Ex-NFL Player's Murder May Be Linked to 3 Others

Authorities are investigating whether former NFL lineman Kevin Johnson's killing near Los Angeles is linked to the murders of three other unhoused people in the same area. Johnson, 55, who played defensive line for various teams in the 1990s, was fatally stabbed on Jan. 21 at a homeless encampment covering a stretch of the 1300 block of East 120th Street in Willowbrook, per KTTV. There have been three other killings of unhoused victims in that same area along the Compton Creek since October, according to Los Angeles County sheriff's investigators.

The three other victims, all 52, were identified as Michelle Steele, who was shot in the head on Oct. 5 and died in a hospital a month later; Octavio Arias, killed Dec. 4 from blunt trauma to the head and neck; and Mauro Alfaro, who died of multiple injuries on Jan. 26, per KTTV and the Los Angeles Times. Detectives have not publicly said the cases are connected but are actively examining whether the same person or people could be responsible, looking for similarities in location or method, as well as any ties among the victims.

Johnson, who suffered blunt force trauma, had mentioned that someone at a nearby site had been severely beaten and found wrapped in a blanket, sometime around December, his son, Brenden, tells KTTV. "[He] didn't want to talk about it much, didn't want me to worry about his safety," he continued, noting his father had been unhoused for just six months. He struggled emotionally, but remained close to his family, his son said. Authorities are asking anyone with information to call the Sheriff's Homicide Bureau at (323) 890-5500 or Crime Stoppers at (800) 222-8477.