Murder of Sherry Prather by Johnny Johnson highlighted on Final Moments

Johnny Johnson mugshot
Johnny Johnson is serving a lengthy sentence in a Florida prison. Pic credit: FL Dept. of Corrections

Final Moments on Oxygen is examining the murder of Sherry Prather, a mom of two children who was murdered and dumped in the woods by Johnny Johnson during a night out in Jacksonville, Florida.

On October 12, 2012, in the early morning hours, 43-year-old Sherry was last seen talking to two men with motorcycles outside a nightclub on the north side of Jacksonville. Surveillance footage appeared to show her then leaving with a white man on the back of a motorcycle.

The authorities and Sherry’s family began combing the Jacksonville area for any sign of her. About a month after the disappearance, a relative of Johnson contacted the police with information on where to find Sherry’s remains.

The police later recovered Sherry’s bones in a wood off Braddock Road, a rural route to the north of the city. The remains had become so decomposed it was hard to tell if they were human.

It took until March 2013 to confirm the bones belonged to Sherry and that she had been shot in the chest. The police strongly suspected Johnson was the killer, but they didn’t have enough evidence to make an arrest.

Thankfully, a second person eventually came forward, claiming they had heard Johnson bragging about the murder. Johnson was finally arrested and charged in November 2016, four years after the killing.

Johnny Johnson initially denied Sherry Prather murder but then admitted guilt

Johnson initially denied being responsible for Sherry’s death. He admitted they had left the nightclub together but insisted he had dropped her at home.

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Johnson kept changing his story repeatedly, but in March 2018, he eventually agreed to plead guilty. He was sentenced to 20.5 years behind bars.

The killer is currently incarcerated at the Santa Rosa Correctional Institution in Milton, FL. He is due for release in June 2035.

The cops never learned the motive.

Sherry Prather mom said daughter can find peace after Johnny Johnson conviction

After Johnson pleaded guilty, Sherry’s mother, Norma Ellis, said, “I can finally lay down and say my daughter is with Jesus.”

Police pic of Sherry Prather
Sherry Prather was last seen leaving a Florida nightclub with a man on a motorcycle. Pic credit: Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office

Ellis had searched every day for over a month throughout Jackson for her daughter. She said, “I looked for every single day. I always said, ‘I will never leave … until I find peace for you, baby. You are my baby and I will find peace for you before I leave.’ And I meant that. I was going to do [that] if I had to do it myself.”

Final Moments airs Sundays at 7/6c on Oxygen.

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