A soldier whose pregnant wife vanished last year and is presumed to be dead is headed toward a military trial, or court-martial, Army officials in Hawaii said.
The Army Office of Special Trial Counsel has referred five charges and 19 specifications against the Hawaii-based Pfc. Dewayne Arthur Johnson II, according to a Feb. 12 news release from U.S. Army Garrison Hawaii.
That means “the case will be assigned to a military judge who will schedule dates for an arraignment, pretrial hearings and the trial itself,” officials said.
“The general nature of the charges,” officials said, “are for the murder of Mischa Johnson, intentionally killing her unborn child, obstruction of justice, providing false official statements, possession of child pornography and the production and distribution of child pornography.”
Pfc. Johnson doesn’t have a civilian attorney who could provide a comment on his behalf, an Army Office of Special Trial Counsel spokesperson told McClatchy News. He’s being represented by military defense counsel.
Mischa Johnson’s body hasn’t been found, but she’s believed to be dead. She was reported missing from Schofield Barracks on Oahu last summer, at six months pregnant, and the Army Criminal Investigation Division offered a $10,000 reward for information, according to a flyer shared Aug. 19 on Facebook by the Hawaii-based 25th Infantry Division.
Pfc. Johnson was assigned to the division in June 2023 as a cavalry scout, the Office of Special Trial Counsel spokesperson said. He’s originally from Frederick, Maryland.
Mariana Tapiz, Mischa Johnson’s sister told KHON2 that she feels betrayed by Pfc. Johnson because “we accepted him right into our family.”
The family plans to attend his arraignment, she told the outlet.
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