The family of Corinna Johnson, who was discovered killed last week, is attempting to gather funds to pay for her funeral.
Johnson was discovered beaten to death in her boyfriend’s closet on April 15 by police after another woman alerted them about the crime. She was wrapped in a blanket. According to reporting by NBC 5 DFW, the woman who alerted the authorities claimed to have a casual relationship with the man accused of the murder.
Police apprehended Omar Lucio for the crime, as previously reported by The Dallas Express. Lucio has a long record of crimes including assault and rape. He is currently being detained on bail totalling $1.5 million and is facing additional charges apart from murder.
Johnson’s family has established a GoFundMe account and has arranged several fundraising initiatives to cover the funeral expenses and to support the woman’s 7-year-old son. At the time of writing, the GoFundMe account had raised over $8,000 of its $12,000 goal.
“I don’t think we’ll ever really push past this moment. You know, we’re going to do the best we can,” said Anthony Gareau, a first cousin of Johnson’s, per NBC 5. “I think it’s really important for people to be aware that those situations do exist and in the blink of an eye, it can happen to anybody. It’s just a vicious thing to read about when you realize that somebody can hurt somebody to that extent with their bare hands.”
The family is also hoping to raise awareness about the reality of domestic violence by sharing Johnson’s story. According to NBC 5, the family said Johnson had a disability that made her have a functioning level of a teenager. They had hoped she would leave Lucio, but she did not.
Lucio purportedly told the police that he “had to knock some sense” into her and that the physical assault began in a car. He did not explain how the woman’s body ended up in his closet. A police affidavit states that police found a trail of blood leading from a bathroom in the apartment to a closet where they discovered the woman’s body.
The police affidavit says that the woman’s injuries were so significant that they had a difficult time identifying her. The woman who reported the crime came forward after Lucio confessed to her about his involvement. Police said they found bloody clothing in a vehicle belonging to Lucio.
According to the City of Dallas crime analytics dashboard, there have been 63 murders in Dallas this year as of April 19. Last year, there was a roughly 15% increase in criminal homicides compared to 2022 as Dallas continues to suffer from a significant police shortage.
City officials only allocated $654 for the Dallas Police Department this fiscal year, opting to spend much less taxpayer money on public safety than other high-crime cities like Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York City.
DPD has been understaffed for years, keeping only around 3,000 officers in the field even though a City report previously advised a force of roughly 4,000 is necessary to properly meet public safety needs and reduce lengthy police response times.
