Arties Johnson has been convicted of first-degree murder for the 1981 killing of 66-year-old Clara Miller, the Sacramento County District Attorney's Office said. The jury found that Johnson used a knife in the crime, which was left in the victim's body. The case included the special circumstance of a murder committed during a burglary. Johnson now faces life in prison without the possibility of parole, according to the Sacramento County District Attorney's Office.
The investigation into Miller's murder showed that her door had been forced open and her car was later set on fire, which Johnson pointed out to an acquaintance. Johnson also watched police at the crime scene, including seeing his own boot print on the victim's door. He later tried to hide this print by discarding the boots. The acquaintance, first an anonymous tipster and later a key witness, moved to Ohio after Johnson threatened them, which led to the initial case against Johnson being dismissed due to lack of evidence, as reported by the Sacramento County District Attorney's Office.
In 2024, new DNA analysis found Johnson's DNA on the knife from the crime scene, reopening a case that had been inactive for decades. Johnson is scheduled to be sentenced on November 7 before Judge Helena Gweon. The evidence helped solve the case of Clara Miller, which had remained unsolved for many years, as stated by the Sacramento County District Attorney's Office.
