Attorney says accused was gathering evidence, defending self from abuser
By Vicky Wedig
Staff Writer
A trial that began in Walworth County this week – featuring a victim and a defendant with ties to the Burlington area – will hinge on accusations of child porn and a claim of self defense, according to opening statements made by attorneys in the trial.
In front of a jury of five men and nine women including two minorities, the attorneys made their opening statements Monday. Both sides agree that Alan Johnson, 32, killed his sister’s husband, Kenneth J. Myszkewicz, 43, in Whitewater on Oct. 25, 2016.
Myszkewicz was a Burlington High School graduate and Johnson is the son of former Racine County Sheriff Eric Johnson.
Both prosecuting attorney Diane Donohoo and defense attorney Stephen Hurley recited Alan Johnson’s words when police came to his parents’ home late the day Myszkewicz was killed – “Arrest me. I did it.”
Hurley said the state will present two days of testimony to show that Johnson killed Myszkewicz, but said that is not the issue.
“The issue in this case is not who did it,” he said. “The issue is intent.”
Hurley said Johnson went to Myszkewicz’s home Oct. 25 to obtain evidence of child pornography to turn over to police. He said Johnson had previously found child porn on Myszkewicz’s computer, reported it to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and asked that the matter be handled outside the local police department where Myszkewicz had friends. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children reported the matter to the state Attorney General’s Office, which turned it over to local police, Hurley said. Johnson spoke to Walworth County sheriff’s Det. Robert Craig, who said the evidence was “too stale” to do anything about but told Johnson if he uncovered anything further to report it to police.
But, assistant district attorney Donohoo said, all five bullets from the 40-caliber handgun hit their target – two of them passed through Myszkewicz and three of them remained in his body.
She said Eric Johnson always kept his guns under lock and key with the magazines loaded and kept separately. Alan Johnson took the gun and a loaded magazine with him to Myszkewicz’s house in the middle of the night, reloaded the magazine and put it and the gun away when he got home and initially denied knowledge of what happened to Myszkewicz when questioned by police, Donohoo said.
“This defendant went into the home that night to kill Ken Myszkewicz,” she said.
Read the full story in this week’s edition of the Burlington Standard Press and look for updates on the trial at mywalworthcounty.com.
The latest update can be found by clicking here.
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