Police say a man shot and killed his girlfriend before killing himself. Darcy Spencer reports.
A man and a woman were found dead in the bedroom of a home in Prince George's County late Monday.
Officers were called for a welfare check about 10:10 p.m. Monday at a townhouse in the 5800 block of E. Boniwood Turn in the Clinton area.
They discovered the bodies of Gordon Johnson and his girlfriend, Anika Browne, in a bedroom. They had trauma to their bodies and were pronounced dead at the scene.
Johnson shot and killed Browne before killing himself, police said.
A deputy had tried to serve Johnson with child support paperwork Friday, the Prince George's County Sheriff's Office said.
Tara Benn, who said she had a child with Johnson, said he served in the Air Force for 20 years, rising to the rank of master sergeant. She described him as abusive.
“He threatened to kill me back in 2012, and again, he’s put his hands on me several times,” Benn said. “He threatened to kill me again in 2013 regarding having to pay me child support.”
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Benn said she had been denied protective orders in the past. She said this should be a warning to believe women who say they are being abused.
“For women that are struggling with domestic violence, that people begin to listen to us, that we are not making it up,” she said. “We are not crazy. Our children are not telling tales. We are not vindictive. We just want help for ourselves, for our partners or our former partners and our children. That’s it.”
Benn said her daughter was not at the home when the murder-suicide took place. The girl was taken to foster care.
Browne was a special education teacher with Blair Ewing Center alternative programs. She had been with Montgomery County Public Schools since 1998.
Prince George's County Police are investigating the deaths.
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