A Minnesota man who organized a meth-fueled ‘de*ath party’ for his sick wife before her de*ath was sentenced to three years in p*rison.
Duane Arden Johnson, 59, from Searles, was initially charged with third-degree m*urder over the de*ath of his wife, Debra Lynn Johnson.
Debra, 69, died of methamphetamine toxicity on January 24 in the couple’s home in Searles, an unincorporated community in Brown County, according to the Mankato Free Press.
Duane Johnson agreed to plead g*uilty to the lesser charge of felony neglect, the news outlet reported. A Brown County judge sentenced him to three years, with credit for 201 days already served.
Johnson told authorities his wife begged him to take her home from a nursing home to di*e.
Police had arrived at the couple’s house on January 24 and found the words ‘D*eath God Parde Hell’ spray painted in red on the door.
Johnson then opened the door and appeared to be n*aked, screaming the words: ‘My wife is de*ad upstairs’ to deputies, according to the cri*minal complaint.
He ran back inside and said he ‘needed to wash this stuff off of me’. The deputy then discovered him sitting in the bathtub in a bathroom on the main floor of the home.
Johnson told the deputy he had to wash with soap and bleach to get little black and white ‘things’ off his skin.
Johnson said his wife had been ‘shaking so violently’ and he ‘couldn’t stand seeing her flop around anymore,’ the document said.
When the deputy asked why Johnson did not seek medical help for his wife, he told him the last time she was brought to New Ulm Medical Center, ‘them m*****r f*****s revived her’ and ‘them m*****r f*****s in New Ulm made my life s**t.’
His wife’s body was located at the top of the stairway and her body was wrapped lightly in a grey sheet. Police claimed that they couldn’t detect a pulse and rigor mortis had set in her arms.
When deputies asked if the body wrapped in the linen was his wife, Johnson told them it was and that he ‘prepared the d*ead like the Bible told (him) to,’ the document said.
He said he followed the Old Testament by ‘cleaning her, making her beautiful and wrapping her in linen’.
Johnson told cops that his wife couldn’t sleep anymore because she was shaking so badly and he didn’t want to see her s*uffer.
He said that he promised her a party and that they had been ‘rocking out’ for three days.
Johnson said that his wife did not want him to call 911 as she did not want to be in pain anymore, according to the probable cause document.
He claimed the ‘d*eath party’ started about five days ago and consisted of him playing rock music, especially their favorite song by Quiot Riot called ‘Metal Health.’
Johnson also told police that Debra had wanted him to have s*ex with her before she d*ied so he ‘accommodated that request’ and they had se*x for around an hour and a half.
He claimed that he had been using methamphetamine for several days and that he had also given some methamphetamine to his wife around two days previously.
He indicated that his wife had smoked the methamphetamine and that she wanted to ‘party’ before her d*eath.
Johnson claimed that his wife may have passed away around 8.30am that morning and he also told police she was on numerous medications.
However, he said she had not been taking them for a few days since she had quit eating and drinking. He said during the ‘de*ath party’ he would go outside to get ice and feed it to her, as if they were ice chips.
During the investigation, officers contacted the New Ulm Medical Center for information on Deborah’s medical condition.
They were told that she had to previous heart att*acks arr*ests, issues with high b*lood pressure, and diabetes.
Officers learned that Debra had been to the medical center about one week ago, and that it was noted that her diabetes was not under control, and that she was taking some prescription medication for a mental ill*ness.
