After nearly four and a half decades since the brutal murder of 14-year-old De Anna Lynn Johnson, a Solano County jury has rendered a verdict of sorts on a long chapter of local tragedy and a protracted battle for justice. The Solano County District Attorney's Office announced via social media that Marvin Ray Markle, already imprisoned for a separate murder, was found guilty of first-degree murder and an enhancing charge for personal use of a deadly weapon in the Johnson case.

The trial lasted three weeks before the Honorable Dan J. Healy in Department 2 of the Superior Court. Chief Deputy District Attorney Paul Sequeira spearheaded the prosecution's effort, addressing challenges not uncommon in cold cases: faded memories, lost evidence, and witnesses went silent over time. However, despite these hurdles, Sequeira successfully made the case against Markle. According to the District Attorney's Office's post, original investigators, now-retired Vacaville Police Officers Joseph Munoz and Don Waller, were vital witnesses at the trial, their testimony bridging the years back to the initial investigation.

The crime in question happened on November 15, 1982, when De Anna Lynn Johnson, a young student from Vacaville, was found dead on local railroad tracks. As per District Attorney Abrams, per the Solano County District Attorney's Office, "I am so thankful for the dedication of the Vacaville Police Department and members of our office that no matter how much time went by they remained steadfast in their commitment to De Anna Lynn Johnson to solve her horrific case."

The breaker in this decades-old case came in 2017 when Markle was arrested for Johnson’s murder after being previously convicted for the murder of Shirley Ann Pratt in Butte County. It was this earlier crime that placed him at Kern Valley State Prison at the time of his arrest.