Joshua Taylor Johnson and Riley Whitelaw (4th District Attorney’s Office) and police at the Walgreens where Johnson killed Whitelaw (KOAA screenshot)
A 29-year-old man in Colorado will spend the rest of his days behind bars for brutally killing a 17-year-old girl who rejected his advances, beating and stabbing her 42 times in the break room of the Walgreens where they both worked. Fourth Judicial District Court Judge Eric Bentley on Wednesday sentenced Joshua Taylor Johnson to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the 2022 slaying of Riley Whitelaw, authorities announced.
The state-mandated life sentence was handed down immediately after a 12-person jury in Colorado Springs found Johnson guilty of first-degree murder after deliberating for only about one hour.
Prior to Johnson being formally sentenced, nine people read victim impact statements in court, beginning with Jacob Leacock, Whitelaw’s boyfriend at the time of her death, Pueblo, Colorado NBC affiliate KOAA reported.
“There are no words for how much I hate you. You have taken so much from so many people,” Leacock reportedly said, speaking directly to Johnson. “Riley was going to do so many things.”
Whitelaw’s aunt, Kelly Whitelaw, also launched an invective at Johnson.
“You are a monster, I cannot even speak your name,” she reportedly said. “If I could swear at you I would, but out of respect for the court, our family, Riley, I will not, but I have no respect for you. I hope that you suffer. You are a disgusting person of a human being, actually you are not a human being, you are a monster.”
Others who spoke reportedly included Whitelaw’s father, stepfather, former nanny, cousin, and mother, who refused to say Johnson’s name, reportedly only referring to him as a “monster.”
Whitelaw in June 2022 was found dead in the break room of a Colorado Springs Walgreens location – just north of Ute Valley Park – where she worked and had recently requested extra hours. The store manager who placed the 911 call, told the emergency dispatcher there was “blood everywhere.”
