How did Riley Whitelaw die?
Whitelaw, a 17-year-old student at Air Academy High School, worked at a Walgreens in the city’s northwest, not far from the junction of Vindicator Drive and Centennial Boulevard. Joshua Taylor Johnson, 28, was arrested a day after Whitelaw’s death by Colorado State Patrol while walking along Interstate 25 outside Trinidad and is currently held at the…
Whitelaw, a 17-year-old student at Air Academy High School, worked at a Walgreens in the city’s northwest, not far from the junction of Vindicator Drive and Centennial Boulevard. Joshua Taylor Johnson, 28, was arrested a day after Whitelaw’s death by Colorado State Patrol while walking along Interstate 25 outside Trinidad and is currently held at the El Paso County jail without bond while facing first-degree murder charges.
Coworkers reported finding paper taped over the windows in the break room and a “restroom closed” sign posted nearby, as though to deter people, just before the murder, which was captured on surveillance video shortly before it happened. Suspect Joshua Johnson, 28, was also seen piling storage bins in front of the camera until the view was blocked.
How did Riley Whitelaw die?
Riley was stabbed 42 times, causing wounds on her chest, face, chin, hands, arms, and most tragically, her neck, according to the 19-page autopsy report made public on Tuesday. Additionally, she sustained injuries that were consistent with blunt force trauma. According to the investigation, several of the wounds indicated that she attempted to protect herself.
