St. Germain murder suspect waives preliminary hearing

James Johnson, a 56-year-old St. Germain man being accused of 1st degree murder, decided to waive his preliminary hearing when he appeared in custody in Vilas County court on April 9, according to court records.

Johnson was charged with 1st degree intentional homicide and use of a dangerous weapon after he was suspected of killing his 61-year-old sister, Kelly Johnson, at their St. Germain residence on March 21.

Waiving the preliminary hearing means Johnson will appear in court next for an arraignment on April 21 at 9:15 a.m. 

Court records show Vilas County judge Martha Milanowski confirmed it was a voluntary waiver and continued to find probable cause for the case to proceed during the April 9 court proceedings. 

Johnson is currently being held on a $1 million bond, which includes conditions of not to have contact with two individuals who made contact with law enforcement during the investigation, not to visit the address where officers identified the deceased and to have a GPS monitoring device fitted upon release.

If convicted of 1st degree murder, Johnson faces life in prison. That sentence may increase by not more than five years if he’s convicted for use of a dangerous weapon as well. 

Johnson, a 1987 graduate of Lakeland Union High School, was in the hospital recently and upon release, moved in with two of his sisters in St. Germain at 7100 State Highway 70, according to the criminal complaint filed March 24.

The complaint says that around 10 p.m., Johnson’s sister arrived at her home to find his other sister wrapped in a blanket and a yellow extension cord wrapped around her legs near the front porch. 

After taking the sister who arrived on scene to a nearby hotel for further questioning, law enforcement officers were able to identify Johnson, who was outside in his vehicle parked near a dumpster of the hotel, according to the complaint.

Another sibling of the sister being questioned by investigators worked at the hotel and unlocked the doors for them. That sibling also helped identify Johnson by his vehicle, a black Chevrolet Impala. 

The complaint says law enforcement officers were able to approach Johnson’s vehicle which was running with the lights off and apprehend him. 

Further, according to the complaint, a number of items of evidentiary value were found in the dumpster and in Johnson’s car, one of which was a 9-inch knife. 

Johnson was subsequently interviewed by investigators, as well, the complaint says, and he explained that upon his release from the hospital, his sister — the victim — was permitted to use his car. However, she left the tank empty and, he believed, drained one of his bank accounts of all its funds.

According to the complaint, Johnson said he waited until his sister fell asleep on the couch before taking a knife and using it against her. Johnson’s description of the knife he used matched the description of the knife investigators found in his vehicle. 

The complaint includes that a March 24 autopsy revealed the victim suffered from a total of approximately 30 stab wounds and lacerations. 

Johnson was released from prison in 2022 after being convicted for an armed robbery of a Minocqua gas station in 1998. More recent court filings show Johnson was found guilty due to plea on a first time operating while intoxicated offense, besides three other charges that were dropped, near the end of 2022 and the start of 2023. 

Trevor Greene may be reached via email at [email protected].