25. Jaime Lowery

29 years old

October 5, 2005

Little Chute

Outagamie County

Jaime Lowery was shot to death while she slept by her boyfriend, Thaddius A. Johnson, 37. He shot her once in the head at point-blank range with a rifle he had purchased thirty-six hours before the shooting. The couple’s three young children were at home and apparently asleep at the time of their mother’s murder. Thaddius woke the children, drove them to his sister’s home in Milwaukee, and then turned himself in to police.

Neighbors reported seeing police at Jaime and Thaddius’s home on a regular basis, including the weekend prior to the homicide. Police said that no arrests had been made and that the calls involved custody-related issues. Neighbors also reported incidents where Thaddius would chase Jaime out of their home and she would run back in and lock the door. Three days before she was killed, Jaime told police that she was afraid to go home and that her life was in danger. In 2003 Thaddius was convicted of misdemeanor battery after punching and grabbing Jaime and ordered to pay a civil forfeiture on another charge of domestic abuse related disorderly conduct. Family and friends described how Thaddius controlled Jaime’s movements, including driving her to work and limiting her contact with them. Jaime had told others that she was trying to end her relationship with Thaddius and wanted him out of the home. Thaddius told her that if she left him he would kill her and Jaime feared he would hurt her friends and family.

Thaddius Johnson pled no contest to a charge of First-Degree Intentional Homicide and was sentenced to life in prison with eligibility for parole and extended supervision after twenty-six years.

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