Horror in Hocking County
A true crime investigation by Don Canaan
Chapter 5 SARAH JOHNSTON Sarah Johnston, Annette’s mother, took the stand Thursday morning, Jan. 19. With her was her attorney. He said law enforcement authorities “on more than one occasion...[had] threatened Mrs. Johnston with criminal prosecution on various matters.” Sarah admitted the family practiced nudity and her husband had taken nude photographs of Annette, but invoked marital rights when asked by the prosecutor, “Did Dale ever tell you he had sexual relations with Annette?” He continued, “Do you recall telling Dale you didn’t care if he raped her [Annette] every day of the week. ‘I just want my baby back.’” Defense’s objection was overruled and Sarah admitted making that statement on Oct. 5. The judges, citing a section of (Ohio law allows a wife to testify against her husband concerning actions and events if he has endangered her children, but forbids her from revealing communications with her husband unless a third party overheard them. During the conversation referred to, a third party was not present.) Over continued defense objection, she said Dale had taken the nude photographs used by the police to identify Annette. The only touching that occurred between Dale and Annette while they were nude, she said, was “maybe a pat on the shoulder.” Dale had treated Annette, and her other daughter, Michelle, the same. She testified the last time she saw Annette was the Thursday before she disappeared. On Oct. 4, Sarah said she left work at 4:45 p.m. to pick Michelle up at the Logan Clinic. They were the only ones in the car. At home, Sarah saw Dale speaking with two men in the yard. She said she recognized the men but didn’t know their names. After dinner, leaving Dale and Michelle at home, she returned to work at an optometrist’s office. Michelle, then 17, testified she couldn’t remember events that occurred after her mother picked her up from her appointment at the clinic. Because the court had designated her as a court’s witness, prosecution was allowed to question Michelle as if she were being cross-examined and that leading questions could be asked. Defense presented sworn statements that Michelle had made to the Hocking County Juvenile Court on March 23, April 8 and May 6, 1983. Tyack said these statements contained inconsistencies with her present testimony and requested Michelle to read from the statements in order to refresh her memory. Mong objected to this procedure and Michelle’s attorney, John Harker, requested the statements remain sealed. On Friday afternoon, two expert witnesses from BCI testified to the results obtained from testing the evidence. Thomas Nicholson, the bureau’s senior firearms examiner, said the bullets were not fired from the 22-caliber rifle confiscated from Dale Johnston’s home. He said he could not determine whether the bullets had been fired from a rifle or handgun. Sylvia Clark of BCI’s microanalysis section said she had found human Type A and O blood as well as head hair containing characteristics similar to Todd Schultz’s hair on one of the plastic feedbags submitted as evidence. Soil, grass and vegetation samples from the cornfield also contained blood residue, but, she added, she was unable to determine whether it was human or animal blood. When the trial resumed after the weekend, testimony was given that Annette had told a previous boyfriend and his mother that her stepfather had sexually assaulted her, and that the son had received threatening telephone calls while dating Annette. “It sounded like Mr. Johnston,” said John Jones, 20, referring to the phone calls. After Tyack objected, the judges decided to allow the statement, but would treat it as an “out of court statement,” in order to establish a state of mind, and would not be accepted at face value. Jones said he saw Annette frequently, that they attended school together and that he had visited her several times at her home. Annette had introduced him to her stepfather. He said he had spoken with him on several occasions. Annette later told him that her stepfather was having forced sexual relations with her. After further questioning by the special prosecutor, Jones told the court that one week later he started to get threatening phone calls from a man who pronounced his name with a sibilant “s” sound. Jones testified the hissing of the “s” was similar to Dale’s pronunciation of other words containing the letter “s.” “The caller told me that if I made sexual contact with Annette, he would castrate me. He said he would do the same thing to Annette.” Jones testified the calls began with the caller saying that he [Jones] had 15 days to live. As the days progressed, the numbers became smaller. The last call said he had three days to live. “After the ‘third day’ we broke up. I was scared.” Under cross-examination, Jones said the man identified himself on the first call as “Dale Ray.” Dale Ray Johnston was Annette’s stepbrother. He was home on military leave. When Tyack asked whether the conversations with Annette had ever mentioned that the forced sexual activity involved Dale Ray, Jones answered “yes.” Annette’s former classmate, Michael Stephenson, also testified she had confided in him about “problems at home.” “She thought she was pregnant,” he said, and during the 1980-81 school year “was being molested by her father.” In the same conversation she also mentioned the name of Dale Ray Johnston. Defense counsel asked Stephenson whether Annette had told him that she might be pregnant by Dale Ray. He replied: “At the time she thought it was her stepfather,” but added that she said “he was home” and “he just arrived,” when speaking of the forced sexual relations. Just as melting chunks of Hocking River ice floated to its eventual destiny with the immenseness of the Ohio River, the trial’s ninth day started with a motion by the defense that Dale Johnston be acquitted of the aggravated murder charges. Tyack maintained the case presented by the prosecution was circumstantial and they had not proven Mong countered by saying the circumstantial evidence presented was consistent with the state’s theories regarding The three-judge court overruled the defense’s motion for acquittal and the trial continued. The defense opened by calling a clinical psychologist as their first witness. Dr. Bruce Goldsmith of He said certain accepted steps were not followed when hypnosis was used to enhance Rine’s memory and that the tapes made during hypnosis were barely audible, appeared to have erasures and were not consistent with proper recording technique. He also testified that a pre-hypnotic interview did not take place, and that Rine was regressed directly to the occurrence to be remembered. Goldsmith believed police suggestions were used to implant information. Once a person is hypnotized, confabulation occurs, Goldsmith testified. This prevents the subject from distinguishing between pre- and post-hypnotic memory. Upon cross-examination he conceded there was only a “potential” for confabulation, and that there is a difference between actual and potential confabulation. Rine had testified he could distinguish between pre-hypnotic and post-hypnotic testimony. Goldsmith said that persons who have been hypnotized become more confident of their memory and accept what they remember as fact. He also admitted it was impossible for confabulation to have any effect on statements made prior to hypnosis. Other witnesses included Linda Walters and Kathy Whalen.\ Walters produced a videotape of the August, 1982 “Parade of the Hills” festival. In it was an interview with Annette, one of the contestants competing for the title of “Queen.”
Annette was discussing her future aspirations—her plans for marriage and her hopes of getting a job in computer programming. She said her parents had greatly influenced her life because they let her make her own mistakes and never babied her. “My mother helped me through a lot of stuff,” Annette said. A VHS or DVD video documentary, “Reasonable Doubt,” is available from |
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