October 2015 – Project: Cold Case

Cold Case Spotlight – Sherry Prather

October 25, 2015/in Arrest Made, Cold Case Spotlight, Florida, Solved, Update /by Project Cold Case

UPDATE: On March 12, 2018 Johnny Wayne Johnson pleaded guilty to the 2012 murder of Sherry Lee Prather. Johnson was sentenced to 20.4 years in prison. Though no motive has ever been established, Sherry’s family expressed relief that Johnson would be off the streets. The family made it a point to thank all those that helped along the way in their search for justice.

PREVIOUS UPDATE: On November 19, 2016 the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office arrested Johnny Wayne Johnson for the 2012 murder of Sherry Lee Prather. Johnson was the man seen on camera giving Sherry a ride from the bar. Johnson is currently in the Duval County Jail awaiting trial. Detectives are seeking additional information from witnesses. Please contact the Sheriff’s Office if you know anything about this case.

Sherry Prather, 43, can be seen, in a surveillance video, climbing onto the back of a motorcycle in the Boots & Bottles Tavern parking lot on New Berlin Road in Jacksonville, Florida around 2:20am on October 12, 2012. Sherry’s remains were found a month later in the woods off Braddock Road about 15 miles away from where she was last seen. The man Sherry was seen leaving with told investigators that he dropped Sherry off a short time after leaving the bar. Detectives need the help of the public to solve this case.

Sherry’s family has created a memorial Facebook page, Justice for Sherry, and have vowed to never stop searching for Sherry’s killer.

If you have any information, no matter how small you think it is, about Sherry Prather’s murder, please call the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office at (904) 630-2172. To remain anonymous call Crime Stoppers at (866) 845-TIPS. You may be eligible for a reward of up to $3,000 if your Crime Stoppers tip leads to an arrest in this case.

If you have a loved one that is the victim of an unsolved homicide please submit their case here for consideration in a future Cold Case Spotlight post.

Cold Case Spotlight – Curtis Williamson

October 18, 2015/in California, Cold Case Spotlight /by Project Cold Case

On March 26, 1997, Curtis Williamson, 16, and his cousin were chased into Mission Bay after a fight broke out in the Crown Point Shores parking lot in San Diego, California. After swimming safely to an anchored buoy several yards offshore, the individuals that chased them entered the water and began swimming after them. Investigators believe that Curtis drowned while attempting to escape those chasing him. Curtis’ cousin was saved by a rescue boat after police arrived on the scene. Despite numerous witnesses, no arrests have ever been made.

Cold Case Spotlight – Vanessa “Honey” Malone

October 11, 2015/in Cold Case Spotlight, Georgia /by Project Cold Case

On October 23, 2012, 18-year-old, Vanessa “Honey” Malone walked into an apartment in Stone Mountain, Georgia and interrupted a home invasion robbery. While the three other occupants of the apartment were bound and robbed, Honey was shot multiple times and killed. Witnesses stated that there were three to six attackers, dressed in black and armed with handguns and shotguns.

Cold Case Spotlight – Brandon Gentry

October 4, 2015/in Cold Case Spotlight, Florida /by Project Cold Case

Brandon Gentry, 26, spent Saturday evening, August 10, 2013, hanging out with friends at a popular mudhole off Pickettville Road in Jacksonville, Florida. Early Sunday morning a vehicle driving northbound on Pickettville Road spotted something on the side of the road and called authorities. Police found Brandon bleeding from the head and with life threatening injuries. Brandon died from multiple injuries on August 14, 2013. Evidence at the scene suggests that Brandon may have been the victim of a hit and run.