Autopsy says man found dead in woods near Chapel Hill was shot in neck, but who did it?
A Siler City man found dead last year near Walmart in northern Chatham County had a gunshot wound to his neck, according to an autopsy released this week.
Christopher Jesse Johnson’s death was a “murder / nonnegligent manslaughter,” according to a Chatham County Sheriff’s Office incident report obtained Thursday by The News & Observer.
That characterization differs from a Sheriff’s Office news release last year that said Johnson’s death in the woods off U.S. 15-501, near the Chatham-Orange county line, did not indicate foul play.
The Sheriff’s Office this week asked anyone with information about Johnson to contact investigators but declined to give more information about its investigation.
“Due to the active nature of this case, no further information is being released currently,” spokesman Randall Rigsbee said this week in an email.
Body in disarray, bullet recovered
The autopsy report obtained Thursday by The N&O said Johnson, 33, was last seen on Aug. 19 when his girlfriend told investigators they had a fight at a Walmart off U.S. 15-501 in northern Chatham County. Johnson told her that he was going into the woods to kill himself, the report says.
The couple was homeless and had been living in their car, it says.
A hiker found Johnson’s body on Sept. 7, 2023 — over three weeks later — about 12 feet from a creek between the Walmart parking lot and a small homeless camp in the woods, according to the medical examiner’s investigative report.
Johnson’s black and orange wristwatch was found about 36 feet away on the other side of the creek, along with his left shoe, and his shirt was found about 12 feet from the body, the report says. His identification card was in the wallet in his back pocket, but investigators did not a weapon or ammunition cartridges with the body, it says.
A bullet was removed from Johnson’s body during the autopsy, the report says, but decomposition left a lot of questions unanswered.
“It remains unclear whether Mr. Johnson may have shot himself or been shot by another person. Upon further discussion with law enforcement prior to completion of this case, they still had concern for foul play, and hence the manner is best left undetermined,” the autopsy says.
History of drug use, criminal charges
Johnson “is well known to the law enforcement community” and had an active arrest warrant at the time of his death, the investigative report says. He had a history of using methamphetamine, heroin and Suboxone, a prescription medication used to treat drug use addiction, it says.
Court records show dozens of charges filed against Johnson dating back to 2006 in Chatham County, including for larceny, breaking and entering, possession of stolen goods and assault on government officials.
He served four months in prison in 2011 after being convicted of larceny, according to the N.C. Department of Adult Correction. Other charges were either dismissed or resulted in probation and community service.
Few details were available in court records for charges filed after that date, but Chatham County Sheriff’s Office records provided to The N&O showed more charges related to breaking and entering, larceny and possession of stolen goods, as well as failure to appear in court charges from 2017 and 2018.
Records show Johnson’s previous home addresses included the Inter-Faith Council for Social Service, located at 110 W. Main St. in Carrboro and Elbert Johnson Road in Siler City.
Anyone with information possibly related to Johnson’s death — “no matter how minor it may seem,” Rigsbee said in the release — can contact the Chatham County Sheriff’s Office at 919-542-2911 or Investigator Tyler Bridges at 919-545-8155.
Information can also be submitted through the Chatham County Sheriff’s Office app, available for download at bit.ly/ChathamSheriffNC.
