Deputies search for clues in cold case

MARION COUNTY, Fla. (WOFL FOX 35) - Roberta Johnson's body was found 17 years ago.  The Marion County Sheriff's Office says the case has gone cold, and her killer is still out there.

"The person who killed my mom took away my best friend. I was her only child," said Arkeisha Johnson.  April, 1999 was the last time Arkeisha, who was just 17 years old, saw her mother alive.  "To have to go through life without your mom, it's heartbreaking.."

The Marion County Sheriff's Office said Roberta served in the U.S. Army, worked with troubled kids, and was a middle school teacher.  Investigators say on April 24, 1999, she took her daughter to school, called her mother, then took her daughter's boyfriend home. He was one of the last to see her alive. Two days later, an Ocala police officer found her body in a shallow grave in the woods along NW 44th Avenue.  She was nine months pregnant at the time. 

"It's unimaginable what kind of person is still out there, that we need to find, we need to bring justice to this person, and close this case," said Lauren Lettelier, a spokesperson for the Marion County Sheriff's Office

Linda Williams and her husband live near where the body was discovered. "Well, it was scary," said Williams, "especially since they couldn't find who did it. Nothing like that has ever happened around here before."

Investigators and Arkeisha are hoping you can help re-ignite this cold case.  "Help us bring peace to my family and justice for my mom, and for my brother."

Lettelier said that, over the years, there has been a person of interest in the case, but no arrest has been made. The Sheriff’s Office still looking for leads in the case. If you have any information, call CrimeStoppers.