Person of interest in Marion County cold case could be in Jacksonville

MARION COUNTY, Fla. — Roberta Johnson was a single mother who served in the U.S.Army and worked with troubled children.

She was also 9 months pregnant and was about to have a baby boy, but Johnson was killed before she could give birth, and her case has been cold for 17 years.

“The person who killed my mom took away my best friend,” said her daughter, Arkeisha Johnson.

Johnson said it’s been a long 17 years.

“To have to go through those milestones without my mom when she’s been there for me from day one, it breaks your heart,” she said.

Deputies said her grave was found in a wooded area on April 26, 1999, by an Ocala police officer.

Johnson’s case is one of 33 cold cases in the Marion County Sheriff’s Office.

Action News Jax crime and safety expert Ken Jefferson said cold cases can be very difficult to solve.

”The challenge becomes when witnesses die off, move away or you can’t find them, there’s no physical evidence to find,” said Jefferson.

Detectives now believe that a person of interest in the case lives in Jacksonville. Her daughter hopes someone will break his or her silence.

“They don’t get to just walk this earth and think that they’re not accountable for their actions. They deserve to be punished,” said Johnson.

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