‘Final Moments’ Season 2 Premiere Delves Into Case of Devoted Mom Who Just Vanished
Preview
On September 13, 2018 security footage from a neighboring property captured 49-year-old Laura Johnson walking into her Billings, Montana home. They are the last living images loved ones have of the devoted mother-of-five.
Now her case is being explored in the premiere episode of Final Moments Season 2. The Oxygen True Crime series from Dick Wolf dives into a victim’s last known moments, telling the story of what led up to their untimely death plus the hunt for who did it.
The dramatic story tells how family members became concerned when they were unable to contact Johnson, who shared the residence with her boyfriend Gregory Green. They contacted authorities, but police said they weren’t able to act on any investigation without some sort of evidence. Frustrated, Stephan, one of her sons, decided to travel from Vancouver, Washington to search for any clues to help.
Out of pure happenstance, he met with a neighbor who came upon video surveillance pointed directly in front of Johnson’s house. Not only did it show Johnson walking into the property, but also disturbing footage of Green moving what appeared to be a body.
Here, Stephan opens up about losing his mom, having to recount the details of her murder and what he hopes the show accomplishes.
Stephan Johnson/Oxygen
How did you feel about the series covering your mom’s case?
Stephan Johnson: Genuinely bittersweet. I’ve been a fairly private person, so I’ve done my best to avoid anybody reaching out to me. I feel that as far as the case needed, I was able to accomplish what I needed. Anything else was self-serving. To be honest, the producers on this show basically contacted about four or five people I know, which then led to me getting a hold of me on my Facebook which is private. Basically, once I talked to the producer, alleviated a couple of concerns that come with putting myself out there. Talking to them, realizing it’s a story they wanted to tell.
The main thing I’ll bring up time and time again is my mom’s case is a weird one where they were able to convict on a murder charge, but we still don’t technically know where she is. The driving force of putting out the television interview and talking to you now is to get any and all light we can shine on this. Any help at the end of the day to locate where she is and bring her home is the goal. Initially, I was trying to ignore everyone and then I saw the benefit of it.
How was it recounting everything again?
The immediate family you’ll see along with myself is my brother Jonathan and my wife. We’re the ones kind of most central to the story of how everything came to be. My brother with his Facebook post created awareness of her disappearance. It was me who traveled to Montana. There were a lot of other people helping. We were constantly in touch and getting things done. We’re fairly private, so this happening was an extremely life-changing thing. I was 28 when I lost my mother.
Being the person who found the surveillance footage is a real toll to take. I just think about it more as the idea of trying to trust everyone with authority at a certain point and getting no answers. It was fine to discuss with my family, but it’s a heartbreaking thing. Even to this day, the majority who know me on a professional or even a personal level may not know about any of this. It’s not something I am comfortable talking about. It did bring up a lot of emotions. I definitely deal with this my own way just like every single one of my brothers and father does. Just shining a light and doing all this I hope will result in an answer of some sort of where she is.
I think your story and others like it really drive home the point that you really have to be your own advocate for yourself and your family. Because of you and your brother putting in the extra effort, it turned from a welfare check to a full-on murder trial.
What our police departments can actually do is very nuanced and limited in most cases without some sort of evidence, proof, or something to point to something. From the family side about a week, two weeks, passed with the initial worry, and when I got to Montana. So attempting welfare checks and not getting anywhere and being on the family side knowing something is wrong. Being told constantly by the resources you have that they don’t have anything is a very jaded position to be in. My opinion and perspective if I can’t get an answer I’ll just go and attempt to figure things out myself.
Gregory Green/Oxygen
What do you want to say to others who may have or be experiencing something similar?
My point would be to not stop trying. Just continue to do it. I was not able to find this footage until the day I was leaving after being there for a week. None of this was easy or handed to me. It was half looking, half luck. But if I had just left on day 1 or never even went, I would be in a position right now of thinking what if every day.
How do you remember your mom?
I do like to remember my mom in the ways she treated us and what she taught us. I like to save her memory. I know how to cook because my mom taught me how to cook. That is a good memory for me. I’ll embrace memories like that. Perspective is a b*tch. Growing up with my parents and being all angsty and in my teenage years…The whole anecdote of you never know what you got until it’s gone rings more and more true.
Have you seen the episode yet? Will you?
I have not. To be honest with you I don’t know if I will personally watch it. I know that my brothers and dad will. I feel like my work is done in telling my side of it. I will say if I’m trying to get help and say, “Help me find my mom.” If I don’t have any recourse after this, then it just looks weird and stupid. My plan is to set up a website and personal GoFundMe specifically for my mom. For the idea of going out to Montana, boots on the ground, to see what we can figure out. When it comes to the whole publicity thing, I’m not too interested in that. I wouldn’t have done this if I didn’t have my own goals in mind. Unfortunately, we were the ones who found the footage. But I don’t like being the center of attention.
What do you want people to know before watching this?
Anyone who has ever lost a loved one can relate to the situation of losing a parent. Finding closure is not absolutely needed but for healing purposes, it’s something we desperately want. One of the main things is to keep going. A lot of times we were told this is what happened and you can go home. We read the situation of what we thought it was and found an answer.
My mom was almost 50 when this all happened. She has lived a full life with five kids and a husband and didn’t deserve any of this. I have a daughter who is just a year old. I have a niece who turned 14 months old and a nephew around three who will never meet their grandmother. My point is I lost a very valuable and dear to me and am looking for a way to tie up those loose ends. If anyone can get anything from this to this they can attach to it that helps positively, then good for them.
Final Moments season 2 premiere, October 1, 7/6c, Oxygen
A GoFundMe page has been set up by Lauran Johnson’s family.
