Testimony continues for man accused of murdering Casey Johnson

ROCKINGHAM, N.C. — The boyfriend of Casey Johnson’s mom is on trial for Casey’s murder.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Mother testifies about abuse from boyfriend that led to 15-year-old’s alleged murder

County Commissioner Jamie Gathings sat through some tough testimony today surrounding Casey’s physical injuries. He said he had posed some questions to DSS, and has come up with a couple of proposals to present to the board. One of which would require DSS to give monthly reports to commissioners about what’s going on.

“We have a meeting tomorrow, I’m going to address the board to talk about some issues we can further prevent this and hopefully nothing like this happens again,” Gathings.

As for what happened today in court, a doctor testified today in Joseph Carroll’s murder trial. She was a resident at UNC-Chapel Hill when Casey Johnson was admitted the night of Jan. 20, 2021. She testified that Casey was on a ventilator and had bruises all over his body.

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A medical examiner also took the stand saying she found bruising on Casey’s brain and skull. We had previously reported, her report said Casey had a head injury so severe it was as if he had been in a car accident. Last week, Casey’s mom, Michelle Johnson, testified that her boyfriend, Joseph Carroll, had repeatedly banged Casey’s head on the floor.

Neighbors had sounded the alarm about the alleged ongoing abuse in Carroll’s home. Last week, a neighbor testified he had alerted DSS after witnessing Casey and his two sisters excessively exercising and having food restrictions. Casey’s sister said DSS came by multiple times, and after one visit, she was sent to live out of state with her dad.

Joseph Carroll has sat through all the testimony and he hasn’t shown much expression in court.

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