Trial underway for attack in Nanjemoy

Johnson faces attempted murder charges for 2019 assault

A trial into an alleged October 2019 attack that left a mother and daughter with serious injuries got underway this week in Charles County.

Deon Lennard Johnson, 26, of La Plata is on trial for two counts of felony attempted first-degree murder, two counts of felony first-degree assault, kidnapping and other chargers.

Johnson is accused of breaking into a home in the 2700 block of Port Tobacco Road in Nanjemoy and stabbing Gloria Butler 15 times before continuing to stab her daughter, Kyverra Butler, 20 times.

According to prosecutors, Johnson went to the house with intent to kill Kyverra Butler, whom he had been in a relationship with for four years.

“They had a relationship. It ended, but it didn’t end to the defendant,” Jonathan Beattie, assistant state’s attorney for Charles County, said in opening statements.

The jury also heard from Gloria Butler on the opening day of the trial on Tuesday.

The mother said she was in her bedroom when she heard her daughter scream, and stated there was a sound coming from the back door.

When she went to the kitchen, Gloria

Butler alleged she saw Johnson climbing through the window while wearing a black sweater and a gas mask.

“He came closer to me, then I remember being on the floor,” Gloria said.

Ryan Norris, a paramedic with Charles County Emergency Services, testified on Wednesday that Gloria had stab wounds to both sides of her neck, both shoulders, both arms and her left wrist.

She testified that she spent 23 days in a Prince George’s hospital and lost all use of her vocal cords on the left side of her neck from the attack.

Prosecutors said that Gloria Butler had obtained a restraining order against Johnson in May of 2019 after erratic behavior stemming from the end of his relationship with Kyverra Butler.

The defendant saw attacking the mother as a way of removing an obstacle that kept Johnson and Kyverra Butler from being together, prosecutors argued.

Prosecutors continued making their case into Wednesday afternoon, entering medical records of both alleged victims into evidence.

The jury was also shown more photos of the crime scene, including a picture of

a bloodstained Charles County Sheriff’s Office patrol car taken at the scene.

The defense contended that Johnson did not mean for the attack to take place, stating that going to the home was a plan for a big romantic gesture that went awry.

Johnson was characterized as having a troubled upbringing, living between homes during his childhood years, including a stint at the home of a cousin of Robert Butler, Gloria Butler’s husband

and Kyverra Butler’s father.

Robert Butler, who also took to the stand on Monday, said he had known Johnson his entire life. He added that he was alerted that something was wrong when he saw sheriff’s office vehicles speeding in the direction of his home as he drove to work that morning.

“I said to myself, ‘Let me call Gloria and see if she heard sirens heading that way,’ but I didn’t hear back,” he said during questioning.

The trial into the incident is expected to run through the end of this week.