It took nearly 35 years before Johnny Wright was sent to prison for killing a Missouri college student. But less than four years into his prison sentence, the Georgia grandfather is dead.
Wright, previously of Lawrenceville, died Jan. 15 of natural causes while serving a 30-year sentence for killing Rebecca Doisy in 1976, according to The Columbia Missourian. Wright was 70.
Days before his death, Wright had asked for medical parole, the newspaper reported. But it was denied after the lead investigator in Doisy’s homicide case, who is now retired, wrote a letter to the parole board calling Wright a flight risk and a “master of manipulation.”
It was that manipulation, officials said, that allowed Wright to live as a free man. For more than two decades, Wright lived in Georgia under the name Errol Edwards. He lived in Cobb, Fulton, DeKalb and Gwinnett counties and raised a family, and in 1997, he bought a home in Lawrenceville.
Georgia voting records show that Wright registered to vote under both names, but used different birth dates. “Errol Edwards” was two years younger than Wright, according to voting records.
But when he walked into the Lawrenceville police station in 2009 to ask for a background check for a prospective employer, Wright sealed his own fate. That background check turned up an arrest warrant from 700 miles away in Missouri. He was arrested the next day when he returned to pick up the background check.
Wright’s arrest came as a shock to Doisy’s family, who believed he had died. Doisy’s body was never found, but her sister said the family always believed he’d been responsible.
“We are in stunned disbelief,” Kathleen Doisy told the AJC after Wright’s arrest. “Where has he been for 33 years?”
Wright was convicted in April 2011 and sent to prison for killing the aspiring teacher who was working part-time as a waitress at a hip steak house while taking a break from college, Kathleen Doisy said. After repeated requests, Becky Doisy agreed to have a drink with Wright, and she was last seen with him Aug. 5, 1976. Two days later, her family reported her missing when she didn’t show up for work.
Wright was questioned, but later released due to a lack of evidence. Nine years later when a former acquaintance of Wright’s came forward with new information, a warrant was issued for Wright’s arrest. It wasn’t until September 2009 that Wright inadvertently turned himself in to Lawrenceville police.
“He basically paid $15 to get extradited to Missouri,” Capt. Greg Vaughn told the AJC after Wright’s arrest.
Wright’s family has previously declined to speak with the AJC.
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