HE KILLED FOR KICKS
Deadly timebomb’s knife savagery
PARTY selfies, a set of keys and an accent with a Geordie-Mackem twang are among the vital clues that brought evil killer Daniel Johnson to justice.
When loving dad David Wilson was found stabbed to death in his bed, detectives were faced with a baffling murder mystery,
With no obvious suspects and no apparent motive, Northumbria Police’s homicide team embarked on one of its most challenging and complex investigations of recent years.
It took two years and thousands of hours of methodical, old fashioned detective work to bring Johnson into the frame.
But in the end it was the Gateshead lad’s distinctive accent, along with other key clues, that helped cops pin the crime on him.
And, yesterday, after seeing a jury convict Johnson of David’s murder, Det Supt Mark Ord, of Northumbria Police’s Major Crime Team, has lifted the lid on how the case was cracked. He said: “It turned out this was a complete stranger murder. David Wilson and Daniel Johnson had never met, they didn’t know each other and they lived in completely different areas.
“Thankfully, stranger murders are very, very rare and, by their nature, are very complex, and this has been one of the most complex enquiries the force has undertaken in a number of years. “It was like a big jigsaw, but there were a couple of pieces missing, and without those pieces it didn’t make any sense.” David, 49, was found stabbed to death at his Sunderland flat in 2014. The grandfather had been knifed seven times as he lay in bed. David’s partner, Scott Hoyle, had left him alone at the flat during the early hours of December 14 when he went out to get food. But he was robbed by Johnson, who marched him to a cashpoint and stole his house keys. The cold-blooded killer then used the keys to get into David’s home, where he carried out his brutal attack and stole his victim’s phone. David’s body was discovered after Mr Hoyle returned from hospital, where he was treated for injuries sustained in the robbery, David’s killer left behind a series of vital clues which helped detectives as they began to look for potential suspects, Det Supt Ord explained. But at the start of the enquiry, officers had to cast their nets wide and thoroughly investigate everyone that could possibly have been responsible. “The murderer locked the door after him, so as a