Last week, we told you about the fatal stabbing of a six-year-old boy, subsequently identified as Riley Johnson, and the sexual assault of a woman caring for him, allegedly by a man who later turned the knife on himself.
The man has now been ID'd as Brandon Johnson — the boy's dad and significant other of the woman, with whom he fathered a two-year-old who wasn't physically harmed during the incident.
Brandon has been placed under arrest, although at last report, he was still receiving medical treatment for injuries that have temporarily prevented his transfer to the Arapahoe County Detention Facility.
Meanwhile, Riley's mom, Rachel Bishop, is blaming Human Services for the tragedy. She claims to have been the victim of false accusations that resulted in Riley being placed in his father's custody, with tragic results.
As we've reported, Arapahoe County Sheriff's Office deputies were called to 7540 East Harvard Avenue at around 5 a.m. on Wednesday, February 10, on word about a woman who had been sexually assaulted at knife-point by her male domestic partner.
The woman fled the apartment and called 911 from a neighbor's residence.
Deputies quizzed the woman for approximately forty minutes before checking her apartment. There, they found Riley murdered and Brandon wounded, presumably by his own hand.
Upon this discovery, additional personnel were dispatched, including Deputy Bill Foreman, who crashed en route. The ACSO's last dispatch about his condition, issued on February 12, stated that he was still listed as critical — although the passage of several days without additional updates suggests a reason for hope.
A judge has sealed the search warrant in the case, so additional details about what happened are scarce.
As for Bishop, who had been living in Illinois, a GoFundMe page has been set up in her name under the heading "Support for Grieving Mother." Included is the photo at the top of this post, as well as pics of her with Riley and his older brother, including this one....
...and this one:
The introduction to the page reads:
On the morning of February 10, 2016 life was forever changed for Rachel Bishop when she received a phone call informing her that her 6 year old son Riley had been brutally killed. Rachel had not seen her son in a year due to a custody issue with Riley's father. After spending some time in Illinois getting her life back on track, Rachel had planned to move back to Colorado and fight for custody of Riley. The news of his death was more than devastating for Rachel.At this writing, $345 has been pledged toward a goal of $10,000.
Please make a donation of any amount to help her with funeral expenses, travel expenses, lost wages and the long recovery that is ahead of her. If you're unable to donate please share.
For more information, click here.
In her CBS4 interview, Bishop doesn't go into detail about the reasons why she lost custody of Riley or why she says the allegations against her were false, although there's a reference to her relocating to Illinois in order to get her life together.
Now, however, she's got to grapple with the Riley's horrific death.
“My son would still be alive today if (my kids) weren’t taken from me,” she tells the station.“That’s why I’m very angry, because they placed my kids in with a murderer.”
Our condolences to the friends, family and loved ones of Riley Johnson. Here's the aforementioned report.
