CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Tyrone Johnson was sentenced Wednesday to life in prison after a jury convicted him of first-degree murder in the May 2000 slaying of Johnnie Mae Shine.
Some of Shine's family members, including her sisters, wept upon hearing the verdict in a Mecklenburg County courtroom. Others wiped tears from their eyes.
Johnson, turning toward the family, said, I know there's really nothing I can do to replace the loss I caused.
'Sorry' is a small word. But I hope you will forgive me, if you can. I have asked God to forgive me. It's been a long time coming.
The jury had deliberated about 3 1/2 hours over two days before reaching the verdict. In addition to the guilty-not guilty verdict, jurors also could have considered second-degree murder or voluntary manslaughter as possible convictions.
Shine, the mother of two and the eldest of seven sisters, was 40 when she was killed near her home on Mimosa Avenue in Plaza Midwood. Prosecutors say Johnson's blood was found on the pants Shine was wearing when she was stabbed to death.
Johnson, 33, was arrested and charged with murder last year following an investigation by homicide detectives with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department's Cold Case Unit.
In closing arguments Tuesday, Mecklenburg Assistant District Attorney had called Johnson a cold-blooded murderer. Noting that Shine had been stabbed 10 times, he asked jurors, How many times do you have to stab someone before your intent is clear?
The prosecutor also noted that Johnson has been convicted of three strong-arm robberies and a second-degree burglary.
Defense attorney Joe VonKallist told jurors during his closing arguments that Johnson is not guilty of first-degree murder. His client, he said, acted in self-defense.
Johnson told jurors Monday that Shine came at him with a knife and that she was stabbed to death as he struggled to defend himself. Johnson said he and Shine were high on crack when the deadly fight broke out. He described how Shine hit and kicked him while he tried to block the hand that held the knife. He said he managed to grab her hand and started pushing it back as he sought to get out the door.
That's when she was stabbed, he said.
All I wanted to do was get out of there, Johnson testified. I was scared. I didn't want to hurt her. She really wanted to hurt me.
What he did was cold-blooded, cold-hearted and vengeful..., Ashendorf told the jury. She ran to a neighbor's house in the middle of the night ... screaming for her life. He chased her.
Shine was stabbed in the chest, back, abdomen and arms.
Ashendorf told jurors that Johnson's story...made no sense. He said there was not a drop of blood in Shine's house where Johnson said the knife fight took place.
The prosecutor described Johnson's fleeing the scene after the stabbings as evidence of a consciousness of guilt.
Make sure Tyrone Johnson gets justice for snuffing out a precious human life 11 years ago, Ashendorf said.
