October 2012 43-year-old Sherri Lee Prather goes missing after accepting a ride from a biker outside a Jacksonville bar. Despite several witnesses implicating a man known as The Viking, the investigation goes cold for years. Then in 2016, detectives finally bring The Viking in for questioning. What begins as a routine interview escalates into a tense and dramatic battle of wills. >> I didn't do nothing and this is wrong. >> Okay. Your personal belongings are your personal property. >> [music] [music] >> 43-year-old Sherri Lee Prather was born in Jacksonville, Florida, the city she called home her entire life. She was a single mother raising two daughters and love ones say they had a tight-knit bond. They shared a home with Sherri's mother, Norma Ellis, three generations of women under one roof in a modest working-class household. According to Norma, Sherri was a social butterfly, lived for karaoke, and had a voice that reminded people of Stevie Nicks. She loved Harley-Davidsons, but she also had a softer side. She wrote poetry, using it as an outlet to process a life that hadn't always been easy. Over the years, Sherri moved through a series of failed relationships, some marked by intimate partner violence. She turned to drugs and alcohol to cope. "Her addiction was probably her biggest battle," Ellis said. She battled with that for a really long time. At one point, Sherry got sober and stayed that way for years, but like many fighting addiction, her path wasn't a straight line. She still spent time with friends at the bar, including Boots and Bottles, a Jacksonville dive bar known for its biker crowd. On the night of October 12th, 2012, Ellis and Sherry's daughter, Mandy, dropped her off there to meet friends. Neither knew it would be the last goodbye. October 15th, 2012. It had been 3 days since anyone heard from Sherry. It wasn't like her to disappear without contacting family, so her mother reported her missing to the police. A detective was assigned and friends reported that Sherry had recently argued with her ex-boyfriend, Daniel Dolisoun. That made him an early person of interest, but police confirmed his alibi and nothing linked him to her disappearance. Investigators then began retracing Sherry's final movements. Surveillance footage from a nearby store showed Sherry leaving the Boots and Bottles bar in the early hours and stumbling toward a man on a motorcycle parked outside. She rode away with him, never to be seen alive again. Detectives identified the rider as 38-year-old truck driver, Johnny Wayne Johnson. He agreed to speak. One of the first things they noticed was his unusual accent. Johnson claimed he held dual American and Icelandic citizenship, that his Icelandic name was Magni Buthbar Thorfelson, and that he was born in Florida to an Icelandic father and an American mother. Investigators were skeptical of his accent, going so far as to describe it in their report as a fake Icelandic accent. Johnson was no stranger to law enforcement with prior convictions for burglary and theft. During the interview, he admitted leaving the bar with Sherry that night, but claimed he dropped her off near a house on Trout River Boulevard and hadn't seen her since. His girlfriend, Jordan, told police the same thing. With no solid evidence to hold him, Johnson was released. Then, [snorts] just 1 month later, the Logans received the news they had feared. >> Good evening. The search for a missing Jacksonville woman is now over, but the mystery of what happened to her is not yet solved. >> Jacksonville police say the remains they found last week on the north side are the remains of this woman, 43-year-old Sherry Lee Prather. She was last seen October 12th at a bar on New Berlin Road, not far from her home. Now, police have identified remains found last week in some woods along Braddock Road. >> And all this first started, I I prayed to God. I said, "Please, Lord, just bring her home, you know? I wanted I wanted to believe she'd come come home and walk through the door." >> A prayer unanswered, as Daniel Dollison found out Sherry Prather, the woman he says he wanted to marry, was dead, not missing. >> It's terrible to to imagine that, you know? I [snorts] wanted to protect her from all that, you know? And I couldn't be there. >> The discovery of Sherry's remains wasn't random. Johnny's ex-wife, Samantha, came forward to share information with detectives. >> Okay, what did he say about the girl that was on the back of the motorcycle? >> He took her to somewhere off Trout River Boulevard and Braddock Road and dropped her off. >> And at that point, he shot her? >> Yes, sir. He said he didn't have enough time to move the female, so he just dragged her into the woods. >> Samantha's statement was the first time Johnson was directly implicated in Sherry's murder, and it wouldn't be the last. In January 2014, another witness claimed Johnson told them he gave Sherry a ride, drove her to Braddock Road, and after stopping to urinate, asked her to turn around so he could look at a tattoo. That's when he said he shot her in the chest. Then, in October 2016, investigators reached out to Johnson's girlfriend Jordan again and learned the two were no longer together. This time, she gave an entirely different account, claiming Johnson admitted to killing Sherry and disposing of her body on Braddock Road. Finally, in November 2016, more than 4 years after Sherry disappeared, detectives felt they had a case strong enough for prosecution. They went to Johnson's home, detained him, and brought him back to the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office for questioning. During the information gathering phase, Johnson sticks to one story. He picked Sherry up, dropped her off near her home on Trout River Boulevard, never saw her again. On its face, it's a plausible account. There are no eyewitnesses to the killing, no murder weapon recovered, no DNA, fingerprints, or ballistics connecting Johnson to Sherry's killing. At this point, detectives are heavily relying on circumstantial evidence and [music] witness statements. When his marriage to Samantha Johnson comes up, he claims they divorced and hadn't seen each other since 2010. [music] There's just one problem. Detectives say they have evidence that she visited his house in 2012 and the two had sex [music] in his garage, directly contradicting his timeline. Then, they show him cell phone records which place Johnson near Braddock Road around the time Sherry disappeared. Finally, they lay out the allegations. Why are there four separate witnesses, including your former spouse and the next girlfriend, who say you admitted to killing Sherry? With the groundwork laid, the detectives continue to challenge Johnson. >> I didn't do this. >> Well, who did? >> I don't know who did. >> Well, you went to Braddock Road with her. >> I don't know who did >> But you went to Braddock Road with her. >> But I didn't leave her on Braddock Road. >> Okay, did you go to Braddock Road, yes or no? >> I down it, but I guess >> I guess >> not a guess. >> I'm assuming if you say I did, I did. >> No, no, no. I want you to tell me cuz that's what you remember. I'm not going to put words in your mouth. >> I don't remember the streets, is what I'm telling you. I don't I'm I am honestly telling you I don't remember every street that I went down. I remember I remember the road that I left her at. And the road that I left her at was Trout River Road. >> leave her on Trout River Road. >> I did. >> You didn't. >> I did. I swear to you on everything I did. >> walked from Trout River all the way back to Bradford Road where she got killed. >> I don't know how she got there. >> You, your phone, and Sherry Prather are right there on Bradford Road where she is located, dead. >> I don't know how she got there. >> I need the truth right now. Your only last chance to tell me the truth. You do or do not know Bradford, yes or no? >> I didn't know the name of it, but we were on that road. >> And how do you know that? >> Because we met that guy right here. >> how do you know if you don't know the name of that road? Now, remember >> Because he told me where it's at, and I remember >> But I don't want anybody putting words in your mouth, okay? >> remember how we got on that road, and I honestly do, and this is the honest truth. And I'm scared right now. >> Well, just the the truth is what's going to help, so go ahead. >> No, I'm telling you right now if I tell you about this guy, he is me. He will He will get me. >> And who is he? >> I don't know his name, but I know his face. He's short. He's He's He's about my height, but he's got tattoos on his head. He hangs out with Big Mike that runs with the Outlaws. >> Okay, well, you haven't told us who he is. Tell us what happened. >> [snorts] >> When I come down, she made a call. >> Mhm. >> And when I come down, we met them people here. >> Okay. >> How do you know now that it's Braddock Road? >> Because when we come when we first was here, we backtracked to here and come down here and that's when she tapped me on the shoulder to turn. >> This is the first significant shift in Johnson's story. For years, he'd insisted that he dropped Sherry off on Trotter River Boulevard. Now he admits he was on Braddock Road. It's not a confession to murder, but it places him at the very location he had long denied visiting and brings his account into line with the cell phone data and witness statements [music] detectives had spent years collecting. >> For 4 years, you were convincing people you never went down Braddock Road. Until tonight. >> I don't know these names of the roads. You're telling me the NAMES OF >> OH [ __ ] I POINTED IT OUT TO YOU. >> I didn't know the >> that's THE ROAD. YOU ACTUALLY EVEN SAID IT A FEW TIMES, Braddock Road. >> Across from the park next to the Food Lion. >> Cuz he told me it was Braddock Road. >> Okay. And I told you it was Braddock Road. But you know what's across from the park and next to the Food Lion. >> Yeah. That's because she told >> Right. And that's correct. That That road is Braddock Road. Now, whether you know the name or not is not the issue. >> As far as riding down this road with Samantha, riding down this road with Ollie, riding down this road with >> you went down this road with Ollie. >> I'm talking about riding down this road with Jordan. I did not point nothing out because I didn't know she was gone. I thought she was still hanging out with them guys. >> But did you point out where YOU LEFT HER AT LEAST? Like that's where I got it wrong? >> No, I did not. >> Yes, you did. >> No, I did not. >> the heck do you think they found the remains of Sherry Pratt? >> I do not >> Because she was in those woods for a month >> I don't know. >> before we found her. >> I don't know. I don't know how you I don't know how you found her. I don't know. >> And I like how you told one of the girls, "Haha, um they you know, um I got away with it. They think it's um animal remains." >> I don't know what that is. I don't know what you're talking about. >> To Jordan, you thought you got away with it because you said the news is saying it's animal remains and lo and behold, that's what the news actually did say. >> I don't know. I don't know. I did not tell her nothing. I didn't tell her I got away with anything. I don't believe in murder. I don't believe in killing. >> Just like on Long Green Road. >> I I don't know what happened on Long Green Road. >> Yes, you you know what happened on Long That one is back open and being investigated. >> No, I don't. I don't know. >> Okay. >> Detectives have just brought up an incident from Johnson's past, a fatal stabbing that occurred on Long Green Road in Jacksonville in 2004. We were able to confirm that a homicide did occur on the 2000 block of Long Green Road South in August 2004, but we found no public record identifying Johnson as a suspect in that case. So, why are detectives bringing it up? They never explained it during the interview, but after digging through court records, we learned that several witnesses allegedly told investigators Johnson had offered three different explanations for why Sherry was killed. According to those witnesses, one, she knew too much about an earlier incident Johnson was allegedly involved in. Two, she needed to settle alleged drug debts with the Outlaws Motorcycle Club. And three, she had witnessed him kill two other men that night and was threatening to go to the police. With that context in mind, let's go back to the interrogation, where detectives continue pressing Johnson about the Long Green Road homicide. >> You were there for that one as well. You You lied to the police that night and were in the process of going back >> Eeky and getting robbed and all that stuff. >> I did get robbed when I was with Eeky, but I did not never do nothing on Long Green Road. >> we have talked to all those little boys that were 13, 14, and 15 at the time that you were hanging out with as a grown person. Remember all those little boys? >> I know Eeky had a lot of people hanging out at the house. I don't know who all they were. >> both had a lot of people there. >> it's your it's your house. >> Some of your people. >> But I did not do nothing. >> That's That's not what's being told to us there, again. >> I don't I don't care what people say about me cuz >> family knows you know you had something to do with the Long Green Road. >> My family My I told you my family has it out for >> Your cousin, what's his name, all the tattoos? >> You know, I know what you're saying and I know what you're trying to say, but I did not do this. I'm telling you. >> Then explain this one last thing to me. How did you know where her body was if you didn't do it? >> I didn't know. I didn't know where her body was. >> If I'm convinced, he's convinced, this entire office is convinced, our staff is convinced, our chiefs >> I don't know where her body is. >> Do you think you're going to convince A JURY THAT YOU DON'T HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH THAT? >> I did not know where her body is. >> know what it takes to put a murder charge on somebody? >> See, you got it already set in your head that I done this crime. >> That's because this is 4-year investigation. >> But I'm telling you I did not do this. >> That's what you say, that's not what everybody else or the evidence >> of people has it A lot of people do have it out for >> It's your closest people at this time. >> They're not >> At this time, they were It was your girlfriend. It was your ex-wife. It was your only friend, your hasty friend. I mean >> And they're all pissed off at me because we all went TO >> THEY DIDN'T TALK TO ME WHEN THEY WERE PISSED OFF. >> THEY TALKED to us back then. >> Well, I'm telling you I did not say nothing to anybody. I did I don't even know where her body was found on this >> Right, cuz no one else has ever mentioned mentioned Hillbilly or those other guys. >> Cuz nobody has ever mentioned that to them. >> That's because nobody will. >> Right, cuz you never told them ABOUT >> YOU DID TELL PEOPLE DIFFERENT STORIES. YOU YOU WANTED TO KNOW WHO was going to tell what story. >> No. I don't talk to people. >> YOU DID BACK THEN, JOHNNY. THAT'S WHO YOU WERE HANGING OUT WITH. YOU KNOW WHAT? MATTER OF FACT, YOU CAN SAY you didn't talk to people, but when I when I show your phone records and all those people that you talked to at that time, >> you I did not I did not go I don't go around talking about crap like this because I don't believe in this. I didn't kill anybody. I haven't killed anybody and I'm not going to start killing anybody. I won't even kill an animal. >> everybody was wrong in 2004. Everybody's wrong now. Johnny, you just didn't get caught in 2004. That's just the bottom line. >> do nothing. That's what I'm telling you. I didn't do nothing. >> did. >> I didn't. >> You absolutely did. >> I did not. I did not. >> And lucky for you at the time, the job wasn't completed in 2004. >> do nothing. >> Just like I guess you didn't do anything when you got charged in Georgia. >> Well, well, in Georgia, I admitted to it. When I got When I got arrested in Georgia, >> I don't care about that. But what I'm saying is >> no, when they when they caught me in Georgia, when I was in jail, I was in jail for for for something I don't know. I was in jail for something different at the time. And the kidnapping was false imprisonment because I took the clerk from behind the counter and put him in the bathroom and I locked the door. >> would be false imprisonment, yes. >> Right. And I took their car. And when the when the detective asked me did I do it, I was honest and I told the detective that is why I the time that I got. I got 315 to serve five, two 10 to serve five, and five >> member up there? >> What's that mean? >> Were you a gang member? >> No. >> In Georgia? >> No. >> Not at all? >> I was not a gang member even though I they said I they said I was affiliated with them because I hung up They said I was affiliated with Folk Nation because I had a lot of friend of mines friends that was Folk. But when I when I got when I got questioned by the detective and the detective flat out asked me, he says, "I want to know the truth." I told him I said, "Yeah, I'm the one that done it." I did it. >> Mhm. >> I owned up to my crime. >> But that wasn't murder. >> It doesn't matter if it's murder or not. If I'm guilty, I'm guilty. And I'm not. >> in my in my mind, you've killed two people now. >> I have not. >> You're going to have a hard time convincing me, this detective, or any jury member that this one didn't occur >> I did not kill nobody. >> That That should That should have been solved back in 2004. All the evidence was there. So, lucky you, you just got a detective that wasn't >> I didn't kill nobody. >> You told the detective you were robbed back then. >> I was. >> Where were you robbed? >> I was robbed over at El Dorado Avenue by the uh gas station. >> You remember? >> Yeah, that's what he said. Yeah, that's what he said, but the video's not there. The proof of the video's not there. >> But, I was robbed. >> That's not where it happened. >> And I did not I did not do nothing then, and I did not do nothing now. Can I call my wife? >> Yes, you will be able to call your wife. You got any other questions for him? >> Can I go home? >> No, you cannot. >> Why is that? >> Cuz I'm charging you with murder. >> I didn't do murder. >> Well, I'm charging you with it, and we can prove it, Johnny. >> No, you cannot, cuz I didn't do it. >> Okay. >> That'll be up for you to >> I I want my lawyer. >> Perfect. >> I want to call my wife. >> After what you get next to the jail, you get to call your wife. >> She doesn't have a way for me to call her collect. >> There There's no way to call her here, either. It's going to have to >> What about my cell phone? Because I didn't do nothing, and this is wrong. >> Okay. You're just going to have to go through your personal property. >> Well, at least you're breathing. You called uh rescue for you. >> Yeah, you're going to be coming. Check you out. >> I didn't do nothing wrong. >> You just hit yourself in the head, so >> do nothing wrong. >> Okay. >> I got depression, and I'm very suicidal. >> Okay. >> I did not do nothing >> We'll make sure you go to the sixth floor. >> I didn't do nothing wrong. >> All right. >> I didn't do nothing wrong. I didn't do nothing I did not >> All right. I can't stand. >> I didn't kill nobody. >> All right. >> Okay. >> We're going to have rescue come check you out. To make sure you're okay. >> Go on, Michelle. >> Yeah. We don't want you to Sit back in that chair. There you go. Just sit in the chair. >> I'm cool. >> Sit in the chair, all right? We're going to have them check you out. >> I'm going to hurt myself on this. >> Well, we're going to we're going to get you some help. If you do that again, don't do that again. >> you do it again. >> No, I promise you I won't. >> chair now. >> What? >> Sit down in the chair. >> I didn't do nothing wrong. >> to put restraints on you if you continue to do this. So, don't do it. >> Don't act like >> I didn't do nothing >> All right. >> And she's treating me >> hey, look. You said you wanted a lawyer. We're not talking to you. >> Well, she's supposed to She treated me She treated me like like an imbecile and I didn't do nothing. >> I understand. We're going to get a lawyer for you cuz that's what you wanted. And we're going to first of all make sure medically you're okay. That's it. We're done. >> I want to go home. >> Yes, I understand. Let's get somebody to check you out. >> Can I go home? >> We want someone to check you out. But, I can't talk to you anymore because you want a lawyer. So, I can't say anything other than we're having medical people come check you out. >> Medical checks me out, can I go home? >> I can't say anything else. >> Ready? Good morning. I'm here today to announce an arrest in the murder investigation of Sherry Prather, a 43-year-old white female who was killed back in October of 2012. Um, I'm pleased to announce that last Friday, November 18th, uh, homicide detectives located Johnson, brought him down to the homicide office, uh, conducted another interview with him, and confronted him with the, uh, witness statements and the evidence. Uh, he initially said the same story as he originally told, that he dropped Sherry off on, uh, Trout River Boulevard and hadn't seen her since. Um, his story changed a few times. Uh, he eventually said that he dropped her off on Braddock Road, uh, but continued to deny that he killed her. Um, after that interview, Johnson was charged with second-degree murder and booked into the PDF. >> Any questions? >> Where had Johnson, James Gallman time here, where had Johnson been boasting, uh, about, uh, killing Sherry? >> Um, he These were in private conversations that he had with different individuals, so I don't know if it was boasting in public as much as it was he was telling. >> And where did How did you track him down the final time? >> The, uh, track who down? >> Uh, Johnson. >> Well, he's been local, so we knew where he was. >> Okay. >> So, obviously, sorry, go ahead. >> Can you talk about the importance of these witnesses stepping up and what a difference it made in solving this case 4 years later? >> It's what made the case. Um, we knew that from the beginning. Uh, with a lot of these cases, there's just, um, you know, things that people know, but we need them to come forward. Uh, it This one took a lot longer than normal. Um, but then we have those that never get solved because people never come forward. So, that's where, you know, we like to remind everyone that Crime Stoppers does pay, and they are a big help in these cases. Um, you know, patience and and hard work by the detectives is what, you know, really put it all together, and then with witnesses coming forward and giving us the information, we're able to make the arrest. >> Did any any word about why? Why would he do? She leaves the bar with him, she's on the back of his motorcycle. What happened that would cause this? >> Right. That's the the question that Johnny Wayne Johnson needs to answer and and we were asking that question but we haven't gotten that answer yet. >> So just yes, I did it but >> Well, he he didn't say yes, he did it. He's he changed his story to he was on Braddock Road with her where her remains were found. >> That interview marked the end of the investigation and the beginning of the prosecution. Johnson was arrested on a murder charge and held without bond. Weeks later, prosecutors formally charged him with second-degree murder. But as the case moved forward in Florida, it was making headlines in Ocean Way. In Iceland, the story was front-page news even drawing the attention of a renowned Icelandic filmmaker who produced a documentary on it. And it was during that research that everything unraveled. Iceland's publicly funded national broadcaster, RÚV, reported that the Viking's accent and his entire Icelandic identity was fabricated. He had spun an elaborate web of lies for more than a decade. Even with his false identity exposed, Johnson maintains his innocence. But rather than roll the dice at trial, he took a plea deal pleading guilty in exchange for a reduced sentence of 20.4 years, just under the 25-year minimum he would have faced if convicted. It wasn't the full measure of justice her family had hoped for, but for the loved ones of Sherry Prather, it was at long last a small measure of closure.