Suspect in salon killings wrote message on cell wall about 'rat snitch' witnesses, charges say

As his trial was getting underway in the killings of three people at a Belleville hair salon, defendant Samuel L. Johnson wrote a message on the wall of his holding cell about "rat snitch" prosecution witnesses, according to prosecutors.

Johnson's triple-murder trial in St. Clair County was indefinitely delayed Tuesday after a judge ruled that prosecutors cannot present evidence about the message to jurors. Rather than proceed with the trial, prosecutors want the 5th District Appellate Court in Mount Vernon to review the judge's ruling.

"God know I am innocent," was found written Monday afternoon on the back of a door of the cell where Johnson was being held at the courthouse. Johnson was on trial for the stabbing deaths of sisters Dorothy Bone and Doris Fischer and their hairdresser Michael Cooney.

There was another more ominous message found in the cell. It read witnesses in his case were "rat snitch bitches" and "they are here to testify on my case today 6-4-18.”

That message is the basis of a new charge filed Wednesday against Johnson — attempted harassment of a witness.

With only two holding cells for men at the St. Clair County Building, any witness who was in custody could have seen the message.

It was a beautiful day on March 2, 2005, when a woman arrived about 10:45 a.m. at Cooney's home-based hair salon at 7913 W. Main St. in Belleville to get her hair done. She discovered a grisly murder scene with Fischer, 79, and Bone, 82, and Cooney, 62, stabbed to death during what prosecutors said was a violent struggle. The woman called 911.

Johnson said he met Cooney, who also dealt in estate sales, years before the killings in a St. Louis antiques store. Johnson was selling quilts he salvaged from a building he was cleaning, he told a reporter during an interview earlier this year. He has always maintained he is innocent of the killings.

Former Belleville police Chief Terry Delaney long maintained that Johnson was the prime suspect for the killings, but despite that belief, former State's Attorney Robert Haida declined to charge him, stating there wasn't enough evidence. The case took a turn when Dave Ruebhausen took over for a retiring Delaney and activated the Major Case Squad of Greater St. Louis to take a fresh look at the case.

The focus of their investigation was 16-year-old Darrell Lane. Lane was originally charged with the killings and was connected to the case by a bloody fingerprint found on a seat of Cooney's Nissan Pathfinder. The Pathfinder was stolen from the salon property and abandoned in north St. Louis. A series of teenagers, including Lane, eventually got hold of the vehicle. An expert for the prosecution once stated that he believed the print could only have been made in fresh blood. Lane's attorney disputed that.

Lane was acquitted by a jury in four hours.

Johnson was charged in 2016 with the killings. He has been held at the St. Clair County Jail since the charges were issued.

Johnson initially was charged only with attempting to break into Cooney’s house on Dec. 3, 2003 — more than a year before the killings. He eventually pleaded guilty and served a six-year prison sentence.

State's Attorney Brendan Kelly charged Johnson with murder in 2016, citing statements Johnson allegedly made to fellow inmates, including Reedie Bean and Early Kidd.

Prosecutors Dan Lewis, Judy Dalan and Amanda Fischer wanted the jury in Johnson's murder trial to hear about the messages written in the holding cell.

But St. Clair County Associate Judge Julie Gomric found the writing was not relevant, that it was not an admission of guilt, and ruled the messages would not be presented to jurors. Prosecutors decided to take the issue to the appellate court in Mount Vernon, delaying the trial by possibly up to two years. Prosecutors say not being able to use the writing as evidence substantially hurts their case.

Gomric's ruling could have been based on that fact that, had jurors been informed of where the writings were found, they'd have known that Johnson was in custody — possibly negating his presumption of innocence and prejudicing the jury.

Meantime, Johnson's attorneys, Thomas Keefe III and Gregory Nester, have filed a motion asking that Johnson be released on a recognizance bond until trial. A recognizance bond is a promise to appear in court later.

This story was originally published June 6, 2018 at 8:03 PM with the headline "Suspect in salon killings wrote message on cell wall about 'rat snitch' witnesses, charges say."