Alvin Johnson

Alvin Johnson (1944 – May 21, 2016) was an American serial killer linked to three murders across three states from 1972 to 1983. Officially convicted in two homicides in Oregon and Utah, he was later linked to a third one committed with fellow serial killer Wilbur Lee Jennings in California, but was not charged due to his current life sentence in Utah. When he was young, Johnson was accidentally struck with the head of an axe handle, which thereafter caused him to have bouts of amnesia and dizziness, and is also said to have displayed symptoms of schizophrenia. In his adulthood, he became a transient and travelled cross-country, surviving by working as a laborer on various farms. He beat Geller on the head and finally strangled him, before stealing his wallet and money and then fleeing the hotel.

The day after Geller's murder, Johnson was arrested and charged with the crime. For the next few months, he was kept in the city's jail to await trial, but on January 1, 1973, Johnson and another inmate, 35-year-old Wolfred Dean Hill, attempted to escape. After managing to lock their jailer in a supply closet, the pair stole two knives and overpowered a police officer, but in the ensuing scuffle, Johnson was shot in the shoulder. He kept the pair in a warehouse, before ordering James to undress himself and tying him up. Johnson then beat him into unconsciousness with a shovel handle before slapping Ann, and ordering her to do the same. Despite his intention on fighting extradition proceedings, Johnson was brought back to Utah to stand trial for the case.

Trial and imprisonment Johnson's trial began the following year. During proceedings, it was determined that he had an intellectual disability and had chronic alcoholism which heavily influenced him at the time of the murder, and thusly, he was spared the death penalty and sentenced to two life sentences with a chance of parole instead. However, the year before that, his and Jennings' DNA were linked to semen left at the Reinke murder scene and Johnson's parole was revoked. Neither man would stand trial for her murder. Jennings died in 2014 before he could be put on trial. Johnson was presumably never charged with the case, on account of his existing life sentence in Utah. According to Utah Board of Pardons and Parole records, Johnson died while imprisoned at Utah State Prison on May 21, 2016.