BILLINGS — Gregory Green, convicted of murdering his girlfriend Laura Johnson in the fall of 2018 in Billings Heights, was sentenced Friday to 100 years in prison.
Green was convicted March 4 by a jury following an eight-day trial.
The case was unusual because prosecutors did not have a body or a murder weapon. They relied primarily on a neighbor's surveillance video they said showed Green hauling what appeared to be a body into a truck outside the residence he shared with Johnson.
Green's attorneys called the video evidence circumstantial, but the jury deliberated for only two hours before rendering a guilty verdict.
Johnson, 47, was reported missing in September 2018 and was eventually declared dead. Family members said she had moved to Billings from Washington to live with Green.
Green was arrested in Nevada in April 2019. He has been incarcerated in Yellowstone County jail since then. Green, 54 years old, was sentenced in Yellowstone County District Court by Judge Jessica Fehr for the crime of deliberate homicide. Fehr did not impose parole restrictions.
(October 2, 2018) The son of a Billings woman is reaching out to the community to help locate his mother who reportedly has been missing for three weeks.
Laura Johnson, 49, hasn’t been heard or seen from since September 4, according to her son, Jonathon Johnson.
Her son said Laura is 5’4″, about 140 pounds, with blonde hair and blue eyes. If you see her, call the police.
The Billings Police Department has been in contact with Johnson’s family for weeks but has not opened an active missing person case. The department has assigned a detective to the case, Lt. Brandon Wooley told MTN News on Tuesday.
Jonathon , who lives in Vancouver, Washington, posted onFacebook a week ago to spread the word about his missing mother. In his post, he said his mother was involved in an abusive relationship. He also confirmed his mother has a history of drug addiction.
“We aren’t from around there, so I just wanted to reach out to people and see if maybe somebody has seen her,” said Jonathon.
He said his mother recently moved to Billings from Nevada with her boyfriend and found a job at Papa John’s as a driver. However, she hasn’t shown up her job in recent weeks, he said. He said his mother is usually active almost every day on social media, and none of his four brothers have spoken to her, which he said is unusual.
MTN News contacted officials in Clark County, Washington, where Jonathon said he filed a missing person report with police.
According to information obtained by the Clark County Sheriff’s Office, Laura also sometimes goes by the name of Laura Braaten. Sgt Brent Waddell said Laura’s phone pinged to a location in the Salmon Creek, Washington, area where there is a methadone clinic.“
There is nothing that jumps out as “alarming” in this case, particularly because Johnson is an adult and can disappear if she chooses, Waddell said.
“Unfortunately people with addiction issues, heroin issues, those people tend to do whatever it takes to fulfill their needs. It’s not uncommon for them to disappear for days or weeks at a time,” said Waddell.
Waddell also said there was nothing in the missing person’s report filed in Clark County about an abusive boyfriend.
However, that is something that Jonathan says is a concern when it comes to his mother. And because of that, Wooley said Billings police will continue to collect interviews from family members and witnesses in order to come to a conclusion on the case.
“Based so far on what officers have learned she doesn’t meet the criteria for missing person classification,” Lt. Wooley said in an email on Thursday, Sept 27.
By Tuesday, October 2, Lt Wooley had the same message for MTN News.
“We are all worried about her and I’m just hoping somebody sees her and she’s safe,” said Jonathon.
