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| Johnson, Charles 7-30-81; Fayette Co., PA - age 28 | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Dec 11 2012, 09:43 AM (228 Views) | |
| tatertot | Dec 11 2012, 09:43 AM Post #1 |
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http://www.heraldstandard.com/news/local_n...ldstandard-2012 Police continue to probe three-decades-old death of carnival worker Posted: Sunday, December 2, 2012 2:00 am | Updated: 3:16 am, Sun Dec 2, 2012. By Josh Krysak The following is part of a weekly series on unsolved homicides and suspected homicide cases in Fayette County and the surrounding area. Charles “Mississippi” Johnson was a 28-year-old carnival hand from Florida when he rolled into Fayette County with his troupe of workers in the summer of 1981. After the carnival packed up and left town a few weeks later, anyone who wasn’t paying close attention thought that Johnson rolled right back out of town with his band of carnies. But state police believe “Mississippi” never made it out of town that summer. And now, although more than 30 years removed from that year when the nation watched as President Ronald Reagan took a would-be assassin’s bullet, Stephen King’s “Cujo” was being read across the country with all the lights turned on and the weekly melodrama of “Dallas” had television viewers riveted, police say they are still looking for leads into Johnson’s disappearance and suspected murder. “We tried to locate family back then and never found any. He had no ties we could establish. But we do believe that he never left this county and that he was reported missing by an acquaintance. Eventually, we came to believe we were investigating a homicide and have kept the investigation open ever since,” Trooper John F. Marshall said as he leafed through a large binder labeled “Mississippi” with black marker. Marshall, a seasoned trooper in the crime unit at state police’s Uniontown station, is the department’s cold case investigator. A look inside his office, and the tenacity with which he approaches his role is immediately evident as a giant marker board listing the open homicide cases in Fayette County dominates the small room. “We are always working on these. Obviously, hot cases coming in pull me away from them, but I am always following leads and working to close these investigations,” Marshall said, noting that “Mississippi’s” case is no different. On July 30, 1981, Marshall said that an acquaintance of Johnson’s approached the Allegheny County Police Homicide Division and reported the man’s disappearance and suspected murder outside of a mobile home in the village of Adelaide in Dunbar Township. Police responded to the residence, conducted interviews and collected evidence, Marshall said. A person of interest was identified. Marshall said follow-up interviews also were conducted, leads were pursued and tips were explored. Nothing concrete was uncovered. “We were given a location where Mississippi’s body had allegedly been buried. Our guys brought in a backhoe. Nothing was found,” Marshall said. He said that investigators believe that Johnson had a relationship with a woman living in the area while he was in town that summer. Marshall also noted that investigators are convinced by physical evidence gathered at the location that Johnson died as a result of a gunshot wound. As with many cold cases on Marshall’s unsolved docket, two key witnesses have died over the course of the three decades since Johnson’s disappearance. “That is what you have with these. People die. Sometimes our primary suspects die. In this one, two important people are no longer living,” Marshall said, but did note that the person of interest identified all those years ago is still alive and still lives in the area. Marshall said the scenery also changes. “What was there is no longer there,” he said. “Trees are gone. Fields are grown over. Houses are gone. In this case, some of it is the same, some is different.” He added that with many cold cases conducted prior to DNA evidence collection, the physical evidence seized during the initial investigation was re-examined for possible DNA hits. No DNA was recovered. While leads have trickled in and fizzled out over the years, Marshall said that a “big lead” broke in the case recently and that officers are in the process of conducting more than a dozen interviews in an attempt to finally bring closure to Johnson’s disappearance and suspected murder. While some information regarding the case remains classified as the investigation continues, Marshall said he feels he is closer than at any point in recent years to making an arrest in the case. “This lead, it is a big one,” Marshall said. “Something could break on this soon.” Anyone with information regarding the disappearance and suspected killing of Johnson is asked to call police at 724-439-7111. Additionally, Marshall said Fayette County Crime Stoppers is offering up to a $1,000 reward for information leading to an arrest in the case. Tips can be made by calling 1-888-404-TIPS.
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| tatertot | Dec 11 2012, 09:45 AM Post #2 |
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http://z13.invisionfree.com/PorchlightUSA/...showtopic=19468 |
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| tatertot | Jan 4 2016, 09:28 AM Post #3 |
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http://www.heraldstandard.com/new_today/ma...a501ced581.html Man charged with homicide in cold case of "Mississippi" Johnson Posted: Tuesday, December 29, 2015 2:15 am | Updated: 8:21 am, Tue Dec 29, 2015. By Alyssa Choiniere A man who allegedly celebrated getting away with murder was charged Monday in a 34-year-old cold case. David Eugene Lint, 61, of Uniontown, allegedly bragged about the murder of Charles “Mississippi” Johnson to several people over the years, according to an affidavit of probable cause. Johnson would have celebrated his 62nd birthday less than two weeks ago. In the summer of 1981, he was a 28-year-old carnival worker who had just arrived in Fayette County. He never left. Johnson disappeared without a trace. He was a traveler without roots or strong family ties. An acquaintance reported him missing. Leads trickled in over the years, and police began investigating the case as a suspected murder. They identified a person of interest. But they found no concrete evidence. Lint lived next door to Johnson in a trailer in Dunbar Township in the village of Adelaide with his then-wife, Linda Lint. Johnson married Lint’s sister-in-law, Carol Basinger. The four worked together in the summer of 1981 at the Fayette County Fair. Lint allegedly told witnesses he killed Johnson because he was “always beating up” Basinger and he was “tired of it,” according to an affidavit of probable cause. Lint allegedly celebrated when Basinger died, jumping up and down and saying, “I just got away with murder. The last witness died.” He allegedly shot Johnson in the head with a .30/-30 rifle, burned his body and buried it near the trailer. In 1982, state police received a tip that Lint was telling family members he killed “Mississippi,” then burned his body. Later that year, police found a .30/-30 rifle at the residence of Dale Basinger in Connellsville. They recovered a slug from a pole outside the step of Carol Basinger’s trailer. Police matched the slug to the rifle. Richard Basinger told police he used the rifle for hunting, but had left it at Carol Basinger’s residence. Police conducted periodic searches for Johnson. There was no activity using his social security card number since August 1981, according to the affidavit. Lint’s former wife, Linda Basinger Lint, told police that during an argument he referred to Johnson, saying “I’m gonna kill you just like I killed him,” according to the affidavit of probable cause. James Scott Howard told police he was friends with Lint around 2002, and heard him talk about the murder multiple times, according to the affidavit. He reported Lint celebrated after Carol Basinger’s death. Vicki Lint, another former wife, told police she asked Lint if it was true that he killed Johnson. He allegedly responded, “Yes I did. And if you ever ask me again, I’ll bust your (expletive) teeth out.” The cold case received its first big lead in 2012. Cold case investigator Trooper John F. Marshall wrote in the complaint that he was walking Lint to an unmarked police car when Lint offered to tell him the whole story in exchange for two packs of Camel cigarettes. Marshall said he would have to tell him the story, and Lint allegedly responded, “Marshall, you already know the whole story.” Marshall said Lint would have to show him where he buried the body, and Lint allegedly answered, “If he is still there.” The area where the body was allegedly buried, next door to Lint’s former trailer, is now a park. During the earlier stages of the investigation, police attempted to find the body with a backhoe and tip to its location. Nothing was found. Lint is charged with criminal homicide, abuse of a corpse and tampering with physical evidence, according to court documents. He is lodged at the State Correctional Institute in Greene County. |
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1:59 PM Jul 11