COBB COUNTY, Ga. — A man is accused of concealing his girlfriend’s death after he told paramedics she had a seizure when she was actually shot in the head.
Hailey Johnson, 21, died from a gunshot wound last December.
Channel 2′s Cobb County Bureau Chief Michelle Newell got Johnson’s autopsy report. The manner of her death is undetermined.
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Newell talked to Johnson’s family, who said they don’t believe she’d ever want to take her own life and they think there is more to the story.
Christman Day in 2022 was the last holiday Johnson’s mother and sister spent with her.
“We had so much fun. She was laughing. I saved up enough money to get her a car,” her mother, Barbara Johnson said. “We were going to look at new cars.”
The next day, on Dec. 26, detectives showed up to the Johnson’s home to tell them Hailey had died.
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“I guess there wasn’t enough evidence to prove that it wasn’t suicide but there wasn’t to prove that it was a homicide,” Barbara Johnson said.
According to the Medical Examiner’s office, she died from a gunshot wound to the head, but the manner of death is still undetermined.
Johnson was with her boyfriend the night that she died. He is now charged with concealing her death. He’s also accused of concealing the shotgun that killed her.
Brooks Clearly told 911 operators that Johnson had a seizure. He moved her body, placing her head in his lap, trying to conceal her injuries when medics arrived.
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“I feel like there has to be somebody that saw something or knows something,” Barbara Johnson said. “It happened at campus edge apartments. Apartment 312.”
Johnson was a familiar face on the Marietta Square. She worked at a soda pop and candy store.
“She was already a manager,” Barbara Johnson said. “She had just started her online social media branding company.”
Her sister, Stella Johnson, described her as strong, independent and caring.
“She was sunshine in a body,” her mother said. “She lit up a room when she walked in. You knew she was there. She was so excited about life.”
Hailey loved to take care of senior animals. Her family is in the process of creating an animal sanctuary in her memory.
They have set up a GoFundMe to raise money.
Anyone with information about Hailey Johnson’s death is asked to call the Marietta Police Department.
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