Shreveport Woman Found Guilty in 2020 Stabbing Death

A Shreveport woman was found guilty Tuesday, June 13, 2023, of stabbing her boyfriend in 2020 and not reporting his death for more than eight hours.

Kimberly Johnson, 43, was found guilty by the six-man, six-woman jury in Caddo Parish District Judge Donald E. Hathaway Jr.'s court after two hours of deliberation. The verdicts were unanimous.

Jurors learned that on September 3, 2020, following a visit to the home of the victim's mother, Johnson and the victim, Lemel Taylor, 43, returned to his home at which they resided in the 6100 block of Southern Avenue. The following morning, Taylor was found stabbed to death on the living room sofa. Johnson  called 911 and stated that Taylor was not breathing.

When fire medics arrived they determined rigor mortis had set in. The coroner determined Taylor had been dead more than eight hours when 911 was called.  There were no signs of forced entry at the home. At first, Johnson claimed to not know what had happened, but later admitted stabbing him after he threatened her. Other than a self-inflicted cut on one hand, Johnson had no injuries. Physical evidence at the scene contradicted her story of a struggle. Johnson admitted to disposing of the murder weapon in a sewer drain; however, she took police to the drain and the knife was recovered.

When Johnson returns to Judge Hathaway's courtroom July 6, she faces a mandatory life prison term without possibility of probation, parole of reduction of sentence. For the obstruction charge, she faces up to 40 years at hard labor.

Johnson was prosecuted by Jason Waltman and Kendra Joseph. She was defended by Elizabeth Gibson and Carter Lawrence.