Prosecutors have said that a California teenager murdered his 16-year-old love interest and her parents after he was caught in the girl’s bed by the pair.
After a plea deal with prosecutors, Mauricio J. Johnson pleaded guilty Tuesday night to the three murders in Humboldt County Superior Court. He was sentenced to a 150 year prison term.
Tuesday’s hearing heard Johnson tell the court that he murdered Nikki Metcalf, 40, and Margarett Moon at 40 after Metcalf discovered him in bed with their underage daughter Shelly Autumn May Moon in February.
The grisly triple murder occurred at the couple’s Northern California home, in the Bear River Band, of the Rohnerville Rancheria. It was located in Loleta.
After a plea deal with prosecutors, Mauricio Johnson pleaded guilty Tuesday to the three murders in Humboldt County Superior Court. The 19-year-old was sentenced to 150 years imprisonment. The California teen killed the 16-year-old and her parents after he was caught by the pair in the underage girl’s bed, prosecutors said
California’s age limit for consent is 18 years. In a statement made Tuesday by the Humboldt County District attorney’s office, Jane Doe was referred to the daughter as Jane Doe.
During Tuesday’s trial, prosecutors recounted Johnson’s invitation to the family’s home on February 9, ‘with permission of several minors’ who resided at the home.
Later that night, Metcalf walked into the bedroom of the girl’s stepfather to check on her. Johnson was found in her bed and getting ‘intimate.’ A search warrant affidavit by the Utah State Bureau of Investigations was also revealed.
Metcalf attacked the teen, punching him once. According to a warrant, he fled from the room with his pants down.
‘The male subject [Johnson]Was at the top of [Shelly]. According to the warrant, Nikki Metcalf “hit the male.”
Sixteen-year old Shelly Autumn May Moon was having an ‘intimate’ relationship with Johnson in her bedroom when her stepfather entered her bedroom and tried kick the 19-yearold out of her house. Johnson shot Shelly’s stepfather and her mother before turning his gun against the high school student.
Johnson then “exited the space,” the warrant stated. He then “walked into the living area pulling up his pants.”
Metcalf then followed the teen out into the house’s living area, where, according to prosecutors, Johnson brandished a handgun from his bag, and shot Metcalf at point-blank range in the head, killing him.
Damon Johnson, Johnson’s brother and witness in this case, reportedly spoke to Johnson following the shooting. He said that Johnson ‘when the girl’s stepdad walked through, the stepfather started “getting rough” with Mauricio,” which prompted the teen, according to the affidavit.
Moon, the girl’s biological mom, was then woken up by gunfire and entered the living room to investigate.
In February, Johnson brutally murdered Nikki Metcalf (40) and Margarett Mon (16), after they allowed Johnson into their home to meet their 16-year old daughter.
Johnson shot her, and she was later declared braindead. She died soon after.
Johnson then shot the girl because he did not want any witnesses,’ according to the warrant.
Johnson fled the state immediately after the murders. He traveled with Melissa Sanchez Johnson, his mother, and Von Keener (then her boyfriend), in a white Toyota Highlander over state borders.
Humboldt County officers arrived at the house shortly after the murders.
Humboldt County police brought together the major crimes task team and several senior detectives to arrive at the scene the morning after the murders. Johnson fled the scene, and was taken by his mother and boyfriend across state lines. He was captured by Utah Highway Patrolmen.
Officers began looking for Johnson and enlisted from California, Nevada, Utah to search for the suspect vehicle.
Utah Highway Patrol troopers were notified about the ongoing efforts to locate the Highlander on February 11, just two days after the killings.
About an hour and 15 minutes later, troopers spotted it.
After it became obvious that the vehicle was speeding across a Utah highway without stopping, troopers created a plan to stop it safely and take its occupants in custody.
Johnson was aided in his attempted escape by his mother’s then boyfriend Von Keener, who was cuffed on a separate, unrelated charge after police forcibly stopped a car that the three were travelling in
According to the press release, “A traffic stop was initiated and no vehicle refused to stop,”
‘The vehicle’s tires were spiked shortly thereafter.’
When the vehicle was finally forced to a halt, Johnson and Keener were both cuffed and taken into police custody, Johnson for the murders and Keener on an unrelated warrant in Humboldt County.
According to the release, the mother of the teen was taken into custody for questioning.
According to investigators, the trio attested that they were heading to a friend or family member’s residence in Indiana.
It is unclear if Autumn May Moon invited a teen into her home, but Honsal claims that the teen was a ‘friend of the family’ and was welcomed into the home as a ‘guest.
Honsal stated that the teen was allowed to enter the house by at least one resident. He also indicated that the teen was in a relationship with Shelly but did not specify the context of their relationship.
The teen pleaded guilty Tuesday in order to avoid the possibility of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. He is due to be sentenced on January 21.