Texas judge Kelli Johnson’s brother reveals the real reason she disappeared after ‘horrific murder case left her ‘haunted’
A Texas judge who disappeared from the courtroom after presiding over some of the state’s largest lawsuits has been placed on medical leave, according to her family.
Local rumors began circulating about Harris County Judge Kelli Johnson after it was noted that she had been absent from the 178th District Courthouse since May 1.
Her absence led to speculation about her mental health, with a courthouse employee telling the local news station KTRK she exhibited ‘manic behavior’.
Despite the rumors, her brother Clay Johnson said The everyday beast that his sister was ‘doing well’ and that her family and wife ‘had daily contact with her’.
He told the outlet, “She is not missing, she is on medical leave. She’s in contact with the family and everything is fine, and that’s about all I can say.”
Local rumors began circulating about Harris County Judge Kelli Johnson after it was noted that she had been absent from the 178th District Courthouse since May 1.
She is the first openly gay female judge elected in Harris County and has two sons, a 12-year-old and a 10-month-old, with her wife Hilary Bartlett, all seen here
As a judge, she serves as an administrative judge on the Criminal Board and is a member of the Board of Texas Association of Specialty Courts of the State of Texas.
A Houston police report obtained by KTRK showed Johnson was involved in an incident near her home on May 4.
An officer noted a “disturbance/CIT,” a police acronym for crisis intervention, on the report.
Visiting judges have addressed Johnson’s role, including retired Judge Jim Wallace who is presiding over a trial in her place.
Johnson oversaw several major trials in the state and convicted a man of capital murder for the 2020 beating of an eight-year-old boy in April.
Johnson is one of Harris County’s longest-serving current judges. She was first elected in 2016 and voted for a second term in 2020.
She is the first openly gay female judge elected in Harris County and has two sons with her wife Hilary Bartlett, a 12-year-old and a 10-month-old son, according to her biography.
Johnson previously served as an assistant district attorney for 17 years and received her law degree from South Texas College of Law.
As a judge, she serves as an administrative judge on the Criminal Board and is a member of the Board of Texas Association of Specialty Courts of the State of Texas.
Her last Facebook post on her official account was on April 19, in which she invited voters to attend a fundraiser for Democratic criminal justice candidates.
Visiting judges have addressed Johnson’s role, including retired Judge Jim Wallace (pictured) who is presiding over a trial in her place
Johnson (center left) is one of Harris County’s longest-serving current judges. She was first elected in 2016 and voted for a second term in 2020
In April, after 20 minutes of deliberation by the jury, 34-year-old Brian Coulter was found guilty of murder for beating his girlfriend’s eight-year-old son, Kendrick Lee, to death in 2020, leading Johnson to sentence him to life in prison . jail.
“This is probably one of the most horrific events I have ever had to witness, listen to and imagine,” Johnson said during her sentencing.
“Sir, those kids have been following me around for the past week. I hope, sir, that when you’re in jail, those same boys that haunted my mind will haunt yours, too.”
Coulter will serve a life sentence for beating the child to death on November 20, 2020, at the couple’s apartment in Houston’s CityParc II complex.
Prosecutors said that after beating the boy to death, Coulter and his girlfriend, Gloria Williams, left the apartment, leaving her other three sons alone with Lee’s remains.
Coulter (pictured) will serve a life sentence for beating the child to death on November 20, 2020, at the couple’s apartment in Houston’s CityParc II complex.
Johnson presided over all three trials of the son of a former NFL player, AJ Armstrong (pictured), who was convicted in 2016 as a 16-year-old of murdering his parents.
Johnson presided over all three trials of the son of a former NFL player who was convicted in 2016 as a 16-year-old of murdering his parents.
After two mistrials, Antonio Armstrong Jr. – AJ – found guilty of murdering his parents, Dawn and Antonio Sr. in August.
Antonio Sr. was a former linebacker for the Miami Dolphins and San Francisco 49ers.
In 2016, Dawn and Antonio Sr. each shot in the head, with pillows over their faces, as they slept in their Texas home.