A search for Boaz Johnson, who was declared a murder suspect in his pregnant girlfriend's strangulation death in May 2013, intensified over the months that followed. In January 2014, his decomposed body was found hanging from a tree in a forested Kalapana, Hawaii, area. A note found on his body revealed that the 22-year-old murdered his pregnant girlfriend before ending his own life.
A&E's City Confidential revisits the strange case of Boaz Johnson and Brittany-Jane Royal in an episode titled Big Island Blow Out. The synopsis says:
"When a young woman's body is pulled from the ocean off the Big Island, Hawaii, accusations threaten to destroy the local community; as tensions grow, a surprising discovery leads detectives to a devastating truth that no one saw coming."The upcoming episode will air on the channel this Thursday, April 20, at 10:00 pm ET.
Johnson's girlfriend Brittany-Jane Royal's body was found in the ocean near Big Island by fishermen, and an autopsy revealed that she was 10 weeks pregnant and died of strangulation. The crime took place at a nearby, remote campsite, where the couple were residing at the time.
A decomposing body found hanging from a tree in Kalapana was identified as Boaz Johnson using dental records
Boaz Johnson, a crucial suspect in Brittany Royal's murder in May 2013, was identified as the body discovered hanging from a tree on Hawaii's Big Island.
A hiker found the decomposing corpse on January 2, 2014, in a wooded section of the Kalapana lava field in Puna, about two miles from the campsite where Royal, 25, and Johnson, 22, resided together.
According to West Hawaii Today, Johnson's dead body was discovered hanging from a green nylon rope that was fastened to a tree limb. Using DNA testing and dental records, Big Island police announced that the identification of the body was Boaz Johnson.
Police suspected that after killing Royal, who was 10 weeks pregnant at the time, Johnson killed himself.
A three-page handwritten confession note found near the body in his handwriting revealed that Johnson strangled Royal during a domestic dispute before throwing her body into the ocean. The note also mentioned the 22-year-old's intention to end his own life afterwards.
Johnson went missing around the same time that Royal's strangled body was found off the ocean in Puna on May 28.
Boaz Johnson was named a primary suspect in pregnant girlfriend Brittany-Jane Royal's killing
According to reports, Boaz Johnson told a friend that he and Royal were on their way to Hilo the day after his pregnant girlfriend's body was discovered. He was soon named the primary and only suspect in the murder based on certain occurrences, DNA, and other evidence discovered at the couple's campsite.
Johnson was charged with second-degree murder on December 18 and a warrant for his arrest was issued. Prior to that, in September, a local news outlet received an anonymous letter alleging that he was slain as a result of racial tensions.
Specifics concerning the murder were stated in the letter, including Johnson's plans to purchase property on the island without paying the locals their share.
Reports state that the letter claimed to know who killed Johnson, Royal, and their unborn child, and why. Handwritten flyers posted around the location where Royal's body was found asked the unnamed murderer to come clean.
These posters also claimed that police had named the wrong suspect because Johnson was already dead.
Boaz Johnson and Brittany-Jane Royal first met in early 2013 and a few months later announced that they were pregnant and intended to start a future together. Johnson wanted to give lava tours in Kalapana, while Royal planned to teach yoga and build her own studio someday.
Learn more about the case of Boaz Johnson and Brittany-Jane Royal on A&E's City Confidential this Thursday.
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