Murder is always reprehensible, no matter what the circumstances. But sometimes a crime can be even more shocking when done over something completely senseless. In the case of Tyrone Johnson, a fight over what to watch on television led to something unthinkable: the murder of his girlfriend and her child.

The Murder

On October 21, 2018, a 46-year-old man named Tyrone Johnson called 911 to report a shooting. According to Johnson, he had been forced to shoot two people because he was “being attacked.” The two people were Johnson’s 34-year-old girlfriend, Stephanie Willis, and her son, Ricky “Ryon” Willis. Ricky was only 10 years old.

The police brought Johnson in for questioning, at which point he was hyperventilating and crying hysterically. “I changed the TV to football,” he said between sobs.

After calming him down, they extracted more of the story from him. According to Johnson, a fight with his girlfriend over what to watch on television took a wrong turn when she accused him of being responsible for the recent suicide of his son.

“She said, ‘That’s why my son killed himself like a little [expletive] because you’re a [expletive],'” said Johnson.

Johnson allegedly called his father over FaceTime, who heard part of the confrontation. In Johnson’s version of the story, he went to leave when Stephanie attacked him. He then shot his girlfriend in self-defense before accidentally shooting Ryon when he ran into the room to confront him.

What Really Happened

The police investigation quickly shed doubt on Johnson’s version of the events. Although Willis and her son were found lying side by side, evidence showed that the 10-year-old Ryon was killed in his bedroom and dragged into the main room. According to prosecutors, Ryon was terrified as his mother fought with Johnson and crawled under his bed to keep from being found. After Johnson shot and killed Ryon’s mother, he hunted down Ryon and shot him while he hid under the bed.

“We have shell casings,” said prosecutor John Terry. “We have blood. We have holes in the wall in the little boy’s room.”

At trial, the defense tried to paint the event as a crime of passion gone wrong. But the prosecution disagreed–they argued that Johnson was a cold and calculated killer who should be given the death penalty for the double homicide.

In the end, the jury’s decision was unanimous. They found Tyrone Johnson guilty of second-degree murder in the killing of Stephanie Willis, as well as first-degree murder and aggravated child abuse in the murder of Ryon Willis. They recommended he be executed for his crimes.

“The day the defendant chose to shoot and kill my oldest daughter and hunt down, torture, and brutally murder my only biological grandson, part of me died,” said Robert Hewitt, father of Stephanie Willis and grandfather of Ryon Willis. “Not only did he take away my family, he took away my future generations. I am thankful for the decision in this case. After three years, we have received justice for Stephanie and Ryon.”

At his sentencing hearing in December 2022, Jonson was sentenced to death for the count of first-degree murder. He also received a life sentence for the other murder, which is overridden by the death penalty.

“I think I’ll get a lot more closure when he’s executed and I’m in the witness chamber watching,” said Hewitt. “I just want him to feel that terror. That sounds bad, but that’s how I feel. I want to be there. I hope I live another 16 years. My health isn’t good, so I hope I live that long.”

Although Johnson’s execution won’t bring back Stephanie and her son Ryon, it does bring a definitive end to this terrible saga. For all the horror of this senseless crime, it offers the family a bit of solace in knowing that justice was served.