FORREST CITY, AR (abc24.com) - The man accused of killing an Arkansas woman has been on the run 12 years, but his run is finally over thanks to DNA.
Anthony Johnson is accused of raping and killing 19-year old Tawana Blunt in her Forrest City apartment 12 years ago.
Toykia Blunt was only three years old when her mother was killed. She couldn't stop the tears as she tried to talk about the mother she lost at the hands of a killer.
Calvin Blunt, Tawana's younger brother, said his sister's murder "makes you question how much faith you have."
Tawana Blunt was murdered on September 15, 2000. Forrest City Police Chief E.P. Reynolds stated at an April 11 press conference, "The crime scene showed Tawana was raped and tortured. After the rape and torture she was strangled."
Reynolds admits the investigation had hit a brick wall until Johnson was arrested in Indiana for beating up his girlfriend. When Indiana Prison officials went to get DNA from Johnson, he asked them why. They told him it was for a murder in Forrest City; Reynolds told abc24.com, "It looked like he seen a ghost… This rascal had thought he had gotten away with murder."
Johnson is still sitting in an Indiana prison waiting to be transferred to Arkansas to face kidnapping, rape, and capital murder charges.
