Arizona man sentenced to life in prison for 2016 murder
Oct 5, 2018, 12:46 PM | Updated: 5:42 pm
PHOENIX — An Arizona man was sentenced to life in prison on Friday for the murder of a 24-year-old Maricopa woman that occurred more than two years ago.
Amanda Steele, a spokeswoman for the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office, said in an email that 28-year-old Lashawn Johnson was sentenced for first-degree murder, theft of means of transportation, arson and abandonment or concealment of a dead body.
Johnson was found guilty in August of murdering Angela Russo in a Phoenix apartment in 2016, concealing her body and burning her car out in the desert.
“Lashawn Johnson’s efforts to lie about and conceal his responsibility for the murder of Angela were rightly disregarded by the jury in finding him guilty and, today, the court rightly sentenced him for the senseless taking of an innocent life,” Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery said in a statement.
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Russo went missing on April 19, 2016, when she went to meet Johnson at his Phoenix apartment after meeting on an online dating website. She was reported missing by family members when she did not return home from the planned date.
Investigators found blood in various places inside Johnson’s apartment. They also found his handprint in Russo’s blood.
During an investigation, Johnson admitted to seeing Russo the night of her disappearance and later being in the area where her body was found, but denied that he was responsible for her murder.
Johnson, during his trial, claimed his girlfriend killed Russo with a kitchen knife after walking in on Johnson and Russo having consensual sex. He also said he helped clean up the murder scene.
Russo’s burned car was found in the desert. Her body was also found nearby.
