2004 Knoxville murder case, mother's persistence highlighted in ABC special

Yahoo

09-05-2025

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) — More than 20 years after the fatal stabbing of a University of Tennessee student in West Knoxville, an episode of ABC's '20/20' will be focusing on the years-long murder investigation and a mother's determination to find justice.
In December 2004, Johnia Berry was 21 years old. She had just moved to Knoxville to pursue a master's degree at the University of Tennessee and was about to receive an honors degree from East Tennessee State University. In the early morning hours of December 6, 2004, that would all change.
Around 4 a.m. that Saturday, Berry and her roommate were attacked. Berry was fatally stabbed. Her roommate was wounded but able to get away. Although she knocked on doors and tried to get help, Berry ultimately died. 6 News covered the case, learning that Berry had just moved to Knoxville from the Tri-Cities area about six weeks before.
In the aftermath of the stabbing, Berry's family looked for answers and encouraged anyone who knew anything to speak with police. By May 2005, the family had a billboard installed with the suspect's description and a sketch of what he was believed to look like. Investigators were searching for a 5'8″ tall man who weighed around 150 pounds.
DNA technology could help identify remains found in Knoxville after nearly 40 years
As a year passed since the murder, the Knox County Sheriff's Office began looking at new steps that could be taken in the investigation and asked Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen to double the reward being offered. At that point, investigators had conducted more than 300 interviews and submitted 80 DNA samples for testing, but a motive had not been discovered. By December 28 of 2005, the reward had been increased to $60,000.
The following spring, Berry's mother, Joan Berry, began to push for the investigation to be featured on 'America's Most Wanted,' a national television show, in hopes of spreading awareness for the case as a suspect had not been arrested.
In May 2006, however, the investigation hit a roadblock that no one could have anticipated. The lead investigator, Assistant Chief Keith Lyon was killed while on duty when a car crashed into his SUV. Lyon's brother told 6 News that Lyon was very passionate about finding her killer, and her family shared that they spoke with Lyon nearly every day. After Lyon's death, Berry's parents told 6 News it became much more difficult to get updates from the sheriff's office on the case.
As the Knox County Sheriff Tim Hutchinson refused to appear in and allow 'America's Most Wanted' to cover Johnia Berry's case, her family collected more than 2,000 signatures on a petition to seek him to reconsider, but Hutchinson reportedly said there was no reason to take the case to the national level until all local leads dried up.
That summer, Johnia Berry's parents and the community supporting them persisted, protesting outside the City County building on July 14, 2006. The group of more than 50 people were seeking two things: For Hutchinson to reconsider his refusal to go on 'America's Most Wanted,' and for District Attorney General Randy Nichols to reconsider his denial of the family's request to ask for the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation's assistance in the case.
What is NamUs? How a federal database helps solve East TN missing persons cases
In August 2006, the case began to gain some interstate traction with the Berry family finding help spreading the word about their daughter's case from an unexpected source. Food City president and CEO Steve Smith, a longtime family friend of the Berry family, watched Johnia Berry grow up. On 50 of its semi-trucks, Food City added four-foot-tall posters with Johnia's photo, the sketch of the suspect, and contact information to report tips.
For the next year, Berry's family did not get the answers they hoped for. They continued to hold events on the days that would have been her birthdays, and Joan Berry spoke out asking for anyone who knew anything to speak up. On October 3, 2006 Joan Berry quite literally took the search into her own hands by handing out putting up fliers with information about the case. For Johnia's 24th birthday in August of 2007, the family and community members passed out flyers and pictures.
Roughly a month later, the break in the case finally came. The Knox County Sheriff's Office announced on September 24, 2007, that a man, identified as Taylor Olson, 21, had been arrested in connection to Johnia Berry's murder. Although Olson was 6'3″ tall, compared to the suspect description of 5'8″ tall, Berry's father told 6 News he saw a resemblance between Olson and the sketch and noted that the description was 'given by someone that was getting stabbed at 4 o'clock in the morning.'
During the course of the investigation, more than 600 interviews were conducted and samples from more than 240 people were tested.
Knox County Sheriff JJ Jones released that Olson had become a person of interest about four to five months before his arrest. Olson had voluntarily submitted DNA when he was arrested in a separate case in July 2007. In connection to Johnia Berry's death, Olson was arrested at West Town Mall on September 21, 2007.
Olson was indicted on seven counts including first-degree murder, attempted murder and aggravated burglary. His trial was scheduled to begin in March of 2008 but was delayed. Although Berry's parents were surprised to learn the trial could take between four and six weeks, the first day of the trial never came. On March 24, 2008, Olson was found dead by apparent suicide in his jail cell. Officials said Olson showed no signs of suicidal tendencies, and he was checked on every hour as he was alone in he cell.
Although Olson was not convicted in Berry's death, there are two impactful laws and an annual event that honor her memory.
Her parents worked with state lawmakers to develop the Johnia Berry Act of 2007, which required any person charged with a violent crime to submit a DNA sample. Previously, only those convicted of felonies were required to submit DNA samples. On May 23 of that year, the bill passed the Tennessee General Assembly unanimously.
Lonely Bones: Stories of the Forgotten Dead
2007 also marked the first year of the Johnia Berry Memorial Toy Drive, which collected unwrapped toys for children at the Knoxville Area Resource Mission during the inaugural event. In 2024, the annual toy drive marked its 20th year collecting toys for children in need.
Joan Berry also founded a nonprofit organization, Hope for Victims, which provides help for families and victims of violent crimes. The group lobbied for the Victim Photo Life Bill in 2015, which sought to allow a photo of the victim to be admissible as evidence during a trial to show the general appearance and condition of the victim while they were alive. The Tennessee General Assembly's website states that the bill passed, and the law went into effect on July 1, 2015.
ABC's '20/20' will highlight Berry's case in the episode called 'Blood on the Door.'
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.