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WILLOWBROOK, Calif. () — The son of former NFL player Kevin Johnson is speaking publicly for the first time after his father was killed at a homeless encampment near Willowbrook, an area now tied to three other homicides over the past four months.
Johnson’s body was found on Jan. 21 at the encampment next to Compton Creek, which is located along a stretch of the Los Angeles River in South L.A.
His cause of death was listed as “blunt head trauma” and “stab wounds,” and the manner of death was ruled a homicide, according to L.A. County Medical Examiner records.
Johnson played three seasons in the NFL. He was 55 years old.
ORIGINAL REPORT: Former NFL player Kevin Johnson stabbed to death at LA homeless encampment
Former NFL player Kevin Johnson was found dead at a homeless encampment in the Los Angeles area. The manner of death was ruled a homicide.
“My dad was my best friend,” said Johnson’s son, Branden Johnson. “I talked to him almost every single day, even in the situations that he was in. He was just a loving, gentle person.”
Branden helped investigators identify his father’s body at the scene.
He said Johnson had only discovered the encampment about six months earlier and said he would stay there a couple times a week.
Branden said his father knew the area was dangerous but often downplayed it.
“He wouldn’t put emphasis on it because he didn’t want me to worry,” Branden said. “So he would just kind of brush it off like, you know, ‘I’ll be all right, son.'”
Family members described Johnson as easygoing and non-confrontational.
“He wasn’t the type of person that would touch a fly. He had no anger in his heart, no evil – that just was not him,” said Shantel Hill, Johnson’s ex-wife.
Murder connected to 3 other homicides
According to investigators, Johnson’s death is one of four killings around the Compton Creek encampment over the past four months. Authorities say:
- Michelle Steele, 52, was shot in the head on Oct. 5 and died after more than a month in the hospital.
- Octavio Arias, 52, was beaten to death on Dec. 4.
- Kevin Johnson, 55, was beaten and stabbed on Jan. 21.
- Mauro Alfaro, also in his 50s, was killed last week; his cause of death was blunt force trauma.
Detectives say it is possible the same person is responsible for all four murders. They are asking the public for any information that could help the investigation.
They’re also still trying to determine motives in the killings and trying to figure out if the suspect is someone who is upset with homeless people being in that area, or if drugs or gangs may be involved. Sources say there is no concrete evidence linking the cases together.
Eight detectives are working the case, and say they are having a hard time getting information from the homeless population in the area. County workers have been conducting outreach in the area, trying to get the homeless population to move out into other housing.
Johnson, a native of L.A., played for the Philadelphia Eagles and Oakland Raiders from 1995 to 1997.
After his career in the NFL ended, he played in the Arena Football League with the Orlando Predators and L.A. Avengers.
Branden said he wants his father to be remembered for the life he lived, not the circumstances of his death.
“He just wasn’t some homeless man standing [in an] encampment,” he said. “He was a father, a friend, family member, an ex-husband who loved everyone around him, and I don’t want the encampment to be seen as how he went out.”
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