D.C. Police announced Friday night that the human remains discovered in Fort Dupont Park earlier this month have been identified as a Southeast D.C. man who went missing the summer of last year.
“A post mortem examination of the skeletal remains determined that the cause of death was due to a gunshot wound and the manner of death was ruled a homicide,” police said in a news release.
A D.C. family is pleading for answers after a man disappeared more than a week ago. Police say his car was found with blood inside. News4’s Shomari Stone reports.
Keith Johnson, 44, was last seen the morning of July 13, 2020. Police said he disappeared under suspicious circumstances after the car he was last known to be driving was found in the 3700 block of D Street Southeast, four miles away from his home.
Then-Chief of Police Peter Newsham said police had found “a significant amount of blood” inside his car.
More than six months later, on Feb. 4, 2021, police responded to a report of human skeletal remains in Fort Dupont Park. Friday, police confirmed that the remains were those of Keith Johnson.
Shortly after his disappearance, his brother, Daniel Johnson, said he was frustrated “because I know Keith was very well-liked in the neighborhood… I know someone knows something and they’re not coming forward.”
Loved ones gathered to pray for closure on what would have been Johnson’s 44th birthday on July 21, 2020.
His fiancée Letitia Kemp said through tears, “It’s indescribable, because we don’t know where he at and this is stuff that he don’t do. He don’t do this. He would have been home by now.”
A suspect description was not provided, and no one has been detained relating to Johnson’s murder.
The Metropolitan Police Department currently offers a reward of up to $25,000 to anyone that provides information which leads to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for any homicide committed in the District of Columbia. Anyone with information about this case is asked to call the police at 202-727-9099. Additionally, anonymous information may be submitted to the department’s TEXT TIP LINE by sending a text message to 50411.
Read More: Remains Found in Fort Dupont Park Belonged to Slain DC Man Missing for Months –