Midland City, Ala.WDNews – A Dale County grand jury has returned a capital murder indictment against a man accused of killing a Midland City woman in a violent attack inside her home.
James Johnson Jr. was indicted Monday on two counts of capital murder—one during a rape and the other during a robbery, according to District Attorney Kirke Adams. Johnson was originally charged with a single count of murder in the death of 57-year-old Sherry Clark, but the charges were upgraded following the grand jury’s review.
Clark was found dead in her bedroom on Dale County Road 79 in early November 2024 after her father requested a welfare check. She had failed to show up for work at Avis Car Rental at the Dothan Regional Airport.
Dale County Sheriff Mason Bynum said Clark was discovered naked, bound, gagged, and unresponsive. Caroline Jackson with the sheriff’s office said a preliminary autopsy showed Clark died from blunt force trauma to the head and had multiple sharp-force injuries, including to her breast and genital areas.
Investigators say Johnson had been released from the Florida Department of Corrections just a week before the murder. He was reportedly staying with his mother, who lived next door to Clark.
