photo taken by miniature for istockphoto.com
On March 3rd, Markayla Johnson disappeared from her home in Charlotte, North Carolina. Johnson and her two children were last seen on March 3rd before they disappeared. The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department reported their disappearance on March 8th.The disappearance continued for over a week before police eventually found their bodies. Shortly after, a suspect was arrested for the murders. The story is a sad reality for many people living in Charlotte, North Carolina. This story comes only months after another woman from Greensboro, North Carolina was reported missing. Today, we’ll look at the case and the dangerous reality for people living in the city. We will continue to update this article as the case unfolds. Markayla Johnson and her two children, Miracle and Messiah, went missing on March 3rd. The police reported that the family was missing on March 8th, 2024. Rodney Overton for “CBS 17 Evening News” followed the case. Overton reported that the family was “seen last in the 400 block of Orchard Trace Lane. This is the location of Orchard Trace Condominiums near the University City area of Charlotte,” (Overton). The area is considered unsafe by at least one neighbor of the Johnsons. It is a sentiment that is unfortunate for many women living in major cities. There is simply a feeling of being unsafe after hearing of such a disturbing story being reported in the neighborhood. The bodies of Markayla Johnson and her two children were found on March 16th, 2024 in their apartment in Charlotte. They were found as a result of a warrant being conducted on the apartment after weeks of searching. Along with being found, a suspect was also identified in California on March 17th. Benjamin Joseph Taylor, 35, was charged with three counts of murder and one count for hiding the murders when he was found in California. Law Enforcement is currently attempting to have Taylor brought to North Carolina for the court case. Law enforcement is only recently starting to make connections in the case. The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police continue to make updates about the case. The official Charlotte Mecklenburg Police reports show that Taylor was found in Imperial County, California. Law enforcement in North Carolina have found only a small connection between the victim and the suspect. Joe Marusak and Mark Price have been documenting the case for “The Charlotte Observer”. Marusack and Price reported that police chief Johnny Jennings said, “... the suspect was in a relationship with Johnson” (Marusack and Price). There is not a lot of information on the relationship as the case is currently active. What has become clear is that law enforcement is only just starting to unfold the story to find out what happened. The story makes sense as residents have said that Markayla was seen leaving her apartment with her boyfriend. That has been just one of a few reports of sightings of Markayla before her disappearance. Law Enforcement has also reported that Markayla has not been in contact with anyone since the day she went missing. The next steps will be to see if North Carolina law enforcement can have the suspect extradited to North Carolina for the trial. The story will be updated as more news becomes available on the case. It is expected that there will be days before we hear an update as to the next steps. What has become clear is that everyone in Charlotte waits with bated breath to hear what will happen next. We will wait to see what happens to this story that has rocked an entire neighborhood in the city of Charlotte. Until then, we’ll see how this story continues to unfold in the state of North Carolina.
This article was edited by Aadrita Halder.
