A Schofield Barracks- based soldier who has been in custody since August after the disappearance of his pregnant wife this summer was formally charged this week with her murder and the murder of her unborn child.
Mischa Mabeline Kaalohilani Johnson, 19, was last seen at her home at Schofield Barracks on July 31, and has still not been accounted for. After searching for her for more than two weeks, Army officials arrested her husband, 28-year-old Pfc. Dewayne Arthur Johnson, in connection with her disappearance on Aug. 19.
At the time, Johnson was accused of false statements, obstruction of justice, and production and distribution of child pornography. He has been in pretrial confinement while the investigation has remained ongoing.
On Thursday the Army announced that “based on evidence obtained through the on-going investigation, the Army Office of Special Trial Counsel preferred four additional charges, with five additional specifications against Pfc. Dewayne Arthur Johnson II stemming from the disappearance of his wife, Mischa Johnson.”
Dewayne Johnson faces four “preferred charges”: one for the murder of Mischa Johnson and another for the intentional killing of her unborn child, one for obstruction of justice, and one for possession of child pornography. The Office of Special Trial Counsel has also filed 19 specifications.
A preferred charge is a formal accusation made against a service member suspected of misconduct or criminal activity, and a specification is a statement of the facts that make up the offense.
Dewayne Johnson remains in pretrial confinement pending a preliminary hearing, which is required before charges can be referred for trial by general court-martial. If the charges are referred, he will be arraigned, and the assigned military judge will schedule pretrial hearings and the trial.
Johnson hails from Maryland and enlisted in 2022. He was assigned to the 25th Infantry Division at Schofield Barracks as a cavalry scout in June 2023. Mischa Johnson was born and raised on Oahu and grew up in Ewa Beach. At the time of her disappearance, she was six months pregnant with a baby girl.
In the Army’s media release on the charges, officials said the investigation remains ongoing and that they will not be providing further details at this time. The Army has offered a $10,000 reward for credible information that can lead authorities to Mischa Johnson’s whereabouts.
Shortly after Dewayne Johnon’s arrest, Mischa Johnson’s family spoke about the investigation during an appearance on an Instagram livestream by podcast Always Always Support Local on Aug. 22 and confirmed that while no body has been found, investigators believed she was dead.
During the appearance her mother, Frances Tapiz- Andrian, broke into tears as she asked people across Hawaii and the country to contact the Army Criminal Investigations Division if they have any details that could help investigators find her, telling those who tuned in, “I can’t even bury my daughter. … Please don’t fail Mischa. I’m asking, I’m pleading. Please, please come out. I hurt every day.”
The family also said Army investigators told them they were also investigating Dewayne Johnson for allegedly having extramarital sexual relationships with several local teenage girls as well as producing and distributing pornographic material depicting minors.
Army CID can be reached at 808-208-0057, and tips can be sent anonymously online at p3tips.com/tipform.aspx?ID=325.
