A beloved Missourimother refused to get out of the car she was in with her teenage daughter just before two teen thugs shot her during an attempted carjacking.
Kay Johnson, 38, was pulling into her driveway in Mt. Pleasant - a suburb of St. Louis - with her 14-year-old daughter Evelyn onJanuary 24, 2023 when Deshaun Harris and Brian Wellington approached the vehicle with guns in their hands.
Wellington, who was 13 years old, and Harris, aged 15, each went to one side of the car demanding that Johnson get out, but she refused.
Harris then shot Johnson in the face while her helpless daughter watched on in the passenger's seat,according to court records reviewed byKSDK.
Her body was found inside the vehicle that was parked in an alley just before 7pm that day.
Wellington, who is now 15, pleaded guilty on Wednesday to second-degree murder, armed criminal action and first-degree attempted robbery. He's been sentenced to two decades in prison,records reviewed by DailyMail.com revealed.
After his plea, St. Louis Circuit Judge Timothy Boyer ordered Wellington be transferred from the juvenile facility to theSt. Louis Criminal Justice Center.
His accomplice Harris is facing charges of first-degree murder, two counts of armed criminal action and attempted robbery. He was charged as an adult in 2023 and is currently awaiting trial.
Kay Johnson, 38, was fatally shot in the face onJanuary 24, 2023 during an attempted carjacking with her 14-year-old daughter in the car
Deshaun Harris (left) shot Johnson in the face after she refused to exit the car.Brian Wellington (right) was also armed as he approached the passenger's side of the vehicle that day
Police also found that the pair were connected to a string of previous carjackings and robberies and that the car they used in Johnson's murder was stolen, records showed.
The entire ordeal was captured on surveillance video and audio, police said.
Johnson has been remembered as a 'dedicated' and loving mother who made sure she was 'present for all the important moments,' her obituary read.
'She fulfilled her role as a mother with a fierce love for her child and a deep courage only few may possess,' it added.
She was born to her mother and father Mark and Yoriko Johnson in Osaka, Japan in December 1984.
Professionally, she 'always put her best foot forward and met life’s challenges with awareness and compassion,' her biography read.
She worked in the hospitality industry, and got a job at the Ritz Carlton where she was known 'for her generosity and fun-loving personality.'
Her family and friends held a birthday memorial party for her at a local bowling alley.
Loved ones also donated money toward a scholarship for her child. As of Sunday afternoon, more than $7,000 was raised.
Johnson (pictured as a child) has been remembered as a 'dedicated' and loving mother who made sure she was 'present for all the important moments'
She worked in the hospitality industry, and got a job at the Ritz Carlton where she was known 'for her generosity and fun-loving personality'
In July 2024, an Ohio teacher, Alexa Stakley, 29, tragically died while saving her son during a carjacking.
Her six-year-old child was sleeping inside the vehicle when Stakely, a speech-language pathologist, spotted the thief.
She heroically threw herself onto the hood of the car as the robber ran away on foot, leaving her to fall from the moving vehicle and suffer fatal injuries.
Police said the mother had loaded her sleeping boy into her Honda CR-V but ran back to the babysitter's apartment to pick something up.
That's when the carjacker jumped into her car, which was turned on, and drove away, per WSYX.
Stakely chased after the suspect and tried to stop him before throwing herself onto the car while thesuspect fled on foot from the scene.
Three suspects, Gerald Dowling, 19 and two 16-year-olds, were charged in connection to her death, USA Today reported.
