 A man cleared of the double murder of his parents in Crete is to ask British police
to help catch the killer.
A man cleared of the double murder of his parents in Crete is to ask British police
to help catch the killer.
Ryan Johnson, 33, was acquitted of killing father Terry, 53, and mother Josephine,
54. In March last year, the couple from Newlyn, Cornwall, were found dead by
their son at the family's luxury villa at Almirida, Crete.
Speaking to the Western Morning News, Ryan Johnson said he feared his name
could never be fully cleared until police caught the real killer or killers.
"I have always maintained my innocence and now that I have been acquitted,
I am incredibly relieved.
"But until whoever killed mum and dad is behind bars, I know the finger
of suspicion will still be pointed at me from some quarters.
"That's understandable because the full facts about the case have never
been made public fully.
"My English lawyer will be requesting all the DNA evidence from the case
to be sent over to the UK. The plan is to send it all off to a laboratory for
examination.
"We'll then ask the British police to get involved because they have the
expertise the Crete police lack."
Mr Johnson said Crete's lack of a national DNA database made it impossible
for police to solve the case.
"The chances of capturing whoever murdered my parents, I believe, are
now very slim. They will be long gone by now. They either left the country soon
after or headed off to one of the other islands and are hiding out."
Mr Johnson said he would return to Cornwall once he had sorted out his affairs
in Crete. "I now have to get on sorting mum and dad's house out before
selling it. There's all the contents and personal items to go through, which
will be extremely difficult for me to face.
"There's a bit more paper work to sort out before I can actually leave
the country. But as soon as that's done, I'm out of here. I can't wait to be
on a plane and get out of this country - it's been the worst nightmare imaginable.
"I'll be coming straight home to Cornwall to see my family and friends.
Mum and dad were cremated and my family are looking after the urns.
"I'd like to hold a private family service because I wasn't allowed to
attend the funeral. I don't know what the future holds but now I'm a free man,
I'll be able to start grieving for them properly."
Mr and Mrs Johnson had been tied up, suffocated and strangled with a washing
line. Terry Johnson had been stabbed three times in the neck and the house had
been burgled.
His son had been out with a friend on the night of the double murder and when
he returned went straight to bed. It wasn't until the next morning that he made
the grim discovery.
Within days, local police had arrested him and charged him with both murders.
He was released on bail and ordered not to leave the island.
Moves for Mr Johnson's acquittal began in April this year when prosecutors
said there was a lack of evidence to prove he had killed his parents.
They filed an application to the courts recommending that the charges be dropped.
Court officials then had a month to decide whether or not to accept the application.
That deadline ran out at the end of last week, leaving Mr Johnson a free man.
The case against him had begun to fall apart when a few months previously,
DNA from an unknown man had been scrapped from under Mrs Johnson's fingernails.
Mr and Mrs Johnson left Cornwall for a new life in Crete running a gift shop.
Terry Johnson had been a publican and miner and his wife a care home worker.
Their son went to live with them in September 2005.
Fair Trials Abroad, which campaigned for Ryan Johnson's acquittal, said: "The
absence of DNA evidence connecting Ryan with the murders proves he is an innocent
man."
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