Just terrible.
Last month, the in-laws of NASCAR driver Jimmie Johnson were found dead in their Oklahoma home, with the local police investigating the deaths as a murder-suicide.
Oklahoma police were called to the home of Terry Janway and Dr. Jack Janway, the parents of Johnson’s wife Chandra, by an unidentified woman who called 911 and then promptly hung up after informing authorities that someone in the Janway household had a gun.
Once officials responded to the scene shortly after 9 p.m. on Monday, June 26, they found the body of Jack Janway in the hallway of the home, then heard another gunshot from somewhere else inside the house, which is believed to have been Terry Janway taking her own life.
The body of the 11-year old grandson, Dalton Janway, was also found at the scene.
Police officers believe that the woman that called 911 to originally report the disturbance was likely Terry Janway, who they consider the primary suspect in the murder-suicide.
And now, they’ve released both the initial 911 call and body cam footage from responding officers.
In the call, which lasts only 19 seconds, the woman who is believed to be Terry Janway asks for police, then tells dispatchers that “There’s somebody here with a gun.”
Dispatch asks twice whether she knows who the person is, but receives no response before the caller hangs up the phone.
Body cam footage then shows police arriving to the scene to find Jack Janway’s body laying in the hallway just inside the front door.
Police open the door with their guns drawn and announcing themselves as the Muskogee Police Department. Then seconds later, another gunshot rings out from the back of the house.
Officers enter the house a few minutes later to find the three victims, with a responding K-9 officer finding the body of 11-year old Dalton.
Johnson, who has been married to Chandra Janway since 2004, is a 7-time NASCAR Cup Series champion, who retired after the 2020 season before returning to the sport this season as co-owner of Legacy Motor Club, formerly Richard Petty Motorsports.
He had been scheduled to run the Cup Series race at the Chicago street course on July 3, but withdrew after the tragic deaths of his in-laws.
The seven-time champion has not spoken publicly about the tragedy other than to release a statement asking for privacy.
NASCAR also released a statement following the deaths:
“We are saddened by the tragic deaths of members of Chandra Johnson’s family. The entire NASCAR family extends its deepest support and condolences during this difficult time to Chandra, Jimmie and the entire Johnson and Janway families.”
Statement from NASCAR: pic.twitter.com/EnDdakWMfa
— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) June 27, 2023
I can’t even imagine.
