HONOLULU — A U.S. Army soldier stationed in Hawaii was sentenced Thursday to 23 years in military prison after pleading guilty to killing his pregnant wife with a machete, dismembering her body, and discarding her remains in a dumpster in an effort to cover up the crime.
Pfc. Dewayne Johnson II, of the 25th Infantry Division, admitted in military court to the voluntary manslaughter of his 19-year-old wife, Mischa Johnson, who was six months pregnant at the time of her death on July 12, 2024. He also pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice and making false official statements, according to the Army Office of Special Trial Counsel.
Mischa Johnson’s body has not been recovered. Johnson testified that he killed his wife during an argument in their home at Schofield Barracks on Oahu. He said the confrontation escalated after she shouted that their unborn child would grow up never knowing him. In response, Johnson struck her on the head with a machete, he told the court. After realizing she had no pulse, Johnson claimed he panicked and did not intend to kill her.
“I couldn’t picture my life without my child,” Johnson said in court. “I regret, I shouldn’t have done it.”
In a grisly attempt to hide the killing, Johnson used a chainsaw to dismember his wife’s body, placing the remains in garbage bags which he then deposited in a dumpster on the military base. He told investigators he believed the trash was incinerated soon afterward.
More than two weeks later, on July 31, Johnson reported his wife missing and joined public search efforts around Oahu. However, on August 27, Army investigators arrested him and charged him with her murder after uncovering blood, DNA evidence, and other incriminating materials inside their home.
Johnson, originally from Frederick, Maryland, received the maximum sentence allowed under military law. As part of a plea deal, child sexual abuse image charges were dropped. In addition to his prison term, Johnson’s rank was reduced to private, and he was dishonorably discharged from the military. He will serve his sentence at the U.S. Disciplinary Barracks in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.
Mischa Johnson’s family continues to grapple with the devastating loss. Her sister, Marianna Tapiz, told KITV the emotional toll has been immense.
“It was shocking and painful to hear what happened to her,” Tapiz said. “As a family, we’re just trying not to focus on the horrific details of her last moment with him. Right now, we’re trying to remember the happy memories and remember her in that life.”
Army prosecutor Lt. Col. Nicholas Hurd expressed hope that the outcome of the case may help the family begin to heal.
“While no amount of confinement will ever be able to truly ease the pain of the loss of Ms. Johnson and her unborn child, it is my hope that Pfc. Johnson’s admissions of guilt and the information he provided as part of the plea agreement can provide some element of closure and finality for the family and all stakeholders,” Hurd said in a statement.
AP
