Case of homeless veteran's 2021 'execution' in Midtown Fort Collins ends in insanity plea

Christopher J. Johnson was "executed for simply being in the wrong place at the wrong time" on July 19, 2021, when he was fatally shot outside the Midtown Fort Collins McDonald’s.

His killer, Victor Corwin, was committed to the Colorado Department of Human Services on Tuesday for Johnson's murder after three doctors determined Corwin was legally insane at the time of the shooting.

Corwin was deemed not guilty by reason of insanity, a legal determination which means Corwin admitted to shooting Johnson, but a mental illness or defect prevented him from knowing his actions were wrong at the time of the shooting, 8th Judicial District Attorney Gordon McLaughlin said during Tuesday’s hearing.

The prosecution and defense agreed that this was the only available option for resolving this case, though McLaughlin said “the legally appropriate thing does not always feel close to the right thing,” quoting a Boulder judge's comment he said was delivered in a recent case similar to Corwin's.

Johnson's family members who spoke during Tuesday's hearing did not believe this resolution was the right thing, stating several times that they feel the justice system failed them and Johnson.

“This is truly cold-blooded murder to me, there’s no doubt,” Johnson’s father, Donovan Johnson, said during Tuesday’s hearing. “(Corwin) stole from my family.”

Johnson, 39, of Fort Collins, joined the Army after high school, feeling “a duty to serve” after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, his stepmother, Lynette Johnson, said. He had hoped to spend his career with the Army, but he was injured while serving in Iraq and was later honorably discharged, according to his obituary. The Army provided Johnson training in the oil industry, and he was employed in that field in Denver until 2014.

Johnson loved spending time with his brothers and sons and enjoyed meeting other veterans through the American Legion, according to his obituary. He enjoyed riding motorcycles, listening to music and spending time in the mountains.

Johnson’s mother, Kathy Lane, said Johnson “was a valued, loved and esteemed member of our family” who is sorely missed.

“(Corwin was) shot and killed in cold blood, not just a man, but a brother, a father and more importantly an American soldier who was willing to lay down his life for this country,” said Jessica Davis, the mother of one of Johson’s sons. “... Chris and his family deserve better.”

McLaughlin said the phrase “not guilty by reason of insanity” sounds as though Corwin is not taking responsibility for killing Johnson, which is not the case. He said a more appropriate phrase to refer to this resolution would be “guilty but insane.”

“Mr. Corwin is being held accountable to the highest extent that the law allows,” McLaughlin said.

Fort Collins Police Services Detective Dollie Knab told the court Tuesday that after an extremely thorough investigation, police were never able to identify a motive for why Corwin killed Johnson. There were no apparent ties between them either, Knab said, just that they were in the same place at the time.

“It’s probably one of those things I will always think about and wonder,” Knab said, adding that it was “unfortunate circumstances that cost someone their life.”

Corwin approached Johnson outside the Midtown Fort Collins McDonald's while Johnson sat on the curb near the drive-thru multiple times across a span of 7 minutes before shooting him, video footage from the McDonald's played at a previous court hearing showed. Johnson was experiencing homelessness at the time, according to police.

In the video footage, Corwin walks back and forth from Johnson — in and out of frame of the video — multiple times, and the final time, he comes back, does something with his waistband and Johnson falls back, Knab previously testified.

The morning of the shooting, Corwin stole a vehicle with a handgun inside, and investigators believe Corwin walked out of frame of the surveillance camera to that car to retrieve the gun, then walked back and shot Johnson.

Corwin also made several statements to investigators after his arrest that implicated him in Johnson's death, including some statements that didn't make sense. Knab previously testified that Corwin said he shot Johnson because he believed Johnson was a wanted international terrorist, and Corwin was trying to get Johnson to come with him willingly, but when Johnson refused, Corwin had to "execute" him.

Doctors who evaluated Corwin after his arrest determined he likely decided to kill Johnson "at random due to paranoid delusions stemming from a diagnosis of unspecified schizophrenia," according to the district attorney's office.

"The sad reality is there is no reason or motive the (prosecution) can articulate here," McLaughlin said. "The reason or motive here is nothing beyond insanity."

Corwin's criminal case was delayed several months as he underwent legal competency evaluations and treatment, but he was found competent to proceed in his defense in September 2022. He pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity the following December. In the year since, three doctors evaluated Corwin and determined he was insane at the time of the shooting.

Corwin's defense attorney, Christen Nickel, said Corwin was suffering from debilitating mental illness at the time of the shooting, which prevented him from understanding what was real and seeing right from wrong. Corwin is remorseful, she said, calling the case "truly a senseless tragedy."

In a news release from the district attorney's office, Fort Collins Police Chief Jeff Swoboda called for "better mental health systems with earlier interventions so that crimes like this don't happen."

The district attorney’s office “pursued every legal recourse available,” including requesting a fourth doctor evaluate Corwin after McLaughlin said they suspected potential bias in the later evaluations, but that request was denied by the judge last month.

If this case had gone to trial, McLaughlin said the prosecution would have had to prove to a jury that Corwin was sane at the time of the shooting, despite three doctors stating otherwise, which he said would have been impossible. Therefore, the only ethical option was to reach an agreement with the defense that Corwin was legally insane and commit him to the department of human services.

Johnson’s family said they hoped Corwin would never see the light of day, and McLaughlin said he shared that hope in order to ensure the safety of the community.

Now that Corwin has been committed indefinitely to the department of human services, he will receive mental health treatment in a locked-down environment, and it is a "grueling process" through the medical and court systems to determine when, if ever, he is safe to be released from the state's custody, Nickel said.

“This is the only legally appropriate and available resolution, but we understand it is not a very satisfying one,” McLaughlin said. “I wish I had more satisfying answers for Mr. Johnson’s family.”

Judge Gregory Lammons said he understands the family's frustration and disappointment with this result, but that it is the court's only option because Corwin has been deemed insane.

"Christopher Johnson was executed for simply being in the wrong place at the wrong time," Lammons said. "He is a true victim and did not deserve this, and his family did not deserve this."

This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: Case of veteran's 'execution' in Fort Collins ends in insanity plea