A 23-year-old killer in Ohio is facing prison after coaxing their 74-year-old lover out into the woods and fatally shooting him in the back of the head.
Viktor Marie Vendler, who now identifies as male but was female at the time of the crime, was sentenced Monday to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 21 years for the death of Leroy Johnston, according to court records. Vendler pleaded guilty to aggravated murder and gross abuse of a body. As part of the plea agreement, prosecutors dropped the charges of murder during kidnapping, tampering with evidence, and kidnapping.
On September 30, 2023, hikers discovered Johnston’s body at the Mill Stream Run Reservation in Strongsville, a Cleveland suburb, after their dog ran off the trail and deep into the woods, according to the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office. Police arrested Vendler eight months later.
According to local CBS affiliate WOIO, prosecutors claim Johnston and Vendler had a romantic relationship in the past. Vendler convinced Johnston to go on a hike on September 24, 2023, as a “surprise.” But, as the defendant later told cops, it was for nefarious reasons: Vendler had decided not to bring a cellphone in order to avoid being tracked.
“It sounds bad, but I told him I had a surprise for him, and that was the surprise,” Vendler told detectives.
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Vendler and the victim walked to a heavily wooded area of the park, where Vendler fatally shot Johnston. Police never publicly revealed the motive for the murder.
Before the sentencing, Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court Judge William F.B. Vodrey was taken aback by the defendant’s murder of an apparently caring partner.
“Especially under these circumstances, is a particularly heinous and shocking crime,” Vodrey told WOIO. “I’m deeply disturbed what I’ve learned about this case and a life ended unnecessarily, cruelly.”
