Death penalty sought in murder of 15-year-old

ROCKINGHAM — Prosecutors in the murder case against Joseph Ray Carroll will seek the death penalty after determining that there were “aggravating circumstances” in the death of 15-year-old Casey Johnson.

Carroll was dating the teen’s mother, Michelle Lee Johnson, at the time of his death. Carroll was indicted on an unspecified murder charge on Feb. 15, and on March 15, Assistant District Attorney Patrick McCrary argued before Superior Court Judge Jonathan Perry that there is reason to treat the cases as one of first-degree capital murder.

Casey was taken to UNC Hospital on Jan. 20 after apparently suffering a beating that left him unresponsive, and he was declared brain dead shortly after arriving. The Medical Examiner concluded that his death was a homicide.

Further review of his injuries by the Medical Examiner, the attending nurse at UNC and a representative from the UNC Beacon team classified the death as one caused by “severe trauma to the head, consistent with that of a car accident,” according to the judge’s order.

Both Carroll and Johnson had similar stories of the events leading up to Casey being found unresponsive. After multiple interviews, investigators learned that Carroll was known to record Casey and his siblings being punished and doing “various exercises,” and contended that two cell phones confiscated from Carroll would contain those videos, according to court documents.

Carroll and Johnson, who is currently facing an unspecified murder charge, are being held without bond. Both were scheduled to appear in court on March 15, though only Carroll did. WSOC reported that Johnson has not yet entered a plea in her case.

It’s unclear if Johnson’s charge will be upgraded as Carroll’s has been.