NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y. (WKBW) — Rosetta Murray is clinging to photographs and memories of her son, Jason Johnson, as she waits for answers she fears may never come. Johnson, a 26-year-old father of five, died after a late-night attack that relatives say was recorded on surveillance cameras but has not yet resulted in any arrests.
Niagara Falls police responded to a call around 11 p.m. on July 3 at a home on Niagara Avenue, where they found Johnson unconscious. He was taken to Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center, where he died a day later on July 5.
Relatives told us the confrontation began when someone stole items from Johnson’s Pine Avenue home. They said he went to Niagara Avenue to confront the person and was ambushed by a group of people. Murray said in the video that she sees a woman strike her son with a brick, causing him to collapse and seize, and that the group then rifled through his pockets and unlocked his phone before fleeing.
“This is not a third-party story. I've seen it,” Murray said. “I just need answers, and I need justice for my son. He wasn’t a John Doe — he was a well-loved, honorable young man.”
WATCH: 'I need justice for my son': Mother looking for answers after her son's death
Standing beside Jason's family is Cala Harrington, Johnson’s fiancée and the mother of his 4-month-old son, Leo.
“I know he would have been active in his son’s life,” Harrington said. “If he had the opportunity, he would have been there for every moment.”
Johnson would have celebrated his 27th birthday on September 30. Murray said detectives have told her the investigation cannot move forward until the Erie County Medical Examiner releases autopsy results, which are expected on Friday.
I have reached out to the Niagara Falls Police Department to speak with the detective handling the case, but I have not yet heard back.
