30-year-old Murder Trial Resumed in Houston County Courtroom

PERRY, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) – A 30-year- old murder trial resumed Tuesday, in a Houston County Courtroom.

Timothy Johnson is being is retried on murder charges stemming from a 1984 homicide case.

At that time Teresa Stanley was working at a convenience store, when she was shot and killed during an armed robbery.

According to Galen Noll who was one of the Warner Robins investigators assigned to the case, Johnson pled guilty without the possibility of parole to avoid the death penalty.

Noll, now a Houston County Public Defender’s Office Investigator testified about his findings three decades ago. He said back then he was assigned to what is known today as the Criminal Investigation Division (CID).

Noll told the jury he found blood stains inside the cash register following the convenience store armed robbery. He said police also found money in a trail near the store.

During a telephone interview Noll explained how Timothy Johnson was able to get a new trial.

“My understanding is that he pled guilty without the ability of parole, to stay away from the death penalty,” said Noll. “This trial came about because the appeals had been given over the years and the appellate court decided that his defense attorney did not give him the proper information about what he was pleading guilty to and for how long and the appellate court overturned it and that’s the reason we are in this trial.”

Stanley’s family sat quietly as they listened to Noll’s testimony about details surrounding the case. Timothy Johnson also had family and friends in the courtroom.

The jury is scheduled to hear more testimony in the 1984 murder, Wednesday.