabama. But for whatever

37
00:02:55.719 --> 00:03:00.919
reason, Carrie decided spring Hill wasn't
for her, so in the fall of

38
00:03:00.960 --> 00:03:05.080
two thousand and three, Carrie enrolled
at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville,

39
00:03:05.919 --> 00:03:10.000
maybe because ut was only one hundred
miles from her hometown and family versus spring

40
00:03:10.080 --> 00:03:15.560
Hill College, which had been a
whopping four hundred miles away. At the

41
00:03:15.639 --> 00:03:21.000
University of Tennessee, Carrie majored in
journalism and electronic media. But near the

42
00:03:21.039 --> 00:03:23.439
summer of two thousand and six,
twenty three year old Carrey took a break

43
00:03:23.479 --> 00:03:28.400
from her studies. She got a
job at a popular Knoxville bar in eatery

44
00:03:28.879 --> 00:03:34.759
Barley's tap Room in Pizzeria. Barley's
is located in Knoxville's historic Old City.

45
00:03:35.280 --> 00:03:39.560
There's live music, and they boast
the best draft beer selection in Knoxville.

46
00:03:39.759 --> 00:03:44.639
Carrie loved working for Barley's. She
was good friends with the staff, and

47
00:03:44.719 --> 00:03:49.759
customers loved her. She was one
of the most popular servers there. Carrie's

48
00:03:49.759 --> 00:03:53.520
manager told the Knoxville News Sentinel,
she was part of our family here.

49
00:03:53.960 --> 00:03:58.039
She was a great person. She
always tried to make everybody smile. She

50
00:03:58.199 --> 00:04:01.879
just brought life into a room.
When Carrie wasn't working at Barley's in the

51
00:04:01.919 --> 00:04:05.879
spring of two thousand and eight,
it's likely she was running. She was

52
00:04:05.919 --> 00:04:10.960
training for the Music City Half Marathon
on April twenty sixth, two thousand and

53
00:04:11.000 --> 00:04:15.040
eight. She was participating in this
race to fundraise for an organization that fights

54
00:04:15.079 --> 00:04:21.279
against childhood cancer. It's known as
Emily's Power for a Cure. This organization

55
00:04:21.360 --> 00:04:26.480
held a special place in Carrie's heart
because it was founded in honor of her

56
00:04:26.519 --> 00:04:30.360
two year old niece, Emily Ransom. In February of two thousand and six,

57
00:04:30.800 --> 00:04:35.360
Emily died of stage four narrow blastoma
cancer. As a result of her

58
00:04:35.399 --> 00:04:41.439
passing her parents started this foundation,
and of course, Carrie, who was

59
00:04:41.480 --> 00:04:46.480
described by family members as Emily's favorite
aunt, was very involved. At the

60
00:04:46.519 --> 00:04:50.600
same time that Carrie was training for
her half marathon and working at Barley's,

61
00:04:50.920 --> 00:04:56.480
she lived with her friend Amanda Close. Amanda spend a lot of time with

62
00:04:56.519 --> 00:05:00.759
her boyfriend, Micah Johnson, and
as amanda'sroomate, Carrie hung out with Micah

63
00:05:00.759 --> 00:05:06.319
and Amanda often. Micah Ross Johnson
was born on March sixth, nineteen eighty

64
00:05:06.360 --> 00:05:11.199
seven, to parents Francis and Gary, and grew up in East Tennessee.

65
00:05:12.240 --> 00:05:15.199
In two thousand and three, Micah
was attending Knoxville South Doyle High School.

66
00:05:15.839 --> 00:05:19.480
There, he was an officer in
the technology club and a tight end for

67
00:05:19.519 --> 00:05:24.519
the school's football team. But it
seemed like the tech side of things upheld

68
00:05:24.519 --> 00:05:29.319
to Michaeh more than the sports side
of things, and though Micah was exceptionally

69
00:05:29.360 --> 00:05:33.199
bright, later testing put his IQ
at one thirty three, he had problems

70
00:05:33.240 --> 00:05:38.639
with drugs and alcohol starting in high
school. He was expelled for these issues,

71
00:05:39.879 --> 00:05:43.240
but he cleaned up his act,
went back to high school and graduated

72
00:05:43.279 --> 00:05:48.040
with a scholarship to UT In two
thousand and six, Micah began studying aerospace

73
00:05:48.120 --> 00:05:54.000
engineering at the University of Tennessee.
He met his girlfriend Amanda close in early

74
00:05:54.040 --> 00:05:59.079
spring of two thousand and seven.
But things came crashing down again for Micah

75
00:05:59.360 --> 00:06:02.959
when in his set ear at ET
he was expelled for brutally assaulting a fellow

76
00:06:03.000 --> 00:06:14.879
classmate. I'm going to pause now
for a short commercial break. In September

77
00:06:14.920 --> 00:06:17.439
of two thousand and seven, twenty
year old Micah Johnson was headed to a

78
00:06:17.480 --> 00:06:23.800
math class in UT's airs hall.
Micah's classmate, who will call George,

79
00:06:24.000 --> 00:06:29.279
was walking behind him. They had
the same math class together. Suddenly,

80
00:06:29.720 --> 00:06:33.360
Micah turned around and punched George in
the face. He fell down, completely

81
00:06:33.439 --> 00:06:40.040
knocked out, and then Micah continued
punching him. Police report stated that Micah

82
00:06:40.040 --> 00:06:45.759
punched an unconscious George four to five
more times. For reference, Micah was

83
00:06:45.800 --> 00:06:49.000
six foot three inches tall and weighed
nearly two hundred pounds, not a small

84
00:06:49.040 --> 00:06:54.360
man, even if he had left
his football days behind in high school.

85
00:06:54.759 --> 00:06:59.079
Getting hit by him just one time
was a knockout. As a result of

86
00:06:59.120 --> 00:07:02.720
Micah's ruthless haad attack, George suffered
a broken jaw and numerous other injuries.

87
00:07:03.199 --> 00:07:09.600
He even had to have reconstructive surgery. Why had Michah suddenly attacked George?

88
00:07:10.120 --> 00:07:14.759
Was he overreacting to something George said, something George did. How could we

89
00:07:14.839 --> 00:07:19.079
possibly make sense of this unexplainable assault. Well, it turns out it's difficult

90
00:07:19.120 --> 00:07:24.160
to make sense of anything here because, according to other UT students in the

91
00:07:24.199 --> 00:07:29.560
same math class, Micah and George
had never even spoken yet. Micah said

92
00:07:29.600 --> 00:07:33.279
he was reacting from George and his
friends calling him names. It's unclear if

93
00:07:33.319 --> 00:07:39.639
George was even actually walking with his
friends. From witness reports, the attack

94
00:07:39.720 --> 00:07:44.959
was sudden and unprovoked, but Micah
insisted that George and his group were calling

95
00:07:45.040 --> 00:07:49.399
him pretty boy and other derogatory names. Then he said he saw George make

96
00:07:49.439 --> 00:07:55.920
a fist and suddenly believed he held
a knife. Micah was expelled from the

97
00:07:56.000 --> 00:08:01.759
University of Tennessee, and a clinical
psychologist who evaluated him following this assault said

98
00:08:01.800 --> 00:08:05.680
he suffered from quote a severe mental
disease or defect, and that this mental

99
00:08:05.720 --> 00:08:13.120
disease or defect stopped him from acknowledging
the wrongfulness of his actions, which is

100
00:08:13.120 --> 00:08:16.279
why, even though he was arrested, he never went to trial for the

101
00:08:16.319 --> 00:08:22.800
assault. After Micah attacked George.
He became extremely paranoid. He was convinced

102
00:08:22.920 --> 00:08:26.560
that the police were tracking him.
His behavior was so strange that friends and

103
00:08:26.600 --> 00:08:33.480
family noticed it. Even Carrie,
his girlfriend's roommate, noticed it. She

104
00:08:33.559 --> 00:08:37.840
wrote about Micah and her diary.
Carrie described Micah as crazy and suggested that

105
00:08:37.879 --> 00:08:43.679
he might be schizophrenic. She had
experience with mental illness and her immediate family.

106
00:08:43.879 --> 00:08:48.279
Her diary entry reads like a letter
to Amanda. Maybe she was going

107
00:08:48.279 --> 00:08:52.840
to hand it to her friend and
roommate to avoid confrontation. It's unclear,

108
00:08:54.480 --> 00:08:58.600
but what she wrote was chilling.
Dear Amanda, in regard to Micah,

109
00:08:58.759 --> 00:09:05.080
ad don't feel comfortable around him.
My brother Steve is schizophrenic. Sometimes he

110
00:09:05.120 --> 00:09:09.279
became convinced we me, Will and
Pat are the devil. He especially hated

111
00:09:09.320 --> 00:09:13.679
Will. One day, Mom found
Steve sitting on Will's chest. Will was

112
00:09:13.720 --> 00:09:18.039
three and unconscious. I haven't seen
him since he put a plastic bag on

113
00:09:18.080 --> 00:09:24.399
my head fifteen years ago. Anyways, Micah is schizo as well, and

114
00:09:24.440 --> 00:09:31.679
frankly he terrifies me. Flashbacks,
scary, not ready to die. Will

115
00:09:31.720 --> 00:09:37.240
and Pat are also Carrie's brothers.
Despite feeling more than uncomfortable around Micah,

116
00:09:37.480 --> 00:09:41.720
Carrie had spent a lot of time
with him since he was dating her roommate.

117
00:09:43.120 --> 00:09:46.639
He was over at their North Knoxville
house all the time, and the

118
00:09:46.679 --> 00:09:50.639
three of them hung out a lot, So even though Micah didn't actually live

119
00:09:50.639 --> 00:09:54.720
with Amanda and Carrie, it probably
felt like it sometimes. Some court documents

120
00:09:54.720 --> 00:09:58.519
even report that they did live together. That's how often Micah was over.

121
00:10:00.120 --> 00:10:03.679
He also mowed the yard and helped
take care of the house. Micah's actual

122
00:10:03.720 --> 00:10:07.960
home was in Maryville, Tennessee,
which is about seventeen miles from Knoxville.

123
00:10:09.720 --> 00:10:13.080
He lived with his father and stepmother. Amanda called his dad when she thought

124
00:10:13.120 --> 00:10:18.080
Micah's behavior was getting out of hand
to back up just a little, as

125
00:10:18.120 --> 00:10:22.919
I said. Micah and Amanda met
an early spring of two thousand and seven.

126
00:10:22.519 --> 00:10:26.639
He did not exhibit any mental health
issues at the time. He was

127
00:10:26.679 --> 00:10:31.120
twenty years old in studying aerospace engineering. He also held down a job.

128
00:10:33.039 --> 00:10:37.399
But in September of that year,
after about seven months of dating, Amanda

129
00:10:37.440 --> 00:10:41.360
would later testify that Micah began acting
bizarrely. He was not eating or sleeping

130
00:10:41.399 --> 00:10:46.960
well, and he was saying unusual
things. He also began abusing drugs and

131
00:10:46.039 --> 00:10:52.759
alcohol again. Specifically Benzo's like xanax
or adavan, and he was a heavy

132
00:10:52.759 --> 00:10:58.559
marijuana smoker. That same month,
in September, he attacked his classmate George

133
00:10:58.840 --> 00:11:03.279
and was expelled from Utia and this
is when he received his first kind of

134
00:11:03.360 --> 00:11:09.919
vague diagnosis of mental disease or defect
and avoided prison. But not long after

135
00:11:09.960 --> 00:11:13.799
this, Mica complained to Amanda that
he had symptoms of a heart attack.

136
00:11:13.559 --> 00:11:18.279
She was also alarmed by his anxiety
and paranoia. At this time, she

137
00:11:18.399 --> 00:11:22.120
called Micah's father to pick him up, and Gary Johnson took his son to

138
00:11:22.159 --> 00:11:28.559
Baptist Hospital. He remained in the
psychiatric unit for eight days. They medicated

139
00:11:28.639 --> 00:11:35.120
Micah heavily and he was improving,
but he left the facility against medical advice

140
00:11:35.600 --> 00:11:41.480
because as doctor needed to quote rule
out bipolar mania with psychosis versus first onset

141
00:11:41.519 --> 00:11:46.480
of schizophrenia. Amanda then distanced herself
from Micah for a couple of months until

142
00:11:46.519 --> 00:11:52.440
he began acting like his old self
again. In November, they reunited and

143
00:11:52.480 --> 00:11:56.559
Micah began spending a lot of time
at Amanda and Carrey's house again. For

144
00:11:56.679 --> 00:12:01.480
months, it seemed like he was
recovering well. He was working the late

145
00:12:01.519 --> 00:12:07.080
shift at the Coca Cola warehouse and
had no problems there. On March sixth

146
00:12:07.080 --> 00:12:09.879
of two thousand and eight, Micah
turned twenty one years old. He,

147
00:12:11.080 --> 00:12:16.039
Amanda, and Carrie celebrated his birthday
at Barley's on the weekend before Carrie was

148
00:12:16.120 --> 00:12:20.120
murdered. On Tuesday, March eighteenth, Micah, Amanda, and Carry hung

149
00:12:20.159 --> 00:12:24.759
out yet again. They spent some
time together during the day before Mica had

150
00:12:24.759 --> 00:12:30.039
to leave he needed to get ready
for his shift at work later in the

151
00:12:30.120 --> 00:12:33.759
day. Carrie went to her job
at Barley's. According to Amanda, all

152
00:12:33.799 --> 00:12:39.879
of these interactions seemed completely normal.
That night, after work, around midnight,

153
00:12:41.399 --> 00:12:45.679
Micah called Amanda. They spoke on
the phone for a while, but

154
00:12:45.799 --> 00:12:50.320
at no point during their conversation did
he mention one crucial detail that he was

155
00:12:50.399 --> 00:12:56.399
parked one block away from her house, watching and waiting, and he hadn't

156
00:12:56.440 --> 00:13:03.320
told Amanda yet another crucial detail that
he has stopped taking his antipsychotic medications.

157
00:13:05.039 --> 00:13:09.600
I'm going to pause now to hear
a word from today's sponsors. There's never

158
00:13:09.639 --> 00:13:13.240
a wrong time to protect your home, but this fall happens to be an

159
00:13:13.360 --> 00:13:18.320
especially good time because you can get
up to fifty percent off a brand new

160
00:13:18.360 --> 00:13:22.240
simply Safe home security system. Recently, I read that most burglaries occur during

161
00:13:22.279 --> 00:13:26.200
the day in normal working hours.
I work from home, so I'm alone

162
00:13:26.200 --> 00:13:30.600
a lot, and I feel so
much safer with simply Safe looking out for

163
00:13:30.679 --> 00:13:35.960
me. Simply Safe is comprehensive protection
for the whole home with advanced sensors that

164
00:13:35.039 --> 00:13:39.279
detect break ins, fires, floods, and more, plus HD cameras for

165
00:13:39.320 --> 00:13:45.000
both inside and out. It's powered
by twenty four to seven professional monitoring for

166
00:13:45.080 --> 00:13:48.000
less than one dollar a day,
half the cost of traditional home security.

167
00:13:48.440 --> 00:13:52.399
With new twenty four to seven live
guard protection and the smart Alarm, wireless

168
00:13:52.399 --> 00:13:58.360
indoor camera monitoring, agents can see
and speak to intruders, helping stop crime

169
00:13:58.399 --> 00:14:03.480
in real time. A powerful technology
exclusively from simply Safe. Satisfaction is backed

170
00:14:03.559 --> 00:14:09.440
by simply Safe's money back guarantee.
Try simply Safe for sixty days risk free.

171
00:14:09.519 --> 00:14:13.080
If you don't love it, return
your system for a full refund for

172
00:14:13.120 --> 00:14:16.240
a limited time. Listeners can get
a special fifty percent off any simply Safe

173
00:14:16.240 --> 00:14:22.039
system with a fast protect plan.
Visit simplysafe dot com slash Southern Fried That's

174
00:14:22.039 --> 00:14:28.759
simplysafe dot com slash Southern Fried.
There's no safe like simply safe. Everyone

175
00:14:28.840 --> 00:14:33.159
loves a good family mystery, especially
one with as many twists and turns as

176
00:14:33.240 --> 00:14:37.720
June's Journey. June's Journey is the
number one hidden object game in the world,

177
00:14:39.000 --> 00:14:41.399
but they're captivating to detective story taking
you back to the glamour of the

178
00:14:41.480 --> 00:14:46.279
nineteen twenties with a diverse cast of
characters. Each new scene takes you further

179
00:14:46.360 --> 00:14:50.799
through a thrilling murder mystery story that
sets the main protagonist, June Parker,

180
00:14:50.879 --> 00:14:56.840
on a quest to uncover her family's
mini secrets. Engage your sense of observation

181
00:14:56.960 --> 00:15:00.960
to find hidden clues. Search for
hidden objects from the arlers of New York

182
00:15:01.240 --> 00:15:05.679
to the sidewalks of Paris. Escape
to a bygone age of mystery, danger

183
00:15:05.720 --> 00:15:09.240
and romance, and build your very
own island estate with expansive gardens and beautiful

184
00:15:09.279 --> 00:15:13.840
buildings. I am now in chapter
nine, on a new adventure on the

185
00:15:13.960 --> 00:15:18.320
dark streets of Paris. With the
holidays ramping up, life has gotten busier,

186
00:15:18.480 --> 00:15:22.000
so I especially enjoy my breaks when
I slip away to play my favorite

187
00:15:22.039 --> 00:15:26.240
game. Can You Crack the Case? Download June's Journey for free today on

188
00:15:26.360 --> 00:15:33.759
iOS and Android The following information is
from court documents, eyewitness testimony, and

189
00:15:33.840 --> 00:15:39.080
Mike's multiple confessions. While no one
will ever know for certain what exactly happened

190
00:15:39.120 --> 00:15:43.480
on this fateful night, this is
about as close as we can get.

191
00:15:45.039 --> 00:15:48.039
Around one am, Wednesday, March
nineteenth, two thousand and eight, twenty

192
00:15:48.080 --> 00:15:52.919
four year old Carrie Dougherty finished her
shift at Barley's tap Room in Pizzeria.

193
00:15:52.639 --> 00:15:56.919
Bidding her coworker's farewell, she hopped
on her Ford Explorer and drove home.

194
00:15:58.799 --> 00:16:02.759
She had no idea Mike was waiting
for her. He had parked a block

195
00:16:02.799 --> 00:16:07.279
away from Carrie and Amanda's house.
Carrie parked on the street in front of

196
00:16:07.360 --> 00:16:11.919
the house. As Carrie got out
of her SUV and was walking to the

197
00:16:11.960 --> 00:16:15.720
door, Micah approached her. At
this point they may have exchanged a few

198
00:16:15.759 --> 00:16:18.600
words, but that is unclear and
I will get into it more later.

199
00:16:21.039 --> 00:16:23.960
Micah had a brick he had gotten
from the backyard. He suddenly hit Carry

200
00:16:23.960 --> 00:16:29.000
in the head with it. He
used so much force that the brick broke

201
00:16:29.039 --> 00:16:33.840
in half. A neighbor who witnessed
part of the attack and then called nine

202
00:16:33.919 --> 00:16:37.039
one one, said that he continued
to beat Carrie in the head with the

203
00:16:37.080 --> 00:16:41.600
brick. As he dragged her across
the front yard. He suddenly stopped,

204
00:16:41.879 --> 00:16:45.240
and as Carrie lay on the ground
stunned, Micah went over to the car

205
00:16:45.279 --> 00:16:49.519
port. He grabbed a dull bladed
shovel. Then he used that shovel to

206
00:16:49.559 --> 00:16:55.480
stab Carrie multiple times, mostly in
her neck region. The Emmy would later

207
00:16:55.519 --> 00:16:59.919
say it appeared that Micah was trying
to decapitate her. Then he grabbed some

208
00:17:00.120 --> 00:17:03.879
nylon rope from the car port.
He wrapped the rope around Carrie's neck and

209
00:17:03.960 --> 00:17:07.720
tried to strangle her with it.
He dragged her back and forth across the

210
00:17:07.720 --> 00:17:11.960
front yard. In total, Micah
attacked Carrie for more than ten minutes,

211
00:17:11.640 --> 00:17:15.200
and he had grabbed her cell phone. Says she couldn't call for help,

212
00:17:15.880 --> 00:17:19.000
but as I said, a neighbor
did call for help. They only saw

213
00:17:19.039 --> 00:17:23.079
the beginning of the attack before running
for the phone to call nine one one,

214
00:17:23.279 --> 00:17:27.640
and at one forty six am,
Knoxville Police Department officers were dispatched to

215
00:17:27.680 --> 00:17:33.839
investigate a domestic disturbance at Carrie's home. The police arrived at one fifty seven

216
00:17:33.880 --> 00:17:38.119
am, and they discovered Carrie's body
in the front yard. The nylon rope

217
00:17:38.119 --> 00:17:41.799
was still tied around her neck,
and both the shovel and brick pieces lay

218
00:17:41.839 --> 00:17:48.000
nearby. She lay partially under her
own vehicle. Later, Carrie's autopsy would

219
00:17:48.039 --> 00:17:52.640
show that she had deep lacerations from
Micah chopping at her neck with a shovel.

220
00:17:52.880 --> 00:17:56.880
Her jugular vein had been severed.
She had also suffered skull fractures and

221
00:17:56.920 --> 00:18:02.160
had abrasions on her back from being
dragged. Her arms and hands were covered

222
00:18:02.160 --> 00:18:07.720
in defensive wounds. The medical examiner
would later testify that Carrie had lived for

223
00:18:07.759 --> 00:18:12.039
several minutes of the horrific attack.
Carrie's main cause of death was blunt for's

224
00:18:12.079 --> 00:18:15.359
injuries to the head, with the
chopping, injuries to the neck and the

225
00:18:15.359 --> 00:18:22.720
strangulation being contributing factors. At the
crime scene, authorities located Carrie's purse,

226
00:18:22.880 --> 00:18:26.359
jacket, shoes, and keys.
They were strewn across the lawn. The

227
00:18:26.440 --> 00:18:33.519
scene was terribly gruesome. Carrie's blood
was everywhere, especially on her vehicle where

228
00:18:33.519 --> 00:18:36.880
she was found. There was a
blood trail from the side door of the

229
00:18:36.920 --> 00:18:42.200
house across the yard to Carrie's suv. After trying and failing to put Carrie's

230
00:18:42.200 --> 00:18:47.519
body in her own suv, presumably
in an attempt to hide her body to

231
00:18:47.519 --> 00:18:52.680
buy time. Micah had fled the
scene, but the police didn't know that.

232
00:18:52.039 --> 00:18:56.160
They thought he might have gone inside
the house. As a result,

233
00:18:56.240 --> 00:19:00.799
a swat team and hostage negotiator were
called to the scene. The police knocked

234
00:19:00.839 --> 00:19:06.200
on the door and a surprised Amanda
answered it. Meanwhile, Micah went to

235
00:19:06.240 --> 00:19:10.839
his father's home in Maryville, took
a shower and changed clothes. He stashed

236
00:19:10.839 --> 00:19:15.079
his bloody clothes in a bag before
going to an ATM and withdrawing five hundred

237
00:19:15.119 --> 00:19:19.119
dollars. Then he began to head
toward Georgia. Cell Phone records put him

238
00:19:19.119 --> 00:19:23.359
in the Atlanta, Georgia area.
When his father called him, Gary Johnson

239
00:19:23.400 --> 00:19:29.119
talked his son into coming back to
turn himself in. Micah did drive back

240
00:19:29.119 --> 00:19:33.559
to Knoxville, but he didn't turn
himself into authorities right away. Law enforcement

241
00:19:33.599 --> 00:19:40.480
officers had zeroed in on Micah Johnson
as the primary suspect because Amanda told investigators

242
00:19:40.480 --> 00:19:45.799
about his mental health issues in her
first interview, so they suspected strongly it

243
00:19:45.839 --> 00:19:49.440
was Mica from the jump. They
just needed to find him. Meanwhile,

244
00:19:49.680 --> 00:19:55.480
Amanda fled to her parents' home in
Loudney County. Because she was understandably distraught,

245
00:19:56.160 --> 00:19:59.240
She gave her dad her phone to
answer and tried to get some sleep.

246
00:20:00.119 --> 00:20:03.480
Micah called her phone that afternoon,
but when Amanda's dad answered, court

247
00:20:03.519 --> 00:20:07.240
documents say there was a brief silence
before he asked to speak with her.

248
00:20:07.880 --> 00:20:14.039
Mister Close refused and repeatedly told him
he should turn himself into the police.

249
00:20:14.079 --> 00:20:18.079
He later testified then, in the
approximate five minute call, Micah was vague

250
00:20:18.240 --> 00:20:23.519
but answering repetitively with quote little snippets
of words that amounted to remorse, For

251
00:20:23.559 --> 00:20:30.000
example, while I've screwed up,
I've messed up. When Amanda left to

252
00:20:30.039 --> 00:20:33.400
return home, she went out to
her car and saw that someone had placed

253
00:20:33.440 --> 00:20:37.119
gravel in the shape of a heart
with the words I am dead on the

254
00:20:37.119 --> 00:20:41.480
hood of her car. Someone had
also rifled through her car and left a

255
00:20:41.519 --> 00:20:45.720
half empty beer can and cigarette butts. No one witnessed Mica do this,

256
00:20:47.160 --> 00:20:51.440
but the Close family confirmed that he
had visited her family home several times,

257
00:20:51.799 --> 00:20:56.000
so he knew where to find Amanda. It had to be him. On

258
00:20:56.039 --> 00:21:00.480
Wednesday, March nineteenth, at eleven
thirty pm, about ten hours after carry

259
00:21:00.559 --> 00:21:04.480
was murdered. A police officer spotted
Micah. He was in his red nineteen

260
00:21:04.519 --> 00:21:08.319
eighty eight Ford F one to fifty
pickup truck and he was near Carry and

261
00:21:08.359 --> 00:21:14.480
Amanda's home When the police officer spotted
Micah. They tried to pull him over

262
00:21:14.519 --> 00:21:18.839
for a traffic stop, but Micah
led the officer on a short chase,

263
00:21:18.119 --> 00:21:22.839
running multiple red lights. Finally,
he slammed on his brakes on Henley Bridge.

264
00:21:23.319 --> 00:21:26.799
He exited his car, ran to
the side rail of the bridge and

265
00:21:26.920 --> 00:21:32.279
looked like he was going to jump, but he didn't. According to the

266
00:21:32.279 --> 00:21:36.599
police spokesperson who spoke with the Knoxville
News Sentinel, there is no doubt he

267
00:21:36.680 --> 00:21:40.400
thought about it, and he had
an opportunity before the officers got to him,

268
00:21:40.799 --> 00:21:44.079
but he never actually climbed up onto
the railing, and then he started

269
00:21:44.079 --> 00:21:48.359
struggling with the officers. Michah struggled
so hard that one officer even tried to

270
00:21:48.400 --> 00:21:52.559
taze him, but the wire projectile
didn't go through his heavy jacket, so

271
00:21:52.640 --> 00:21:59.480
the shock was ineffective. Before transporting
Micah to jail, the authority stopped at

272
00:21:59.519 --> 00:22:03.920
the Universe to the of Tennessee Medical
Center to get him evaluated. He was

273
00:22:03.960 --> 00:22:07.480
found competent enough to transfer to jail. Then twenty one year old Michael Ross

274
00:22:07.559 --> 00:22:12.599
Johnson was arrested for the charges of
first degree murder and evading arrest. He

275
00:22:12.680 --> 00:22:18.319
was held on a nine hundred thousand
dollars bond. Around this time, investigators

276
00:22:18.319 --> 00:22:22.480
found Carrey's cell phone in Micah's truck, along with eighty seven dollars that she

277
00:22:22.519 --> 00:22:27.960
had made in tips that night.
Micah's bloody fingerprints were on Carree's blood splattered

278
00:22:29.039 --> 00:22:33.440
SUV, and his clothes and shoes
were covered in Carrie's DNA, not to

279
00:22:33.480 --> 00:22:38.400
mention his father's shower, which tested
positive for blood. Everyone was shocked by

280
00:22:38.400 --> 00:22:44.240
Micah's horrific actions. Why would he
kill Carrie? They were not hooking up

281
00:22:44.359 --> 00:22:48.559
or even flirtatious. They were barely
even real friends. Carry's brother, Scott

282
00:22:48.839 --> 00:22:52.319
told the Knoxville News Sentinel, I
don't have any idea why he would have

283
00:22:52.359 --> 00:22:57.799
done this. On Monday, March
twenty fourth, Carrie's family held a Mass

284
00:22:57.839 --> 00:23:03.920
of celebration at the Saint Jude Catholic
Church. Afterward, Carrie was laid to

285
00:23:03.000 --> 00:23:08.279
rest in Hamilton Memorial Gardens in Hickson, Tennessee. Her family requested that any

286
00:23:08.319 --> 00:23:15.000
memorial contributions be donated to Emily's Power
for a cure. The entrance to Barley's,

287
00:23:15.000 --> 00:23:18.079
where Carrie worked, was covered in
cards, flowers, and prayer kindles

288
00:23:18.079 --> 00:23:22.359
from her friends, co workers,
and an outpouring of the shocked community.

289
00:23:23.720 --> 00:23:29.039
Several months later, on May eighth, two thousand and eight, Carrie's friends

290
00:23:29.160 --> 00:23:33.680
celebrated what would have been her twenty
fifth birthday. They raised a glass in

291
00:23:33.720 --> 00:23:38.559
Carrie's honor at her favorite restaurant,
Signor Taco. One friend told the Knoxville

292
00:23:38.559 --> 00:23:44.960
News Sentinel every day was a better
day because she was there, and for

293
00:23:45.119 --> 00:23:49.759
years, multiple organizations, including the
University of Tennessee and Barley's Taproom in Pizzeria,

294
00:23:51.000 --> 00:23:56.839
would continue to hold events in Carrie's
name. I'm going to pause now

295
00:23:56.880 --> 00:24:03.200
for a word from today's sponsors.
If you want to hear where'd you get

296
00:24:03.240 --> 00:24:07.319
that? This holiday season? Uncommon
Goods is your secret weapon. Uncommon Goods

297
00:24:07.440 --> 00:24:11.599
is here to make your holiday shopping
stress free by scouring the globe for truly

298
00:24:11.720 --> 00:24:17.079
unique gifts for everyone on your list. I found a Murder Mystery jigsaw puzzle

299
00:24:17.119 --> 00:24:19.279
for my secret Santa gift. The
box is in the shape of a book

300
00:24:19.359 --> 00:24:22.400
to put on your shelves. It
is so cool, I bought two so

301
00:24:22.400 --> 00:24:26.880
that I could have one for myself. When you shop at Uncommon Goods,

302
00:24:26.119 --> 00:24:32.279
you're supporting artists and small independent businesses. These fine products are often made in

303
00:24:32.359 --> 00:24:36.680
small batches, so shop now before
they sell out this holiday season. From

304
00:24:36.799 --> 00:24:40.440
art and jewelry to kitchen, home
and bar, Uncommon Goods has something for

305
00:24:40.559 --> 00:24:44.599
everyone, and with every purchase you
make at Uncommon Goods, they give back

306
00:24:44.640 --> 00:24:48.680
one dollar to a nonprofit partner of
your choice. They've donated more than two

307
00:24:48.680 --> 00:24:52.359
and a half million dollars to date. To get fifteen percent off your next

308
00:24:52.400 --> 00:24:56.359
gift, go to uncommon Goods dot
com slash Southern Fried. That's Uncommon Goods

309
00:24:56.400 --> 00:25:00.599
dot com slash Southern Fried for fifteen
percent off. Don't miss out on this

310
00:25:00.720 --> 00:25:07.279
limited time offer uncommon Goods. We're
all out of ordinary. Unexpected expenses like

311
00:25:07.319 --> 00:25:11.200
car trouble can really throw off your
budget. Worrying about it doesn't help.

312
00:25:11.400 --> 00:25:15.359
Earn In does. Earn In is
the app that provides up to one hundred

313
00:25:15.400 --> 00:25:19.920
dollars a day of your paycheck within
minutes of earning it. No mandatory fees,

314
00:25:21.000 --> 00:25:23.759
no credit check, and no debt
traps. Watch your earnings tick up

315
00:25:23.799 --> 00:25:27.359
as you work and access up to
seven hundred and fifty dollars per pay period.

316
00:25:27.680 --> 00:25:32.279
It's easy and free to get started. Add your bank and employment info

317
00:25:32.440 --> 00:25:36.680
and they'll verify your paycheck. Like
many people, I've been forced into payday

318
00:25:36.680 --> 00:25:40.519
loans in emergencies, and it's a
vicious cycle. Looking back, I would

319
00:25:40.559 --> 00:25:42.759
have killed to have an app like
earn In. Make earn in a part

320
00:25:42.799 --> 00:25:48.440
of your financial routine and join earn
In's over three and a half million customers

321
00:25:48.519 --> 00:25:52.240
who rely on the peace of mind
earn In gives them. Download earn in

322
00:25:52.279 --> 00:25:56.000
today spelled ea r n i in
in the Google Play or Apple App Store.

323
00:25:56.240 --> 00:26:00.880
When you download the earn in app, type in Southern fry Under podcast

324
00:26:00.920 --> 00:26:04.839
when you sign up. It'll really
help the show Southern fried Under podcast subject

325
00:26:04.880 --> 00:26:08.799
to your available earnings daily max and
pay period max. See urnin dot com

326
00:26:08.799 --> 00:26:14.160
slash cos for details. Arnin is
a financial technology company, not a bank.

327
00:26:14.400 --> 00:26:21.759
Bank. Products are issued by Evolved
Bank and Trust Member FDIC. Although

328
00:26:21.799 --> 00:26:25.359
Micah was indicted for Carrie's murder in
early May of two thousand and eight,

329
00:26:25.839 --> 00:26:30.000
his trial didn't take place for three
more years, and that's in part because

330
00:26:30.039 --> 00:26:34.079
Micah was pleading not guilty by reason
of insanity. His defense team was going

331
00:26:34.119 --> 00:26:38.960
to argue that Micah was so mentally
disturbed when he viciously attacked Carrie that he

332
00:26:40.000 --> 00:26:44.160
didn't know what he was doing.
They would argue that Micah was legally insane

333
00:26:44.160 --> 00:26:48.240
at the time he bludgeoned, stabbed, and strangled her, even though he

334
00:26:48.279 --> 00:26:52.240
was stopping and taking time to get
each new weapon. The defense team would

335
00:26:52.359 --> 00:26:55.359
argue that he couldn't have stopped what
he was doing even if he had wanted

336
00:26:55.400 --> 00:27:02.519
to. Since both the prosecution and
defense needed to boroughly understand Micah's mental state

337
00:27:02.599 --> 00:27:06.720
to make their arguments, there are
a lot of delays. He spent at

338
00:27:06.799 --> 00:27:11.400
least a month in the Middle Tennessee
Mental Health Institute in a maximum security ward

339
00:27:11.839 --> 00:27:18.079
undergoing evaluations just for the prosecution,
and there were more evaluations both before and

340
00:27:18.160 --> 00:27:22.599
after that. Plus when you add
in all the regular court backlog, the

341
00:27:22.680 --> 00:27:26.119
time just added up. While all
these delays were happening, Micah remained in

342
00:27:26.200 --> 00:27:33.119
police custody, be it in jail
or a mental institution. While incarcerated,

343
00:27:33.480 --> 00:27:37.759
Micah wrote letters to people, including
his then ex girlfriend Amanda, and he

344
00:27:37.839 --> 00:27:41.599
made over one hundred phone calls.
Some of these letters and phone calls contained

345
00:27:41.599 --> 00:27:48.160
incriminating information that the prosecution wanted to
use in court, which isn't uncommon,

346
00:27:48.599 --> 00:27:52.599
but this time it was a big
issue. Basically, when a person is

347
00:27:52.599 --> 00:27:57.039
incarcerated, their letters and phone calls
are usually not private unless they are consulting

348
00:27:57.039 --> 00:28:03.240
with their lawyers. So the prosecution
was reading all of Micah's letters and transcribing

349
00:28:03.240 --> 00:28:08.559
his phone calls, but they purposely
didn't turn over the letters or phone calls

350
00:28:08.559 --> 00:28:14.759
to Micah's defense counsel. That's a
violation of the Brady Rule, which requires

351
00:28:14.799 --> 00:28:18.880
that the prosecution disclose evidence that could
be favorable to the defendant. And who's

352
00:28:18.920 --> 00:28:22.440
to say that some of the things
Micah was writing in these letters or saying

353
00:28:22.440 --> 00:28:27.119
in these phone calls couldn't be favorable
to him, and Micah did express remorse

354
00:28:27.160 --> 00:28:32.000
and at least one letter. Legally, the defense should have been given this

355
00:28:32.079 --> 00:28:37.279
information. In one letter to Amanda, Micah begged please acknowledge my life as

356
00:28:37.319 --> 00:28:42.799
still worth something. But the prosecution
knew if they turned over this promising evidence

357
00:28:42.839 --> 00:28:48.920
to the defense, then Micah would
stop writing letters and making phone calls because

358
00:28:48.920 --> 00:28:52.720
his lawyers would literally tell him to
stop and then the prosecution's steady stream of

359
00:28:52.759 --> 00:28:59.519
incriminating evidence would dry up. But
as an aside, why defendants aren't warned

360
00:28:59.559 --> 00:29:03.039
about them monitoring of their calls and
letters by their defense council is always a

361
00:29:03.039 --> 00:29:08.720
mystery to me. The assistant District
Attorney, Takeisha Fitzgerald, later received a

362
00:29:08.799 --> 00:29:12.920
censure from the High Courts for withholding
this evidence, but a censure is more

363
00:29:12.920 --> 00:29:18.039
of a slap on the wrist than
anything else. On November seventh, twenty

364
00:29:18.079 --> 00:29:23.559
eleven, Micah's trial finally began,
and they had a tough time finding jurors

365
00:29:23.559 --> 00:29:29.079
for the trial. Since his defense
was relying entirely on his alleged insanity.

366
00:29:30.319 --> 00:29:33.559
It was hard for some people to
handle that if Micah was deemed insane,

367
00:29:33.920 --> 00:29:37.960
he might not receive a prison sentence
even though he had brutally killed someone.

368
00:29:37.880 --> 00:29:42.240
One potential juror said, I don't
believe in psychiatrists. I believe if you

369
00:29:42.319 --> 00:29:47.039
do the crime, you need to
do the time. This juror was rejected,

370
00:29:47.519 --> 00:29:51.480
but others with more middle of the
road opinions on mental health were accepted.

371
00:29:52.440 --> 00:29:56.440
It is difficult to find a totally
impartial jury in these cases, and

372
00:29:56.519 --> 00:30:02.960
probably particularly harder because Carrie's murder had
ex stintsive press coverage, the defense counsel's

373
00:30:02.960 --> 00:30:07.480
motion for a change of venue had
been denied. Finally, opening arguments began.

374
00:30:08.400 --> 00:30:14.160
According to the prosecution, Micah was
mentally ill, but not legally insane

375
00:30:14.200 --> 00:30:17.720
at the time of Carrie's murder.
To prove this, they brought to the

376
00:30:17.759 --> 00:30:22.920
stand witnesses who could testify to how
normal Micah seemed right before he killed Carrie.

377
00:30:22.880 --> 00:30:27.000
Micah's Coca Cola warehouse supervisor said he
seemed fine at work that day,

378
00:30:27.799 --> 00:30:33.640
Amanda testified that he acted perfectly fine
hours before she Carrie and Micah had hung

379
00:30:33.680 --> 00:30:37.200
out that day, and Micah's own
parents testified that he was known to abuse

380
00:30:37.240 --> 00:30:42.640
alcohol and drugs regularly, especially marijuana. The state was trying to show jurors

381
00:30:42.880 --> 00:30:48.400
that Micah wasn't out of his own
control. From the state's perspective, Micah

382
00:30:48.440 --> 00:30:52.599
was a dangerous person. He just
also happened to have a mental health problem,

383
00:30:53.039 --> 00:30:57.960
one that sometimes caused him to have
paranoid delusions and hallucinations, and that

384
00:30:59.200 --> 00:31:03.880
had both sides agreed, caused Micah
to be legally insane when he attacked his

385
00:31:03.920 --> 00:31:07.799
classmate George out of the Blue in
September of two thousand and seven, but

386
00:31:07.960 --> 00:31:14.920
not when he murdered Carrie Doherty.
One of the prosecution's most compelling witnesses was

387
00:31:15.000 --> 00:31:21.279
forensic psychiatrist doctor ROKEA. Ferouke.
She argued that if Michah was truly insane

388
00:31:21.319 --> 00:31:25.359
when he attacked Carrie, then why
did he park a block away from carrying

389
00:31:25.400 --> 00:31:30.039
Amanda's house? Why did he shower
after the murder? Why did he flee

390
00:31:30.039 --> 00:31:33.839
the state? Why did he allegedly
write I'm dead and gravel on Amanda's car?

391
00:31:34.559 --> 00:31:40.000
The answer because Micah knew that killing
carry was wrong, which means he

392
00:31:40.119 --> 00:31:45.720
wasn't legally insane. Throughout the state's
case, Micah's defense did not pose a

393
00:31:45.720 --> 00:31:49.880
single question to any of the prosecution's
witnesses. They waited patiently until it was

394
00:31:49.920 --> 00:31:55.640
their turn to present MICA's side of
the story, and then chaos ensued.

395
00:31:56.839 --> 00:32:00.960
The defense brought to the stand their
own forensic psychiatrist, doctor Keith Carusoe.

396
00:32:01.039 --> 00:32:08.319
He testified that Micah suffered from schizo
effective disorder bipolar type. Doctor Carusoe believed

397
00:32:08.519 --> 00:32:14.319
that Micah had killed Carrie during a
period of paranoid psychosis, meaning he was

398
00:32:14.480 --> 00:32:20.119
legally insane when he murdered her.
In sessions with doctor Carusoe and other professionals,

399
00:32:20.599 --> 00:32:22.759
Micah told two main versions of what
had happened on the night he killed

400
00:32:22.799 --> 00:32:29.039
Carrie. One version of events was
that Mica believed that the person driving up

401
00:32:29.079 --> 00:32:35.240
to carry in Amanda's house was Amanda's
ex boyfriend. Micah allegedly had reason to

402
00:32:35.240 --> 00:32:39.839
believe that this ex boyfriend had once
raved Amanda. Micah was insane, so

403
00:32:39.920 --> 00:32:45.400
he couldn't recognize Carrie. He truly
thought she was this different, dangerous man

404
00:32:45.440 --> 00:32:49.680
who had come to hurt his girlfriend. The second version of events is this

405
00:32:50.440 --> 00:32:53.720
Mica didn't know who Carrie was at
all. He only recognized her as quote

406
00:32:53.960 --> 00:32:59.359
a scary dark figure or shape that
was coming toward him for the purpose of

407
00:32:59.440 --> 00:33:04.839
killing him. Doctor Carusoe testified that, in his opinion, Micah should be

408
00:33:04.960 --> 00:33:12.200
hospitalized in a forensic psychiatric hospital indefinitely
and would need lifelong medication given by monthly

409
00:33:12.240 --> 00:33:15.759
injections. He also said, quote, this is a guy who was not

410
00:33:15.839 --> 00:33:21.440
real forthcoming about how mentally ill he
is. He's going to need to be

411
00:33:21.559 --> 00:33:25.359
monitored very very closely. I think
those are the things that you know are

412
00:33:25.400 --> 00:33:29.920
the best options. If he winds
up in prison, He's going to need

413
00:33:30.000 --> 00:33:32.400
the same kind of treatment, the
access to it is not going to be

414
00:33:32.440 --> 00:33:37.200
as good. I kind of worry
about medication non compliance because I've already seen

415
00:33:37.240 --> 00:33:43.039
a case where a corrections officer was
murdered by an inmate with psychiatric illness that

416
00:33:43.160 --> 00:33:47.599
was not on medication. But after
cross examination by the state, some of

417
00:33:47.640 --> 00:33:52.799
doctor Carusoe's notes were entered into evidence. As I said, Michaeh talked to

418
00:33:52.839 --> 00:33:59.079
Crusoe and Ferruk and other psychiatrists many
times over the months and years leading up

419
00:33:59.079 --> 00:34:05.359
to trial. His stories changed all
the time, but doctor Crusoe was his

420
00:34:05.440 --> 00:34:10.519
expert witness and ultimately provided a formal
report for Micah's defense, and this final

421
00:34:10.559 --> 00:34:15.960
report did not include one version of
his confession that Micah had actually told Carusoe

422
00:34:16.000 --> 00:34:22.280
first. Upon cross examination, doctor
Carusoe admitted he left out the first confession

423
00:34:22.719 --> 00:34:29.400
because he believed Micah was lying.
So the prosecution subpoened his original notes from

424
00:34:29.400 --> 00:34:34.679
interviews with Micah rather than just rely
on the formal report, And in these

425
00:34:34.760 --> 00:34:38.079
notes, the third version of events
came to light, one that the prosecution

426
00:34:38.239 --> 00:34:44.679
had never heard before, and this
version supported that Michah wasn't insane. It

427
00:34:44.719 --> 00:34:49.679
actually made it seem like Micah had
a pretty clear rationale for everything. In

428
00:34:49.719 --> 00:34:52.760
May of two thousand and nine,
Micah told doctor Carusoe that he had had

429
00:34:52.760 --> 00:34:58.000
a sexual fantasy about Carrie about a
day before the murder, and as a

430
00:34:58.039 --> 00:35:00.559
result of this fantasy, he went
to her in Amanda's house in the early

431
00:35:00.599 --> 00:35:06.039
morning hours of March nineteenth. He
waited for Carrie to come home from work.

432
00:35:06.920 --> 00:35:10.000
When she arrived, Micah demanded some
money that she supposedly owed him.

433
00:35:10.880 --> 00:35:15.400
He allegedly gave her some money to
buy marijuana, but she never did,

434
00:35:15.199 --> 00:35:20.199
and when she refused to pay,
Micah asked her for sex in exchange for

435
00:35:20.239 --> 00:35:25.880
the money. He said. At
this Carrie angrily slapped him. When Carrie's

436
00:35:25.880 --> 00:35:29.960
hand hid his face, he claimed
that he blacked out and attacked her.

437
00:35:30.079 --> 00:35:34.719
Remember, even though this was the
third version of events the court was hearing,

438
00:35:35.159 --> 00:35:39.280
it was actually the very first version
that Micah told doctor Crusoe. To

439
00:35:39.400 --> 00:35:44.639
some that makes it seem like Michah
was probably telling the truth, but to

440
00:35:44.719 --> 00:35:50.079
doctor Crusoe it was evidence that Micah
was fabricating this version. He recanted this

441
00:35:50.119 --> 00:35:55.480
story and repeatedly told the two other
narratives to Crusoe. Doctor Carusoe determined that

442
00:35:55.519 --> 00:35:59.920
Micah made up the hole I wanted
to have sex with Carrie and she rejected

443
00:36:00.119 --> 00:36:04.679
me story because he was worried.
Micah thought that if he told the truth

444
00:36:05.079 --> 00:36:08.599
that he was insane, his chances
for a lighter prison sentence were slim.

445
00:36:09.079 --> 00:36:14.360
Micah said he knew from talking to
his fellow jail inmates that Tennessee jurors are

446
00:36:14.360 --> 00:36:20.079
not statistically likely to accept I was
insane as a valid excuse for someone committing

447
00:36:20.199 --> 00:36:24.360
murder, and that is true.
Out of a hypothetical one thousand criminal cases

448
00:36:24.400 --> 00:36:29.119
in Tennessee, only ten of them
would ever use insanity as a defense,

449
00:36:29.719 --> 00:36:34.119
and of those ten, no more
than three would win their case. But

450
00:36:34.199 --> 00:36:37.920
it wasn't just his fellow inmates.
The prosecution also brought up that Micah had

451
00:36:38.000 --> 00:36:45.679
visited the law library in jail nineteen
times. Doctor Cruzo testified that Micah was

452
00:36:45.719 --> 00:36:50.800
trying to present himself as quote less
crazy so he wouldn't be locked away forever.

453
00:36:52.559 --> 00:36:55.960
Micah also admitted that he just didn't
want to be labeled as crazy or

454
00:36:55.960 --> 00:37:02.679
a monster. His Upella attorney later
argued that this is really common with patients

455
00:37:02.760 --> 00:37:07.360
suffering with schizophrenia, even if it's
in their own best interest to admit their

456
00:37:07.400 --> 00:37:13.559
actual delusions and hallucinations, they cannot
bear the labels that go with the insanity

457
00:37:13.599 --> 00:37:16.840
defense. But what gets me is
that Micah could have made up anything,

458
00:37:17.199 --> 00:37:22.400
any reason at all, for why
he murdered Carrie, That she attacked him,

459
00:37:22.480 --> 00:37:25.679
that she was threatening him. Did
Mica tell doctor Carusoe this version of

460
00:37:25.679 --> 00:37:32.519
events because it was the truth and
then realized his mistake after the prosecution was

461
00:37:32.679 --> 00:37:37.199
just as baffled as I am.
It's a version of events from the defense

462
00:37:37.519 --> 00:37:43.000
that shows Micah was fully aware of
his actions. His defense attorney Mark Stevens

463
00:37:43.000 --> 00:37:47.119
claimed he had never heard this version
of events before, that it was only

464
00:37:47.159 --> 00:37:52.599
in doctor Carusoe's notes and the earliest
draft of the report, which Stephens claimed

465
00:37:52.599 --> 00:37:57.280
he had never seen, and doctor
Carusoe claimed that he thought everyone already knew

466
00:37:57.280 --> 00:38:00.760
about it because it was in his
notes, But Stephen said he only relied

467
00:38:00.800 --> 00:38:05.920
on the final report that doctor Crusoe
submitted, saying he didn't have time to

468
00:38:05.960 --> 00:38:10.840
go through all the materials and believed
the final report would be fully complete.

469
00:38:12.119 --> 00:38:16.079
Likewise, doctor Carusoe also claimed he
didn't have time to create a full final

470
00:38:16.159 --> 00:38:20.920
report, and the one submitted was
only supposed to be the latest draft.

471
00:38:22.519 --> 00:38:27.400
Did the dog also eat their homework? The negligence of these two professionals is

472
00:38:27.440 --> 00:38:31.800
astounding, no matter how you feel
about Micah's claim of insanity. They fully

473
00:38:31.840 --> 00:38:35.840
had to stop court for one day
and send duerrs home to get this mess

474
00:38:35.840 --> 00:38:39.159
sorted out. The next day,
doctor Crusoe took the stand again, and

475
00:38:39.199 --> 00:38:44.239
in the words of MICA's own lawyer, he was eviscerated during cross examination.

476
00:38:45.519 --> 00:38:47.840
It was, to put it,
lightly, a shit show. And I

477
00:38:47.920 --> 00:38:52.440
haven't even told you about how Crusoe
was called out for committing an academic misdeed

478
00:38:52.639 --> 00:38:59.320
during medical school. He had falsified
some data for a research project, but

479
00:38:59.360 --> 00:39:04.760
the incident happened over twenty years ago
and the research was never published for the

480
00:39:04.800 --> 00:39:08.320
record. Up until this incident came
out in Micah's trial, doctor Crusoe was

481
00:39:08.320 --> 00:39:14.519
a respected forensic psychiatrist who was not
only an approved expert witness for this court

482
00:39:14.559 --> 00:39:19.239
district, but had testified a few
other times for Micah's attorneys in other cases.

483
00:39:20.119 --> 00:39:25.440
Still, this revelation about falsifying data
was extremely damaging to his credibility.

484
00:39:25.840 --> 00:39:30.679
The defense rested its case shortly after
this debacle, and in late November of

485
00:39:30.719 --> 00:39:36.760
twenty eleven, the jury deliberated for
six hours before rejecting twenty four year old

486
00:39:36.840 --> 00:39:43.960
Micah Johnson's insanity defense for the brutal
murder of Carrie Doherty. The jury convicted

487
00:39:44.000 --> 00:39:47.440
Micah of one count of premeditated murder, two counts of felony murder, two

488
00:39:47.480 --> 00:39:53.119
counts of especially aggravated kidnapping, and
one count of especially aggravated robbery. The

489
00:39:53.199 --> 00:39:58.840
three murder convictions were merged into a
single count, and the two especially aggravated

490
00:39:58.920 --> 00:40:05.559
kidnapping convictions were likewise merged. The
trial court sentenced Micah Johnson to life for

491
00:40:05.639 --> 00:40:09.519
the murder convictions and to twenty five
years each for the kidnapping and robbery convictions,

492
00:40:09.960 --> 00:40:15.679
which resulted in an effective sentence of
life plus fifty years. The court

493
00:40:15.760 --> 00:40:21.760
later held additional hearings to further sentence
Micah for his smaller crimes like evading the

494
00:40:21.800 --> 00:40:27.800
police. During sentencing, Micah spoke
out and asked Carrie's friends and family to

495
00:40:27.840 --> 00:40:32.119
forgive him. They shouted no in
the court room. During her impact statement,

496
00:40:32.559 --> 00:40:37.559
Carrie's mother, Carol said, we
have been sentenced to a lifetime of

497
00:40:37.599 --> 00:40:43.599
heartache because of that horrible monster.
I'm going to pause now for a final

498
00:40:43.639 --> 00:40:53.639
commercial break. Following his trial,
Micah appealed his conviction and won. Honestly,

499
00:40:53.920 --> 00:40:58.639
this is a rare occasion that I'm
not surprised someone won an appeal.

500
00:40:59.480 --> 00:41:04.039
As with all appeals, Micah's defense
had provided the court a huge list of

501
00:41:04.079 --> 00:41:08.159
all the things his new lawyers believed
went wrong in his trial, but only

502
00:41:08.199 --> 00:41:15.280
once stuck and that was in effective
counsel. Micah's lawyer relied heavily on doctor

503
00:41:15.280 --> 00:41:21.519
Crusoe's expert testimony, and as you
know, doctor Crusoe's testimony may very well

504
00:41:21.559 --> 00:41:27.800
have been the nail in Micah's proverbial
coffin the state argued that lead counsel Mark

505
00:41:27.880 --> 00:41:32.280
Stevens did know of earlier reports on
his client and therefore knew the original narrative

506
00:41:32.320 --> 00:41:37.880
that Micah confessed to. Whether Stevens
forgot about it or intentionally hid it,

507
00:41:38.239 --> 00:41:43.480
he was neglectful because he quote did
nothing in advance of trial to mitigate the

508
00:41:43.559 --> 00:41:47.880
damage. He also did nothing to
mitigate the damage to doctor Crusoe's credibility,

509
00:41:49.280 --> 00:41:53.599
since the doctor omitted the first narrative
in later drafts. And the final report.

510
00:41:53.920 --> 00:41:57.480
I've read a lot of appeals over
the years, but I don't think

511
00:41:57.480 --> 00:42:00.519
I've ever seen the trial lawyers fall
on their sword so much and so hard.

512
00:42:01.920 --> 00:42:07.320
One part that was especially interesting was
that the team failed to object when

513
00:42:07.320 --> 00:42:12.519
doctor Ferruk, the expert psychiatrist for
the state, testified before the jury that

514
00:42:12.559 --> 00:42:15.440
if Micah was found not guilty by
reason of insanity, there was a chance

515
00:42:15.480 --> 00:42:20.079
he would be released back into the
community, and she said, in her

516
00:42:20.119 --> 00:42:24.119
opinion, Micah was not commitable to
a mental health facility. This was not

517
00:42:24.239 --> 00:42:30.519
doctor Feruke's direct testimony, but came
out on cross examination by Stevens's co council.

518
00:42:30.840 --> 00:42:35.880
Stevens told the appellate court that he
knew what doctor Feruke said was true

519
00:42:36.199 --> 00:42:39.440
and didn't think it was an objectionable
issue. He also pointed out that he

520
00:42:39.480 --> 00:42:45.400
didn't want to object during his own
co council's cross examination, which makes sense,

521
00:42:45.480 --> 00:42:49.920
but still think about this from a
juror's perspective. You hear that the

522
00:42:49.920 --> 00:42:53.280
man who viciously murdered a young woman
will just be released into the community.

523
00:42:53.360 --> 00:42:59.800
If you vote not guilty by reason
of insanity, how would you vote?

524
00:43:00.480 --> 00:43:04.679
But this argument failed on appeal because
the trial judge instructed the jury during the

525
00:43:04.719 --> 00:43:09.280
sentencing phase quote, a verdict of
not guilty by reason of insanity shall result

526
00:43:09.320 --> 00:43:14.559
in the automatic detention of the defendant
in a mental hospital or treatment center,

527
00:43:14.920 --> 00:43:21.280
pending further medical and legal findings.
So basically, even though doctor Feruke's inappropriate

528
00:43:21.320 --> 00:43:24.320
statement was not objected to or struck
from the record, the judge told the

529
00:43:24.400 --> 00:43:30.280
jury anyway, just in a more
formal statement than doctor Fruke saying he could

530
00:43:30.280 --> 00:43:35.559
be immediately released into the community,
but she did clarify that he would be

531
00:43:35.599 --> 00:43:39.079
held for evaluation by two mental health
professionals who would decide whether or not he

532
00:43:39.199 --> 00:43:45.199
was committable. First, these are
doctor Fruke's exact words. What happens when

533
00:43:45.239 --> 00:43:50.599
the court declares anybody not guilty by
reason of insanity, the person doesn't have

534
00:43:50.679 --> 00:43:53.079
any more charges, so the person
is ready to go to the community,

535
00:43:53.559 --> 00:43:58.400
go back to the community, have
to be released to the community. So

536
00:43:58.480 --> 00:44:01.079
at that point the court should write
a called two mental health professionals to do

537
00:44:01.119 --> 00:44:07.559
that determine the committability and if they
determined that the patient is committable, then

538
00:44:07.599 --> 00:44:10.440
the patient gets into the hospital.
If they determined that the patient is not

539
00:44:10.480 --> 00:44:16.440
committable, then the patient gets released
into the community. End quote. She

540
00:44:16.559 --> 00:44:22.159
did say the word community four times. Whether that was strategic or not as

541
00:44:22.199 --> 00:44:24.559
a matter of opinion, but I
would imagine that it would stick in a

542
00:44:24.599 --> 00:44:30.400
juror's mind. But it is true
that by law he could be held from

543
00:44:30.400 --> 00:44:34.480
thirty to ninety days for evaluation and
then be released if he was found not

544
00:44:34.559 --> 00:44:38.079
committable. That was a bitter pill
to swallow for people who have heard and

545
00:44:38.119 --> 00:44:44.440
seen what Micah had done to carry
Doherty. There had been the usual objection

546
00:44:44.519 --> 00:44:49.440
to crime scene and autopsy photos being
too graphic, but the jury saw almost

547
00:44:49.519 --> 00:44:53.119
everything, including a video made at
the crime scene. But as a result

548
00:44:53.280 --> 00:44:58.519
of the mistakes made by his defense
counsel. In June of twenty twenty two,

549
00:44:59.039 --> 00:45:01.639
thirty five year old mid Mika Johnson
was released from prison on a one

550
00:45:01.639 --> 00:45:07.079
million dollar bond. So far,
he had spent about eleven years in prison.

551
00:45:07.559 --> 00:45:10.880
In late April of two thousand and
three, thirty six year old Micah

552
00:45:10.920 --> 00:45:15.559
was retried for the murder of Carrie
Doherty. The prosecutor was once again assistant

553
00:45:15.639 --> 00:45:21.440
da Takeisha Fitzgerald, even though she
had been censured in his first trial for

554
00:45:21.480 --> 00:45:28.159
withholding evidence. Micah's new defense counsel
was Gregory Isaac's. This trial took about

555
00:45:28.159 --> 00:45:31.800
two weeks and was far less explosive
than his first trial, and on May

556
00:45:31.880 --> 00:45:37.480
sixth, twenty twenty three, two
days before what would have been Carried Doherty's

557
00:45:37.519 --> 00:45:42.960
fortieth birthday, the jury deliberated for
a few hours before convicting Micah a first

558
00:45:42.960 --> 00:45:49.159
degree premeditated and intentional murder, first
degree felony murder, especially aggravated kidnapping,

559
00:45:49.280 --> 00:45:54.679
and especially aggravated robbery. He was
re sentenced to life in prison. Currently,

560
00:45:54.719 --> 00:46:00.000
Micah Johnson is incarcerated in the medium
security Hartiman County Career Action Facility.

561
00:46:02.199 --> 00:46:07.360
This was an extremely difficult case to
research and write about. I always try

562
00:46:07.400 --> 00:46:13.320
to be very careful when discussing mental
illness and explaining the fine line of legal

563
00:46:13.360 --> 00:46:17.559
insanity, and I also try to
be sensitive about the graphic nature of a

564
00:46:17.639 --> 00:46:23.039
murder, but I felt that the
details were so important to try and understand

565
00:46:23.039 --> 00:46:29.679
whether or not Micah Johnson was legally
insane. There's no question that he was

566
00:46:29.719 --> 00:46:36.199
suffering from psychosis and other types of
serious psychiatric diagnoses. It made sense regarding

567
00:46:36.239 --> 00:46:40.400
his attack on his classmate George,
who was grievously injured from Micah punching him.

568
00:46:42.079 --> 00:46:45.800
Maybe if he had snapped and attacked
Carry in the same way, his

569
00:46:45.960 --> 00:46:50.280
case would be more believable. He
was off his medication, after all,

570
00:46:51.800 --> 00:46:54.599
but he lay in wait for Carrie. He already had a weapon in hand,

571
00:46:55.000 --> 00:46:59.800
and then stopped twice to get a
shovel and rope. He snatched her

572
00:47:00.000 --> 00:47:04.440
cell phone immediately so she couldn't call
for help. And remember, he did

573
00:47:04.440 --> 00:47:08.519
the yard work for Amanda. He
didn't just grab the closest object to hit

574
00:47:08.599 --> 00:47:14.519
Carry. He retrieved these items from
the backyard and carport where he knew he

575
00:47:14.519 --> 00:47:20.239
would find them. The attack was
very prolonged and particularly cruel, which are

576
00:47:20.239 --> 00:47:24.519
elements of first degree in premeditated murder
charges, and it would seem he was

577
00:47:24.559 --> 00:47:29.440
also trying to hide Carrie's body in
her car to give him time to get

578
00:47:29.440 --> 00:47:32.360
away from the scene. And then, of course, he did flee to

579
00:47:32.400 --> 00:47:37.039
his father's house, where he cleaned
up before withdrawing five hundred dollars and going

580
00:47:37.079 --> 00:47:43.480
on the run to Georgia. The
culmination of these facts are just too much

581
00:47:43.519 --> 00:47:50.119
for most people to believe that Micah
snapped during a paranoid psychotic episode. Would

582
00:47:50.119 --> 00:47:54.679
this horrific murder have happened if Micah
had stayed on his medication. That's impossible

583
00:47:54.719 --> 00:48:00.039
for me to say. He may
have had delusions about Carrie earlier, but

584
00:47:59.880 --> 00:48:04.000
again, this murder was just too
planned for me to believe he did not

585
00:48:04.119 --> 00:48:07.400
know the wrongfulness of his actions at
the time. I would have voted guilty

586
00:48:07.440 --> 00:48:15.320
to I cannot fathom the devastation that
Carrie's family went through. An entire community

587
00:48:15.400 --> 00:48:20.159
grieved for this beloved young woman.
She was cruelly ripped from the lives of

588
00:48:20.239 --> 00:48:24.320
so many people, and the viciousness
of her murder is the stuff of nightmares.

589
00:48:27.039 --> 00:48:30.000
My heart aches for Carrie's family and
friends. We can only hope and

590
00:48:30.039 --> 00:48:36.039
pray that they believe justice was served
and that the passing years have given them

591
00:48:36.280 --> 00:48:43.840
some measure of peace. Southern Fried
True Crime is hosted and produced by me

592
00:48:44.199 --> 00:48:49.559
Erica Kelly. Today's episode was researched
and written by Erica Kelly and Andrea Marshbank.

593
00:48:50.280 --> 00:48:53.159
Southern Frid's original music is by Rob
Harrison of Gamma Radio, and the

594
00:48:53.199 --> 00:48:59.079
original graphic art is by Kuley Horner. Today's episode was edited and mixed by

595
00:48:59.079 --> 00:49:04.440
Brandon Schack Snyder of Southern Gothic and
Erica Kelly. If you have any suggestions,

596
00:49:04.480 --> 00:49:07.320
please go to my website and click
on the listener's suggestion tab. This

597
00:49:07.440 --> 00:49:10.719
is the best way for me to
get those little known cases. Y'all always

598
00:49:10.760 --> 00:49:15.599
send me. Please remember that I
don't accept suggestions on social media private messaging,

599
00:49:16.039 --> 00:49:21.119
but please come join our Facebook group, Southern Freed True Crime Fans Discussion

600
00:49:21.159 --> 00:49:23.880
Group, where we swap recipes,
worship Dolly Parton, and share memes.

601
00:49:24.360 --> 00:49:28.559
We do, of course discuss true
crime, not just Southern Friued, but

602
00:49:28.639 --> 00:49:31.960
all kinds, but it is still
very much a Southern lifestyle group. Our

603
00:49:32.039 --> 00:49:35.639
group is a safe and fun corner
of Facebook, and by God, we

604
00:49:35.760 --> 00:49:37.760
mean it when we say no shit
ass is allowed. It's not just a

605
00:49:37.800 --> 00:49:42.039
motto, it's how we run the
group. If you enjoy today's show,

606
00:49:42.320 --> 00:49:45.280
don't forget to subscribe and please tell
a friend or rate and review. I'm

607
00:49:45.280 --> 00:49:50.320
on all large platforms like iTunes,
iHeart, Spotify, Amazon and Audible.

608
00:49:51.480 --> 00:49:54.239
Until next time, thanks so much
for listening, y'all. Take care