A Tennessee man will spend the rest of his life in prison after shooting his girlfriend and stabbing her in the head with a carving fork before murdering her friend who witnessed the crime.
Jair Romario Martin, 28, has pleaded guilty to two counts of first-degree murder, two counts of aggravated kidnapping, and one count of criminal impersonation and evading arrest, according to a press release from the Knox County District Attorney’s Office.
Martin killed his girlfriend, Madison Johnson, 21, and her friend, Heidi Johnson, 20, who also lived in the house. On Monday, Knox County Criminal Court Judge Scott Green sentenced him to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Madison Johnson was on FaceTime with her mother on May 13, 2023, when she reported that Martin was being aggressive and barricading the door to prevent her from leaving. When Martin’s mother discovered he had a gun, she called 911.
Martin was heard on the phone saying, “Madison, don’t leave like that,” and “you are going to get murdered.” Madison Johnson reportedly told Martin to stop pointing the gun at her, and he responded by saying, “I’m going to murder you,” before firing several shots at his girlfriend.
Heidi Johnson yelled “Oh my God,” and Martin turned the gun on her, according to a courtroom report from local NBC affiliate WBIR. Martin fired approximately 10 shots during the ordeal before leaving the house.
A police officer saw Martin walking down the street, but because he hadn’t yet been identified as the suspect and appeared “very calm,” she let him go. Police arrested him a few days later.
When officers entered the home, they discovered the victims had died from gunshot wounds. Madison Johnson had a carving fork protruding from her head, according to police.
During the sentencing hearing, prosecutors showed an 11-minute surveillance video from inside the home, which captured audio of an argument followed by gunshots and the chaos that ensued.
WBIR reported that several of the victim’s family members wept, covered their ears, or left the courtroom as the video played.
A detective testified that Martin claimed the victims stole drugs from him and that he blacked out during the shooting.
Heidi Johnson’s mother told the court she was disappointed in Martin because he was a family friend prior to the murders.
“Heidi was my ‘ride or die,’ and used to tell me she would be there in the passenger seat until I died, and now she’ll never ride with me again,” she told WBIR, as well. “I believe God will hold the murderer accountable, but here on Earth, you have the final say on punishment.
I believe there is only one answer to that question. Madison’s and my families have been sentenced to a lifetime of grief, wondering what would have happened to her.
Madison Johnson’s mother claimed the murders could have been avoided if Martin had simply let them go.
Madison asked him to let her leave. He would not. He barricaded them inside. “All they wanted was to leave and go home,” she explained. “He showed them no mercy that day, and I ask you show him none.”
The judge agreed.
“You did not just kill Madison. It was heinous, atrocious, and crude. Your anger and rage, as we heard, manifested themselves in what you did to her body, driving a double-prong fork into her body and penetrating her skull,” Judge Green stated. “After you killed her, you turned on her best friend, put multiple bullets into her body and killed her as well.”
