Update on Incident at 10444 Rosecroft December 12, 2007 - Houston police investigators have solved a capital murder case after more than 20 years in which a woman was stabbed at 10444 Rosecroft about 3 p.m. on February 7, 1984. The victim, Sharon Darnell, sustained stab wounds to the neck and was found dead at the scene. The suspect, Frederick W. Johnson (b/m, DOB: 7-8-60), was charged with capital murder in the 183rd State District Court. HPD Homicide Division Sergeant E.S. Mehl and Officer C. Y. Park reported: Ms. Darnell was discovered in an apartment building at the Rosecroft Apartments. Evidence at the scene reflected that she had been bound, sexually assaulted and stabbed to death. Detectives assigned to the case developed a possible suspect and identified him as Johnson. Biological samples, as well as the clothes that Johnson was wearing on the day of the murder, were collected as evidence. In May 2007, after members of the Cold Case Squad reviewed the case, evidence thought to contain DNA evidence was shipped to a private laboratory for processing. Johnson’s DNA was found in critical pieces of evidence submitted along with the victim’s blood on Johnson clothing. On November 27, 2007 investigators filed capital murder charges against Johnson. He is currently an inmate in the Texas prison system where he is serving a life sentence for sexual assault. On November 30, 2007 investigators released a photo to the media of a male suspect believed to be Johnson. The photo released was in error and occurred due to the duplication of Johnson’s HPD six-digit prisoner number being placed on the mugshot of another male arrested in a 1994 case. The erroneous photo released on November 30 is that of a male who was sentenced to 12 years in the Texas Department of Corrections for various crimes. Once investigators learned of the error, they contacted the male’s family to apologize for the error and the HPD photo lab to correct that male’s HPD prisoner number. The correct photo of suspect Frederick Johnson, taken back in 1984, is attached to this news release. For additional information, please contact the HPD Public Affairs Division at 713-308-3200. |
