US Marine arrested and charged with murder of his Sorority sister

A 20-year-old U.S. Marine was arrested Tuesday
morning by the U.S. Marshals Service in Arizona
and charged with murder in connection to the
New Year’s Day shooting death of a 20-year-old
University of North Texas student during a traffic
incident, according to police.
The Denton Police Department obtained an arrest
warrant for Cpl. Eric Jamal Johnson, 20, who
allegedly shot and killed Sara Mutschlechner
following a dispute between two people in
different vehicles at a red light.
Johnson was arrested in Yuma, Arizona on a
charge of murder. Johnson is an active U.S.
Marine connected to Marine Corps Air Station
Yuma, a spokesman for the base confirmed
Tuesday.
The Denton Police Department will hold a press
conference Tuesday afternoon to provide more
details.
Mutschlechner was an alumna of San Marcos
High School and a former resident of Martindale,
a small town just outside San Marcos.
Police and emergency personnel responded at
about 2:06 a.m. Friday in the 1700 block of North
Elm Street in Denton for a gunshot victim.
The officers found Mutschlechner lying on the
ground outside of a four-door sedan that had
crashed into an electrical pole.
Witnesses told police Mutschlechner was a
designated driver and had not been drinking that
night.
Three other adults were inside her vehicle at the
time of the incident, which occurred when a dark-
colored SUV, a Toyota or Lexus, drove up next to
the sedan, police said.
Words were exchanged between occupants of the
two vehicles, after which Johnson allegedly fired
several rounds toward Mutschlechner, hitting her
in the head. The victim’s vehicle then ran into
another vehicle before crashing into an electrical
pole, according to police.
The dark-colored SUV involved in the shooting
fled the scene. Witnesses said the vehicle was
occupied by five or six men. Police have said at
least two of the men attended a New Year’s Eve
party earlier that morning that Mutschlechner had
been at, as well.
Another passenger in the vehicle suffered minor
injuries from the crash and was taken to Denton
Regional Medical Center along with
Mutschlechner, who was in critical condition at
the time of the crash.
She was placed on life support at the hospital,
but was ultimately taken off and pronounced dead
at the hospital.