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For this, James Johnson was sent to prison for at least 16 years. He pleaded guilty to second-degree murder Wednesday in a Sampson County courtroom for beating to death Kim Harvey, his lover and co-worker.
Harvey, who had moved to Clayton from New York in 2003 to be closer to her mother, vanished Christmas morning 2004. Her mother and stepfather, who were in Florida at the time, alerted Johnston County detectives after failing to get in touch with her.
Detectives launched a massive hunt on Dec. 28, 2004. A sport utility vehicle she borrowed from her mother had been abandoned off an Interstate 40 exit ramp. The keys were in the ignition, and unopened Christmas gifts filled the back seat.
Johnson later confessed that he had ditched it there, hoping someone would steal it, said Davis Weddle, prosecutor for the case.
The couple -- co-workers at Lowe's home improvement near Clayton in Johnston County -- had fought as usual that Christmas morning, Johnson later told investigators. Their relationship was colored with black eyes, death threats and shouting matches over computer use and money, friends and family members have said.
But this time, Harvey reached for a shotgun. Johnson said he grabbed his son's baseball bat and struck her in the head in self-defense, said Davis Weddle, Sampson County assistant district attorney.
Johnson told detectives that after Harvey collapsed, she taunted him, saying, "If you are going to kill me, do it like a man," Weddle said. When Johnson couldn't manage to strangle Harvey, he struck her head with the bat again, Weddle said. Johnson then pushed Harvey's body out an open window and loaded her into the bed of his pickup. He dumped the body in a field just off I-40 in Johnston County.
The field was so muddy that Johnson had to call a buddy to help tow his truck out. That friend later led detectives to Harvey's body on New Year's Eve.
