911 operators in Rowan County, North Carolina received a call on July 23, 2013 from Chuck Reeves, who claimed he had just found his murdered girlfriend. Once officers rushed to the scene, they found Shirley Pierce, who had been stabbed multiple times and still had the knife handle stuck in her throat. Investigation Discovery’s ‘Deadly Women: The Blame Game’ chronicles the murder and shows how the investigation unraveled a jealousy-fueled crime and led directly to Marlene Johnson. If you’re wondering where Marlene is currently, we’ve got you covered.
Who is Marlene Johnson?
Marlene Johnson was born into a wealthy family in Gastonia, North Carolina in 1952, and according to the show, she led a pretty privileged life. Coming from a family where she always got what she wanted, she married Ervin Johnson in 1983. Surprisingly, the two were on completely opposite ends of the spectrum, with Marlene being quite outgoing while Ervin enjoyed being alone and staying committed. In work. Still, they made their marriage work and after welcoming their daughter into this world, the couple seemed quite happy with each other.
The show mentioned how Marlene struggled with mental issues throughout her life and attempted suicide in 2003. After this incident, Marlene and her husband’s relationship began to deteriorate as she became quite abusive. Still, Ervin’s professional life blossomed, and in 2006 he took up the position of Chief Financial Officer at Tuscarora Yarns.
Since Ervin’s position required him to meet various people, he then came into contact with Shirley Pierce, who worked at the same company. Ervin and Shirley became fast friends, and the former even introduced Shirley to Marlene. However, Marlene feared Shirley from the very beginning. She suspected Ervin and Shirley of having an affair (which was not the case) and even hired a private detective to find out the truth.
Although the private investigator could find no evidence of infidelity, Marlene remained obsessed with Shirley. She obtained information about Shirley’s daily routine and even physically assaulted her outside a restaurant in February 2011. According to the show, Marlene’s actions found her guilty of two counts of assault and assault and battery and one count of misdemeanor assault. Yet she remained unfazed and instead chose to break into Shirley’s house to stab her to death.
Where is Marlene Johnson now?
When the police began to investigate Shirley’s murder, they discovered that she had died from a fatal stab wound to the neck. Moreover, the victim even had superficial stab wounds all over his body and a knife handle was stuck in his throat. Although there was a lot of blood at the scene, the attacker had apparently tried to clean up with bleach, which eliminated most of the DNA evidence. However, authorities were able to recover bloodied paper towels containing a sample of alien DNA, which police hoped would lead to the killer.
The show mentioned that Ervin got very scared of Marlene and even got a restraining order against her after the murder. He also told police he suspected his wife was involved in Shirley’s murder, prompting them to investigate her. Once authorities apprehended Marlene, they found cleaning supplies as well as Shirley’s mail in her car. Also, a search of his home revealed his obsession with Shirley as police found evidence of harassment and surveillance.
Marlene has always denied her involvement in the murder, but authorities were able to drive the final nail in the coffin when they found her DNA on Shirley’s shower curtains as well as paper towels recovered from the crime scene. So, with proper DNA evidence, Marlene was arrested and presented in court for murder. At her trial, Marlene was found guilty of first degree murder and as a result was sentenced to life in prison without parole in 2018. Although she still insists on her innocence, she is currently incarcerated at the Anson Correctional Facility in Polkton, North Carolina.
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