Following a short trial, a Stone County jury found Terelle Johnson, 35, guilty of first-degree murder Wednesday for the murder of his mother, Sherry Johnson.
During the two-day court proceedings, the jury heard that, in June 2018, family members had not heard from Sherry for several days and notified police. When deputies arrived at the Johnson residence, Terelle is said to have told them that his mother was not home and had recently gone on a cruise.
Officers were let into the home and found Sherry’s bedroom locked. After searching other parts of the house, they gained access to her bedroom and discovered the room to be covered in blood. Sherry’s deceased body was later found in the backyard, with her severed head found on the other side of the yard’s fence.
Terelle Johnson was arrested after the discoveries were made. On the crime scene, the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation recovered a pair of knives, multiple blood swabs, and a comforter found near Sherry’s beheaded body.
“The jury was able to hear the Defendant’s statement to deputies wherein he confessed to killing his mother,” Assistant District Attorney Matthew Burrell stated. “The jury heard how the Defendant described using a knife and his teeth to remove his mother’s head from her body.”
Johnson claimed that he was legally insane at the time of the murder and a defense expert also testified that they believed him to be insane during the killing. But another expert from the State Hospital, who evaluated Johnson following the incident, deemed him not to be insane. The jury deliberated for just twenty minutes before returning with a guilty verdict of first-degree murder.
“We commend the Stone County jury for seeing through the Defendant’s insanity argument,” District Attorney W. Crosby Parker said. “As ADA Burrell told the jury in closing arguments, this Defendant got high, got mad at his mom, and killed her. It’s that simple.”
Johnson was sentenced to life in prison by Judge Stephen Simpson following the conviction.
