Janelle Johnson sentenced to 28 years in prison for murder of Jesse Farris
May 30—BEMIDJI — Janelle Johnson has been sentenced to more than 28 years in prison for the second-degree murder of Jesse Farris, who was fatally shot outside his Bemidji home in December 2020.
Ninth Judicial District Judge Jeanine Brand sentenced Johnson to 343 months in prison. She will serve 228 of those months in prison, and the remaining 114 months under supervised release.
The sentencing follows a
nearly two-week jury trial
in March, where Janelle was taken into custody after being found
guilty of second-degree murder
for fatally shooting Jesse while confronting him about allegedly abusing his wife and Janelle's sister, Justina Farris.
During Janelle's testimony at the trial, she claimed that her husband, Austin, was the one who shot Jesse, testifying that she only told law enforcement and family members that she was the one who shot Jesse in order to protect Austin from going to prison.
During Janelle's sentencing hearing on Tuesday, four victim impact statements were read.
The court heard from Jesse's friend, his brother Jamie and sisters Patricia and Gwen, as they described how Jesse's murder will affect them for the rest of their lives.
Patricia and Gwen both recalled the emotions of shock and heartbreak they experienced on Dec. 26, 2020, when they learned that Jesse had been killed.
"My brother is gone," Gwen said. "He was not a perfect person. He was in counseling and he called me every day. He wanted Justina to be happy and he wanted to get on with his life."
Gwen also spoke about how no one at the Johnson household raised a red flag on the night of Dec. 25 when witnesses heard Janelle ask Austin to grab a gun before going to confront Jesse.
"Why didn't anybody stop them?" she questioned. "That's basically where my mind has been stuck this whole time, through this whole grueling process."
Jamie expressed to the court that his children and siblings miss Jesse deeply and his murder will have a lasting impact on the family forever.
"Words alone cannot express the pain and suffering that myself and my family have endured associated with the murder of Jesse," he said. "His siblings and close friends will never get to see him smile and laugh again."
He also stressed that Janelle didn't have the right to take Jesse's life.
"She took something that was not hers to take," Jamie left off. "I believe Janelle is nothing more and nothing less than evil masquerading as righteousness."
Janelle declined to make a statement at the hearing under the advice of her attorney. After reading her sentence, Judge Brand referenced Janelle's testimony in the trial where she claimed that she was not the one who shot Jesse.
"You said at one point the Farris family deserved to hear the truth," Brand said to Janelle. "They did not hear that from you."
