THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, March 8, 1995 TAG: 9503080540
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MIKE MATHER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Medium: 94 lines
The teenage couple who fled after the slaying of a high school acquaintance were returned to the city late Tuesday and charged with murder. A phone tip had led North Carolina police to their Outer Banks motel.
Detectives said Joshua M. Johnson, 18, and his girlfriend, Kelly Anne Dara, 17, killed Joseph D. Garcia III as they tried to steal his car.
Police said the couple lured Garcia, 17, to Dara's home, where she lived with her parents, Monday afternoon. No adults were at home.
In the rented house in the 1400 block of Marmora Road, police said, Johnson stabbed Garcia at least twice in the back, but Garcia was able to get away.
Garcia, a Salem High School classmate of Dara's, staggered out of the house and climbed into his burgundy Honda sedan, but he collapsed behind the wheel after driving just a few yards. He died in a hospital.
Dara and Johnson, a former Salem student, ran from the house. They were caught Tuesday at the Ocean Reef Best Western at milepost 8 1/2 on N.C. Route 12.
The teens could face additional charges for trying to steal Garcia's car. Under state law, they could face counts of conspiracy, attempted robbery and capital murder.
Police said charges had not been upgraded as of late Tuesday, but investigators were reviewing their options.
The case against Dara - described by friends as a popular and attractive senior who dated Johnson against her parents' wishes - has grown since just after the homicide Monday.
Then, detectives believed that Johnson was responsible for the slaying and that Dara only fled with him in a panic. Investigators hadn't expected to charge her.
But late Monday, police learned that a bank card belonging to Dara's mother had been stolen, and Kelly Dara allegedly withdrew money sometime after the homicide. That money was used to help the couple flee, police said. On Tuesday morning, police said a charge of credit-card theft - which includes bank-card theft - is pending.
Tuesday afternoon, after interviewing the couple in Kill Devil Hills, Virginia Beach detectives secured a juvenile petition for murder - the equivalent of an arrest warrant - against Dara.
After more questioning late Tuesday, detectives said the teens' motive was robbery, and police were working to upgrade the murder charges against both teens.
Television news reports that portrayed Garcia as abusive toward Dara, or as the spurned side of a lovers' triangle, are not true, police spokesman Mike Carey said.
Johnson and Dara were found just before 1 p.m. Tuesday in the hotel after a caller told Kill Devil Hills police Sgt. Jim Mulford that the teens were there. They were returned to Virginia Beach around 8 p.m. after waiving extradition proceedings, Carey said.
Police are investigating whether a third person helped the teens by driving them to the hotel and signing for the room, which was paid for in cash, authorities said. The teens planned to continue south to Florida, investigators said.
As police searched for the teens Tuesday morning, Salem students looked for answers after the violent death of a popular student.
Garcia ``spoke to his counselor frequently, who had high praise for him,'' said Principal E. Wayne Sykes. ``He had high goals and was doing what he needed to achieve those goals. That's what makes this so hard to understand.''
Garcia's death is the second slaying of a Salem student in a year.
Thursday will be the first anniversary of the slaying of 16-year-old Charity Boucher. She had been strangled and her body dumped near Elbow Road in Chesapeake. The case is unsolved.
``I think, just as in any similar situation, you just wonder why,'' Sykes said. ``. . . With each loss, you lose a chunk of your heart. The students and faculty have pulled together to support each other.''
Johnson was in the city jail without bond. Police late Tuesday said Dara would be placed in a juvenile detention facility. Their court dates were not available. MEMO: Staff Writer Paul South contributed to this story.
ILLUSTRATION: Photos
Kelly Anne Dara, 17, top, and Joshua M. Johnson, 18, were taken into
custody on Tuesday at a hotel at Kill Devil Hills. The teens, who
had been missing since Monday, were charged with murder.
Joseph D. Garcia III, 17, died in a hospital from stab wounds on
Monday. His death is the second slaying of a Salem student in a
year.
KEYWORDS: MURDER STABBING ARREST by CNB