Christopher Johnson closes Cold Cases by pleading guilty to 3 murders

CHATTANOOGA (WDEF) – The Cold Case Unit today was able to finally close the books on one of their most public cases.

52 year old Christopher Jeffre Johnson pleaded guilt on Monday to three murders, Sean and Donny Goetcheus in 1997 and Missy Ward in 2004.

On January 9.1997, the bodies of the Goetcheus brothers were found in their Brainerd home.

They had been shot multiple times at close range.

Ward disappeared on the night of October 29, 2004.

She was last seen getting into a pickup truck outside the Bi-Lo grocery on East 23rd Street.

Two month’s later, her body was found on Cash Canyon Road in Lookout Valley.

Both cases remained unsolved, until Johnson was charged for yet another heinous crime, the kidnapping a rape of two teenage girls.

During that investigation, he confessed to detectives that he also murdered Missy Ward.

They took him to the crime scene and he pointed out where he left the body and other items.

He began serving a 50 year term for the teen rapes in 2014.

The next year, the Cold Case Unit took u the Goetcheus case again.

Johnson had bragged about the murders in prison and eventually confess.

They say he knew details on the killer would know.

Johnson say he went to the Goetcheus home to buy a videotape of illegal activity involving Rick Davis of Rick Davis’ Gold and Diamonds.

He says he got angry and shot Sean.

And then he killed his brother to eliminate a witness.

Johnson was indicted last fall.

He told District Attorney General Neal Pinkston that he wanted to plead guilty to spare both the Ward and the Goetcheus families lengthy trials.

Their office didn’t expect him to plead today, but he did.

He got three separate life sentences, each without the possibility of parole.