Son Of Murdered Portage Couple Charged With Their Homicide

The Kalamazoo County Prosecutor has authorized charges for the son and lone suspect in a Portage couple's disappearance in subsequent deaths.

The Office of the Kalamazoo County announced the authorization of charges against 27-year-old Nicholas Alexander Johnson for the homicide of his parents Gary and Laura Johnson.

Nicholas Johnson will be charged with two counts of open murder, two counts of possessing a firearm while committing a felony, and one count of being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm. If convicted, he could face up to life in prison.

Johnson is expected to be arraigned in the Kalamazoo County 8th District Court. He is currently being held in the Kalamazoo County Jail on separate weapons charges which were authorized on February 10, 2021.

The investigation into Gary and Laura's disappearance and murder's was led by the Portage Department of Public Safety with the assistance of the Michigan State Police Computer Crime Unit, the Michigan State Police K-9 unit, the Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety Forensic Crime Lab, and the Kalamazoo County Sheriff's Office.

Nicholas Johnson has also been publicly named a person of interest in the disappearance of a Goble's teen last seen in Portage walking with Johnson in 2018. Law enforcement had searched for missing 17-year-old Bonifacio 'Facio' Pena at the Gourdneck State Game Area, the same location where Gary and Laura Johnson's bodies were found.

Facio was last seen in Portage on Saturday, May 19, 2018, walking with Nick Johnson. Family members noted early on in Facio's disappearance that it was unusual for the teen to not have any contact with his friends or family. Facio's mother says Nick has always been the main suspect in her mind.