Madison Johnson Obituary, Death;- A 28-year-old man is heading to prison following his conviction for the murders of two women, according to Tennessee prosecutors. Jair Romario Martin entered a guilty plea to charges of murder, aggravated kidnapping, criminal impersonation, and evading arrest, as stated by the Knox County District Attorney’s Office in a news release dated June 16.
He received a life sentence without the possibility of parole, prosecutors reported. In May 2023, Martin was at a residence in Knoxville with his girlfriend when he reportedly became aggressive, according to the district attorney’s office. The girlfriend, later identified as 21-year-old Madison Johnson, contacted her mother via FaceTime to express her feelings of insecurity, officials informed WATE.
At that moment, the mother observed Martin brandishing a firearm, prompting her to call 911 while still on the line with her daughter, prosecutors indicated. He prevented Johnson from leaving and threatened, “I’m going to murder you,” prosecutors noted. Johnson was shot fatally at the residence in the presence of another woman, later identified as 20-year-old Heidi Johnson, after which Martin also shot the second woman dead, officials reported to WATE. Madison Johnson sustained multiple gunshot wounds and had been stabbed in the head with a carving fork, prosecutors stated.
Martin fled the scene but was apprehended days later, according to officials. Martin claimed he killed the women because they “kept stealing drugs from him,” officials told WATE. “I was wondering if there is something profound that I could say, but it’s just sad. It’s tragic. Two young women gunned down and killed in the prime of their life. They should have been able to experience their lives,” Judge Scott Green remarked during the hearing that was streamed by WBIR. “It’s just all so senseless.
