Father of children slain in Alabama murder-suicide speaks on family’s death
The estranged husband of the woman who, authorities say, killed her two children and herself in an apparent murder-suicide last week has spoken out about the tragedy on a GoFundMe page.
Derek Johnson’s children, Mia, 5, and Jacob, 2, were drowned by his estranged wife, Nancy Johnson, on Sept. 28 in Semmes, Alabama, authorities say. According to Fox 10 News, Nancy and Derek had been going through a tumultuous divorce. In a note on a GoFundMe page organized by his sister, Derek shared a tribute to his children and explained that his wife had been struggling with mental illness.
“I loved Mia, Jacob and Nancy so much,” he wrote. “Nancy had been struggling with mental issues and was having an identity crisis since the pandemic started. She let the teaching and rumors of the world consume her and no matter how I tried to help her she pushed me away and I could not force her to get help.”
Nancy and Derek Johnson had been embroiled in a bitter custody battle. Semmes Police Chief Todd Freind told Fox 10 that the two had called the police on each other several times in the last few months. Fox 10 additionally reported that a Utah judge had granted Nancy a protection-from-abuse order against Derek in August, and Derek filed for divorce in Alabama shortly thereafter.
According to reports, Mobile County Sheriff Paul Burch says autopsies on Nancy Johnson and the two children have been completed.
“We have been in a custody battle for the past 6 months and she kidnapped my kids for around 2.5 months, so I had no contact with them,” Derek wrote in the GoFundMe explanation. “They were suddenly taken from this world in the worst way possible around a day before I arrived back to the house.”
According to NBC 15, Derek Johnson had been staying in a camper in the backyard but had been working out of state when the murders occurred. The same outlet reported that he was the one who discovered the bodies and called the police.
Johnson wrote on the GoFundMe site that he does not know when he will return to work and that he faces around $25,000 in debt and $1,800 in property taxes.
“Any help is appreciated,” he wrote. “I have (zero) motivation in life right now and can’t function that well at the moment.”
Johnson added a tribute to his children, who he said filled his life “with joy and happiness.”
“The amount of happiness and love that emanated from Mia and Jacob was very apparent to all that they were around,” he wrote on the GoFundMe page. “Their future was so bright in every way possible.”
Anyone struggling with suicidal thoughts can contact the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline by phone or online chat.
