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'Help Me,' Mom Asked 911

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By SAMARA SODOS and VALERIE KALFRIN

slsodos@wfla.com vkalfrin@tampatrib.com

Published: November 21, 2008

TAMPA - The call was short, but the message was urgent.

"Help me," the woman said.

The call came from Jennifer Johnson, the 31-year-old mother found slain in a vacant house in Lakeland this week. Authorities on Thursday confirmed that she called 911 for help from the trunk of a car Saturday.

"It's very chilling," said Tampa police spokeswoman Laura McElroy.

The 911 call was taken by a Plant City dispatcher. Plant City police Capt. Darrell Wilson said the department sent a unit to try to find her but was unsuccessful.

"We did what we could," Wilson said. "It was a broken-up call."

Wilson said the caller was hard to understand. She told the dispatcher she was in a vehicle, and police dispatched a unit to the general area where the cell towers indicated she was, but found no sign of her, Wilson said.

Authorities are investigating whether Vincent Brown Jr., 38, Johnson's ex-boyfriend and the father of her 2-year-old daughter, is connected to her death. He is in jail on a probation violation charge. He has not been charged in connection with the slaying.

Police and court records from four occasions show that Johnson accused Brown of violence.

In February 2005, she told Tampa police he threw a rock through her rear windshield outside a nightclub and pointed a gun at her and her sister. In May 2005, she said he beat her and broke furniture. In July 2006, she said he punched her in the face while she was pregnant. Earlier this year, she said he grabbed her by her throat June 30, choked her and slammed her into a coffee table.

Brown was not prosecuted in any of these instances. According to police and court records, Johnson either recanted her statements, gave conflicting statements or would not cooperate with authorities.

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