Army prosecutors brought murder charges against a Hawaii soldier whose six-month pregnant wife has been missing for over three months, alleging that he murdered her and “intentionally” killed her unborn child, officials said.
The four new charges under the Uniform Code of Military Justice were brought Wednesday against Pfc. Dewayne Arthur Johnson II, 28, for the murder of Mischa Johnson, 19, and the killing of her unborn child “based on evidence obtained through the ongoing investigation,” according to Michelle McCaskill, spokesperson for the Army Office of Special Trial Counsel, which is handling the case.
The Army confirmed to Task & Purpose Thursday that Mischa Johnson’s body has not been found.
The new allegations add to the previous UCMJ charges filed in August against the soldier for providing false official statements, obstruction of justice, and the production and distribution of explicit images of children.
Dewayne Johnson is in pretrial confinement pending a preliminary hearing, which is required before the case can go to trial by general court-martial. If the charges are “referred,” Dewayne Johnson will be arraigned and a military judge assigned to the case will schedule a trial.
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The case is being handled by the Office of Special Trial Counsel which has a relatively new role in the Pentagon’s justice system to prosecute criminal cases involving murder, sexual assault and domestic abuse outside the chain of command.
Army criminal investigators were notified Aug. 1 that Mischa Johnson was missing from Schofield Barracks, O’ahu, Hawaii, where the couple lived on base. Soon after, Army officials announced a $10,000 reward for information in the case. Her husband, Dewayne Johnson was placed into military custody without charges in mid-August. A local Hawaii news outlet reported that video footage showed Dewayne Johnson purchasing cleaning supplies and various tools before reporting his wife as missing.
Dewayne Johnson, from Frederick, Maryland, enlisted in the Army in November 2022 and attended one station unit training at Fort Moore, Georgia. He is assigned to Hawaii’s 25th Infantry Division and serves as a cavalry scout.
Domestic abuse involving pregnant women is far from uncommon with many reporting that their domestic abuse started or intensified when they became pregnant, according to the National Partnership for Women & Families. For pregnant women in the U.S., homicide is the leading cause of death, according to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence.
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