JACKSON — The Mississippi Supreme Court has upheld the first-degree murder conviction and life sentence of a Stone County man who killed and decapitated his mother, rejecting arguments that evidence was improperly obtained and that he was legally insane at the time of the crime.
In a decision issued April 23, the court affirmed the conviction of Terelle Anterion Johnson, who was found guilty by a jury after raising an insanity defense at trial.
Johnson was convicted in the 2018 killing of his mother, Sherry Johnson, at their home in Stone County. Authorities discovered her body after responding to a welfare check requested by family members who had not heard from her for several days.
According to court records, Johnson initially told relatives his mother was on vacation and refused to let them inside the home. Deputies later arrived and were allowed inside, where they began searching for her. During the search, officers found her decapitated body in the backyard and later recovered her head outside a nearby fence.
Investigators said Johnson later confessed to the killing during a recorded interview and again in a phone call from jail.
At trial, Johnson’s defense argued he suffered from severe mental illness and could not distinguish right from wrong. A defense expert testified that Johnson experienced delusions and paranoia, including a belief that his mother had been replaced by another person.
However, a state expert testified that although Johnson had a mental illness, he understood his actions and knew they were wrong at the time of the killing.
The Supreme Court ruled that the jury was entitled to weigh the conflicting testimony and that the verdict was supported by the evidence.
Justices also rejected Johnson’s claims that evidence should have been suppressed due to a warrantless search, finding that he consented to deputies entering the home and that the victim’s body would have been discovered regardless.
The court further found no reversible error in the trial judge’s decisions on jury instructions, admission of evidence, or limits placed on closing arguments.
Johnson was sentenced to life in prison, and the high court’s ruling leaves that sentence in place.
