Mother of Casey Johnson to appear in court in May, murder charge still ‘unspecified’

ROCKINGHAM — The murder case against Michelle Lee Johnson, in connection to the death of her son, 15-year-old Casey Johnson, has been continued to May 10. The degree of her murder charge remains “unspecified.”

Johnson, originally scheduled to appear on March 15, was present in Superior Court on March 29 before Judge Dawn Layton.

Johnson, along with her boyfriend Joseph Ray Carroll, have been charged with the murder of her son. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty against Carroll. Johnson is facing “unspecified’ murder charges.

Attorney Luther Britt III was appointed to represent Johnson. He said District Attorney Reece Saunders told him that he was aware of new evidence in the case. Britt was briefed by Saunders on Friday and Monday.

“I believe it may be beneficial to my client to see what information may be obtained in this process,” Britt said.

Britt said that he hopes there will be a decision from the state of North Carolina on whether to proceed as capital murder before the next date in court in May, which will be a “Rule 24 hearing,” according to Saunders.

A Rule 24 hearing is a pretrial conference required under Rule 24 of the General Rules of Practice for the Superior and District Court. This rule applies to all murder cases, whether a degree has been assigned or not, according to the UNC School of Government.

Saunders declined to comment further on the case.