Beyond All Repair

WBUR

Imagine you're accused of something horrific. You swear you didn't do it, but someone says they witnessed it: your own brother. Sophia Johnson was newly married with a baby on the way when she became the prime suspect in her mother-in-law's brutal murder. WBUR's Amory Sivertson reexamines a case unsolved, a family torn apart, and the woman who wasn't believed.

  • 37 minutes 32 seconds
    Introducing Serial Killers

    Beyond All Repair has mostly wrapped, but if there are updates in the story or the case, Amory will jump back in here to let you know, so keep following the show! In the meantime though, we wanted to introduce you to another show that helped get the word out for Beyond All Repair, called Serial Killers from Spotify Studios. In 1974, 17-year-old Carla Walker was abducted from a car in Fort Worth, Texas. Days later, her body was discovered in a remote culvert a few miles away. 46 years later, an arrest was made. But was she Glen McCurley’s only victim? Listen to more episodes of Serial Killers on Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.
    12 July 2024, 10:00 am
  • 39 minutes 6 seconds
    Introducing White Devil

    Beyond All Repair has mostly wrapped, but if there are updates in the story or the case, Amory will jump back in here to let you know, so keep following the show!

    In the meantime though, I wanted to introduce you to another show. It’s from Campside Media and it’s called White Devil. It’s a series that, at first, seems to be a crime story… but there are so many layers to this. It starts with a woman who’s a member of one of the most powerful families in Belize. She’s found on a pier late at night, next to a body. It becomes the country’s biggest news story in a generation.

    This is the first episode of White Devil. Host Josh Dean — who you might know from The Clearing or Chameleon: Hollywood Con Queen — takes us back to the beginning, in 2021, when the nation of Belize was rocked by a shocking death and the arrest of this influential woman. Most people expected that she would just… walk away. But nothing in White Devil is QUITE as it seems…

    Listen to White Devil wherever you get your podcasts.

    5 July 2024, 9:00 am
  • 1 hour 14 minutes
    Your questions... answered!

    What did Susie, Sean's girlfriend at the time of Marlyne Johnson's murder, tell detectives? Was a $10,000 stash of cash ever found in the Johnsons' home? Did Sophia have an alibi?

    These are just a few of the many questions listeners sent to the Beyond All Repair team. In this follow-up episode, Amory is joined by Beyond All Repair producer Sofie Kodner to answer these questions and more about the case, the story, and the making of the series.

    ***

    Come to our live event, Thursday, June 20th! 

    Go behind the scenes with Amory and editor Zac Stuart-Pontier at WBUR CitySpace in Boston. Tickets and more info HERE.

    ***

    Get access to the "BEYOND" episodes:

    This show is made at WBUR, a public radio station, which means we cannot make shows like this without public support. Join our "BEYOND" membership program and receive extra episodes (there are 3 "BEYOND" episodes already waiting for you!) and a private feed of the show for ad-free listening: wbur.org/beyond

    13 June 2024, 9:00 am
  • 59 minutes 2 seconds
    Beyond All Repair Ch. 10: Truth

    Amory talks to Shane about the 2010 report, along with the detective who wrote it and Rick Buckner, the lead detective on Sophia’s case 20 years ago.

    She explores what can legally happen from here, both with regards to Marlyne Johnson’s homicide case and with Sophia herself.

    Amory finally confronts Sophia about the 2010 report, and comes to a conclusion about the case.

    ***

    Consider becoming a "BEYOND" member today:

    This show is made at WBUR, a public radio station, which means we cannot make shows like this without public support. Join our "BEYOND" membership program and receive extra episodes and a private feed of the show for ad-free listening: wbur.org/beyond

    ***

    Come to our live event, Thursday, June 20th! 

    Go behind the scenes with Amory and editor Zac Stuart-Pontier at WBUR CitySpace in Boston. Tickets and more info HERE.

    2 May 2024, 9:00 am
  • 45 minutes 46 seconds
    Beyond All Repair Ch. 9: Someone Is Lying

    After Sean’s conversation with Amory, he and his younger brother, Shane, talk to each other for the first time in two decades. Shane is open to hearing his brother out, until Sean denies a painful memory from their childhood.

    Their father, who has always defended Sean, starts sending aggressive voice messages to Sophia and Shane. Meanwhile, Amory has even more questions for Sophia just as Shane is coming to his own conclusion that she did not commit the murder.

    But shortly thereafter, Amory receives a report of an interview Sophia did with detectives in 2010 that tells yet another story of the day of Marlyne’s murder. Amory is left shaken and wondering if she actually has been talking to a murderer all this time.

    ***

    Consider becoming a "BEYOND" member today:

    This show is made at WBUR, a public radio station, which means we cannot make shows like this without public support. Join our "BEYOND" membership program and receive early access to some of the final episodes in the series, extra episodes, and a private feed of the show for ad-free listening: wbur.org/beyond

    25 April 2024, 9:00 am
  • 36 minutes 48 seconds
    Beyond All Repair Ch. 8: Anthony Snow

    After disappearing before he was supposed to testify in Sophia's second trial, Sean reappears in Guyana under the name Anthony Snow.

    He has since launched various ventures, including a short-lived campaign for president of Guyana in 2011, a land development business that’s been the source of allegations of fraud, and a robust social media presence.

    Sophia and Sean hadn’t seen each other or spoken in 17 years when he video-called her in early 2023 upon hearing that she’s been talking to a reporter.

    Months after this call, Amory talks to Sean herself. He offers up a new detail about the day of Marlyne Johnson’s murder.

    If you have questions about the case, the people at the center of this story, or anything else about this series, we want to hear them. Email [email protected] with a voice message or written message.

    ***

    Consider becoming a "BEYOND" member today:

    This show is made at WBUR, a public radio station, which means we cannot make shows like this without public support. Join our "BEYOND" membership program and receive early access to some of the final episodes in the series, extra episodes, and a private feed of the show for ad-free listening: wbur.org/beyond

    18 April 2024, 9:00 am
  • 32 minutes 35 seconds
    Beyond All Repair Ch. 7: Made Up

    Amory meets Sophia in person for the first time with a sense of uneasiness.

    While in jail awaiting her second trial in 2005, Sophia made a friend who convinced her to testify in her own defense. Today, this friend, Morgen, is Sophia’s life partner.

    After getting ahold of the footage of Sophia’s second trial, Morgen and Amory discover that Sophia told a different story about the day of the murder on the stand — one that puts her at the scene.

    If you have questions about the case, the people at the center of this story, or anything else about this series, we want to hear them. Email [email protected] with a voice message or written message.

    ***

    Consider becoming a "BEYOND" member today:

    This show is made at WBUR, a public radio station, which means we cannot make shows like this without public support. Join our "BEYOND" membership program and receive early access to some of the final episodes in the series, extra episodes, and a private feed of the show for ad-free listening: wbur.org/beyond

    11 April 2024, 9:00 am
  • 34 minutes 37 seconds
    Beyond All Repair Ch. 6: Hope

    The jury has reached a verdict: Sophia is found guilty of first-degree murder.

    At sentencing, Sophia hears victim impact statements, including one delivered by the woman raising her son.

    She is sentenced to 43 years in prison, and just as she’s settling into that fate, she gets a call from her lawyer saying that she’s won the right to a new trial.

    If you have questions about the case, the people at the center of this story, or anything else about this series, we want to hear them. Email [email protected] with a voice memo or written message.

    ***

    Consider becoming a "BEYOND" member today:

    This show is made at WBUR, a public radio station, which means we cannot make shows like this without public support.

    Join our "BEYOND" membership program and receive early access to some of the final episodes in the series, extra episodes, and a private feed of the show for ad-free listening: wbur.org/beyond

    4 April 2024, 9:00 am
  • 35 minutes 51 seconds
    Beyond All Repair Ch. 5: The Motive

    The prosecution in Sophia’s trial claims greed was her motive for killing Marlyne. Shortly after Sophia and Brad Johnson started dating, Sophia began stealing money from her employer.

    Sophia explains how the theft started and quickly spiraled out of control.

    By the time of the murder, Sophia was tens of thousands of dollars in debt, with a baby on the way. Was she desperate enough to commit murder?

    If you have questions about the case, the people at the center of this story, or anything else about this series, we want to hear them. Email [email protected] with a voice message or written message.

    ***

    Consider becoming a "BEYOND" member today:

    This show is made at WBUR, a public radio station, which means we cannot make shows like this without public support.

    Join our membership program, "BEYOND" here: wbur.org/beyond

    28 March 2024, 9:00 am
  • 35 minutes 14 seconds
    Beyond All Repair Ch. 4: The Husband

    Amory meets Lyn Page and Linda Dillard, friends of Marlyne Johnson and her husband Richard, who share more about the Johnson family.

    Richard struggled with alcohol abuse and gambled, and Marlyne had started saving money in case she needed to leave him. 

    Richard eventually agrees to talk to Amory and shares memories of his wife and the day she was killed.

    If you have questions about the case, the real people at the center of this story, or anything else about this series, we want to hear them. Email [email protected] with a voice message or written message.

    Listener note: This episode has descriptions of violence and strong language. 

    ***

    Consider becoming a "BEYOND" member today:

    This show is made at WBUR, a public radio station, which means we cannot make shows like this without public support.

    Join our "BEYOND" membership program and receive access to extra episodes, a private feed of the show for ad-free listening and early access to some of the final episodes in the series: wbur.org/beyond

    21 March 2024, 9:00 am
  • 44 minutes 25 seconds
    Beyond All Repair Ch. 3: Bad Blood

    Sean Correia's credibility is called into question as Sophia Johnson and Shane Correia tell Amory about his role in their upbringing. Amory learns how these three siblings ended up in Washington state after being raised in New York, and how Sophia became estranged from Shane and their mother, with whom she’d been incredibly close.

    Sophia finds a new family in the Johnsons — Brad, her husband, and Marlyne and Richard Johnson, Brad’s parents.

    At the time of the murder, Sophia is newly wedded to Brad and six months pregnant. Marlyne is supposed to go over to Sophia’s house for lunch that day. She doesn’t show, leading Sophia and Brad to check on her, and, ultimately, to her lifeless, nearly unrecognizable body.

    Sophia denies murdering Marlyne, but suspects Sean’s involvement.

    If you have questions about the case, the real people at the center of this story, or anything else about this series, we want to hear them. Email [email protected] with a voice message or written message.

    Listener note: This episode has descriptions of violence, strong language, and allegations of sexual assault. 

    ***

    Consider becoming a "BEYOND" member today:

    This show is made at WBUR, a public radio station, which means we cannot make shows like this without public support.

    Join our membership program, "BEYOND" here: wbur.org/beyond

    14 March 2024, 9:00 am
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