Cold Justice on Oxygen: What happened to Jannette Johnson?

The decades-long missing person case of Jannette Johnson saw hope as the investigation was renewed in 2020. The 29-year-old mother of two from Kankakee was last seen parking her car at the back of her house on August 2, 1985. However, the next day her car was positioned in front of her house and she was never to be seen again.

The Kankakee Police Department recovered human remains from Pembroke Township in late 1985. However, these remains were identified to belong to Johnson in November 2020, per Oxygen.

The Cold Justice titled Killer at the Door airs on March 9, 2024, at 8 p.m. EST on Oxygen and details on Johnson's disappearance and murder. The synopsis reads,

"Kelly and Steve join the Kankakee Police Department to help a woman who just missed seeing her mother's killer at their front door when she was 11 years old; decades later, efforts are made to recall any clues to help crack the case."

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What happened to Jannette Johnson? Details explored

Jannette Johnson, the 29-year-old mother of two, was last seen parking her car on the evening of August 2, 1985, after she had returned home from Party House Bar.

According to a Daily Journal news release, Jannette was seen pulling and parking her vehicle at the rear side of her home at the 600 block of Oak Street. Her 11-year-old daughter, Joretha Wills Hampton, allegedly heard Jannette's keys as she came closer to the door, per Our Black Girls.

Jannette Johnson was reported to be 5-foot-9 in height and around 115 pounds in weight. Her mother, Mary Moore, described her as having auburn hair and said,

"You know it was her way or the highway. And I know where she got that. I'm still that way."

However, witnesses reported seeing her vehicle in front of her house on the street the next morning. The window of the car was partially rolled down with her belongings such as her coat and her purse still inside. Jannette's daughter found a cigarette in the ashtray.

A still of Jannette Johnson (Image via Twitter/@xiErikaMarie)

Johnson was nowhere to be found and was subsequently reported missing from Kankakee, Illinois on August 3, 1985. There had been no signs of struggle or forced entry into the vehicle. While the Kankakee Police Department responded to the report, they failed to find leads that led to the missing mother. There were no suspects either.

While the case turned cold for years to come, human remains were initially found in Pembroke Township, an area in eastern Kankakee County. They were not identified at the time, per The Daily Journal.

The missing case of Jannette Johnson saw new information in 2020 as the remains that were found 20 miles southeast of Kankakee were identified to belong to Johnson, per Oxygen. The advent of technology allowed investigators from Kankakee County to use DNA from family members to make the identification possible.

Following the positive identification, a homicide investigation was launched by the police. Jannette's family members have been assisting the police with the investigation including a more thorough search of the Pembroke Township.

Hampton spoke to Daily Journal and shared,

“I’m walking back from this. I am not giving up. I still want to know why she was murdered and who murdered her.”

Jannette Johnson was buried at the Evergreen Cemetery in Chabanse.