Trial scheduled for St. Germain man accused of killing his sister

A final pre-trial and trial have been scheduled for a St. Germain man accused of killing his sister.

James Johnson, 57, was suspected of killing his 61-year-old sister Kelly Johnson after their other sister, who lived with them, came home to the victim wrapped in a blanket, legs tied with a yellow extension cord and covered in blood laying near the front porch of the 7100 State Highway 70 residence.

Johnson, charged with 1st-degree intentional homicide, faces life in prison with that sentence increasing no more than five years for use of a dangerous weapon.

He pleaded not guilty due to mental disease/defect on Oct. 28, 2025.

According to the March 24, 2025 criminal complaint, Johnson was apprehended in his vehicle at a hotel near the home, the same place investigators took his sister who discovered the victim for further questioning. 

In the defendant’s vehicle, the complaint states investigators found a 9-inch knife that matched the description of the knife Johnson said he used against his sister in a subsequent interview with law enforcement. 

According to the criminal complaint, Johnson told investigators during the interview he waited for his sister to fall asleep before using the knife against her because after he was released from the hospital he spent the previous two weeks in, his vehicle he lended her to use had no gas and one of his bank accounts was “somehow drained.”

Johnson, being held in custody of Vilas County jail on a $1 million cash bond, has a final pretrial scheduled for Dec. 15 and a three-day jury trial scheduled for Feb. 9-11, 2027 in Vilas County court. Judge Martha Milanowski is the presiding judge. 

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