The Murder of Mona Johnson

49-year-old Mona Johnson was home alone in her house in Little Catalina, Newfoundland, when she was murdered.

On February 4th, 1976, around two a.m., two Department of Transportation employees were working in the area. They spotted a burst of flames coming from the back of Mona Johnson’s home. She lived on a side road in Little Catalina. They pulled into the driveway of Johnson’s neighbour, where they were able to call for help.

Within 15 minutes, the volunteer fire department showed up and began fighting the flames.

Everyone knew Mona Johnson lived there alone. The firefighters could not get the flames under control until 4:30 am. By 6:30, they searched the ruins and made a horrifying discovery. They found Mona Johnson’s body lying face down on the bedroom floor. 

The RCMP arrived and discovered some alarming evidence. She had a plastic-coated wire tied around her wrists and throat and was partially naked. The area was sealed off, and investigators began their work. 

The investigation revealed that this was no accidental house fire. A forensic examination quickly revealed a grim reality: Mrs. Johnson had been bound with telephone wire, sexually assaulted, and strangled. An arsonist had deliberately set the fire to cover up a brutal homicide.

Just two days later, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police arrested a 24-year-old resident named Andrew Scott Reid. The case went to trial in June 1976 at the Supreme Court of Newfoundland.

Reid had made several confessions admitting to the murder, then denied he did it. He said he went to her house to use the phone, but when he arrived, her back door was open, so he went in. He claimed he went into the kitchen. It was dark, and the next thing he knew, he was knocked to the floor by somebody, and he was partially pinned face down to the floor. He testified he heard two voices in the house. They were saying: Hurry up. We got to get out of here and out of the province tonight. He testified that he didn’t see any faces, but one guy had dark hair and was wearing a brown leather jacket. He claimed one guy rushed out of the bedroom, pushed a blood-stained cloth in his face, and put blood on his jacket and shirt. Then another guy said to hurry up and light the fire.

When he went to trial, the courtroom was packed. Chief Justice Arthur Mifflin presided. Tension peaked when Reid took the witness stand. He pleaded not guilty and dramatically recanted his initial statements to the police. Reid claimed that the two unidentified 'mystery men' had actually broken in, committed the murder, and threatened to kill his wife and infant son if he didn't take the blame. However, the jury didn't buy the story. They rejected his claims of coercion, found him guilty of murder, and he was sentenced to mandatory life imprisonment. 

But a life sentence in Canada means exactly that—it lasts for life. It is an indeterminate sentence where an offender remains under federal supervision for the rest of their natural life, though they may eventually become eligible to apply for parole

Reid was eventually granted full parole decades later; his freedom came with strict conditions. In 2012, after he violated his release, the Federal Court upheld a decision to revoke his parole.

Reid was returned to federal custody, ensuring that fifty years later, the shadow of the Mona Johnson murder continues to carry a lifetime of legal consequences.