Courts
Missing woman case leads to Buffalo County murder trial
A Buffalo County woman went missing five years ago at Christmas, and a man she lived with goes on trial this year for allegedly killing her.
Randall Merrick of Rochester reportedly confessed to the murder of 50-year-old Beth Johnson, last seen alive on Christmas Day of 2016. He wasn’t charged with Johnson’s death until about a year ago.
Judge Elliott Levine of La Crosse County will preside over the week-long Buffalo County trial of Merrick, starting December 6th. Besides the homicide count, Merrick is also charged with hiding Johnson’s body.
Johnson reportedly was a caretaker for Merrick. A witness in the case claims Merrick had admitted to killing Johnson.