Twenty-three years after killing her housekeeper and hiding the body in a cornfield, a woman has been found guilty of first-degree intentional homicide and hiding a corpse in Wisconsin.
66-year-old Linda LaRoche was found guilty by a Racine County, WI jury on Wednesday for the 1999 murder of 23-year-old Peggy Lynn Johnson-Schroeder.
LaRoche became the top suspect in September 2019 after allegedly telling people in Florida that she had killed someone while living in Illinois, according to CBS 58.
Racine County Sheriff's investigators went to Cape Coral, where LaRoche was living at the time, and said she made "incriminating statements about her interactions with Peggy" in an interview, before being arrested, according to CBS News.
Johnson-Schroeder was known as "Jane Doe" for nearly 20 years before DNA evidence could identify her remains.
Investigators said that LaRoche physically abused Johnson-Schroeder for at least five years before killing her. They also said that Johnson-Schroeder had a disability, and she went to medical facility for help at age 18 after her mother passed away. LaRoche, who was a registered nurse, met her there and decided to take her into her home.
"The initial investigation showed that the woman was badly beaten, malnourished, and there was evidence that she had been tortured. Also, the woman mostly likely had a life-threatening infection," Racine County Sheriff's Office said.
Johnson-Schroeder's body was at least 25% burned, possibly with a chemical, according to the autopsy report. She also had a broken nose and broken ribs, although, the autopsy said her cause of death was sepsis pneumonia due to infection from the ongoing violent abuse, per CBS.
Racine County Sheriff Christopher Schmaling expressed his condolences to Johnson-Schroeder and her family in the Facebook post:
"The Sheriff's Office will never forget or stop working a cold case homicide. While the deaths of Peggy Johnson, Amber Creek, and Juanita Zdroik were once cold case homicides, these cases are shining examples of the hard work and dedication of the members of the Sheriff’s Office in creating closure for the victims' families. I would like to thank all the professionals who assisted in bringing Peggy's killer to justice. For anyone involved in any other homicide, you need to worry. It is not a matter of if, but when, you are held accountable."
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