Man pleads guilty to 1979 Snohomish Co. killing
EVERETT, Wash. - A 58-year-old Seattle man whose arrest for a 1979 killing was prompted by a tip from a deck of playing cards has pleaded guilty to the murder.
A prison inmate reported the tip last year after reading about the killing of Susan Schwarz on a playing card deck distributed by the Snohomish County Sheriff's cold case team.
The cards, first circulated in 2008, offer rewards for information that helps solve the cold cases. Schwarz was featured as the queen of hearts.
Schwarz, 26, was killed in her home near Lynnwood on Oct. 22, 1979.
Detectives arrested Gregory Johnson, 58, outside his Seattle-area home last year after receiving the inmate's tip.
Johnson had been identified early in the murder investigation as a possible suspect, but there was not enough evidence to bring him to trial.
Then, in March 2011, detectives received the inmate's tip, which eventually led them to a witness who had never been interviewed about the homicide. The witness was young at the time and had been threatened to keep quiet about the killing.
Johnson pleaded guilty in Snohomish County Superior Court Friday. His sentencing is set for March 23.
A prison inmate reported the tip last year after reading about the killing of Susan Schwarz on a playing card deck distributed by the Snohomish County Sheriff's cold case team.
The cards, first circulated in 2008, offer rewards for information that helps solve the cold cases. Schwarz was featured as the queen of hearts.
Schwarz, 26, was killed in her home near Lynnwood on Oct. 22, 1979.
 Susan Schwarz |
Detectives arrested Gregory Johnson, 58, outside his Seattle-area home last year after receiving the inmate's tip.
Johnson had been identified early in the murder investigation as a possible suspect, but there was not enough evidence to bring him to trial.
Then, in March 2011, detectives received the inmate's tip, which eventually led them to a witness who had never been interviewed about the homicide. The witness was young at the time and had been threatened to keep quiet about the killing.
Johnson pleaded guilty in Snohomish County Superior Court Friday. His sentencing is set for March 23.
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