NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — More than seven years after Keir Johnson and her infant daughter Chloe vanished from the Peninsula, police say they've arrested Carlos Johnson Jr., Chloe's father, in connection to their disappearance.
Investigations
Ex-boyfriend charged with first-degree murder in case of Keir & Chloe Johnson
Johnson Jr. is facing two counts of first-degree murder, officials announced at a press conference Monday.
Before the news of an arrest was made public, Keir Johnson's twin sister spoke with WTKR News 3 about the breakthrough in the case.
Watch: Father of Chloe Johnson, ex-boyfriend of Keir Johnson charged with first-degree murder, officials say
When speaking to WTKR News 3 anchor and investigator Jessica Larché on Monday, Teir Pettway, Keir Johnson's twin, shared that Carlos Johnson Jr. is her sister's ex-boyfriend.
Keir Johnson and Carlos Johnson Jr. were separated when the mother and daughter disappeared in April of 2017, Pettway says, adding that they were not married and their last names are only a coincidence.
Here's a transcript of Jessica Larché's conversation with Teir Pettway, lightly edited for content and clarity:
Jessica Larché: What does this milestone mean to you? You have been fighting for almost eight years to get justice for your sister, for your niece. What does this this development mean today to you?
Teir Pettway: It feels like the ball is finally starting to roll, I guess, like, they're finally starting to start to take care of her. It’s like a relief.
You and I have talked several times over the years. When we talked in 2022, you said you believed that someone your sister knew took her life. Does this confirm that to you?
Yes, it does.
Carlos Johnson. Who is that, Teir?
That was Chloe’s biological father. And that's who we've always known to be the alleged suspect — or however you're supposed to say it — that's who we've always known, but we just couldn't say. But I’m glad the police finally made an arrest and they can start the legal process on putting him away.
Previous coverage: Newport News police seek answers in mother, daughter disappearance
Why have you and your family thought Carlos Johnson had something to do with your sister and your niece's disappearance?
Because of the background investigating circumstances that the police shared with us, that we weren't supposed to share with the public.
Did you know him to be abusive to your sister? Manipulative to your sister? Harmful to your sister?
No, I only met him face-to-face like twice because I was active-duty military. So, I don't know too much about him as an individual or person. I don't know anything about him. She never mentioned anything to me about him putting hands on her.
So you and your family came to suspect that he had something to do with their disappearance after they were gone.
Yea.
Did did he ever help with the search for them?
No, I don't even think he gave his condolences or said anything about missing his daughter. I honestly couldn't tell you what was going through his head. What is going through his head. It's just, he's just a weird individual.
What would you want to say to him?
To him? Nothing. I have nothing to say to him.
What do you hope happens to him?
That he’s put away, or at least tells me what he did with my sister and my niece.
You've expressed frustration to me over the years about how long it's taken to get to this point.
Right.
Do you still hold that?
Yes, it's been eight years. April 30, 2017, that's the last time I spoke to my sister.
Previous coverage: Sister of missing peninsula mom and daughter believes they were killed
You had no idea that would be the last time you talked to them.
No.
What have the last almost eight years been like for you and your mother and your family?
Ups and downs. It's like, you still got to live. You still got to be a mom and a sister and a daughter. But then you smile, but then you create new memories, and you wish that you could share those memories with her, but you can't. And it's hard. And you want to reminisce, and you can't reminisce because she's not here, so.
You've had a big update yourself.
Right. Yeah, with my baby boy. And I wish she was here to see him and meet him but, you know, she unfortunately isn't here. So that was hard, too.
Or becoming a mom without your sister being there with you.
Right.
What message do you want to send to the police and prosecutors?
Let’s start and get it done. Put him away.
You’re ready for this to be done, to have justice for your sister.
I don't want it to be dragged out, or yeah, so.
It's been important to News 3 and important to me to continue to ask questions and shine a light, especially on missing Black women. What has that meant to you that we have not forgotten about your sister and your niece?
Well, it means a lot to me, because y'all kept her front and center and fresh in people's minds. I wish that it could have moved a little faster, not on your part, but as far as investigation and the legal process, I wish it would move a lot faster. But then, on the other side, I don't want nothing to fall through the cracks. So maybe being meticulous is what they needed to be. But I'm just ready for this to start and finish and put him behind bars where he needs to be.
What has your mom told you? What has been her reaction?
Well, we all are relieved, but it's just, it's like fresh again, if that makes sense. Because now, even though we knew what happened, it kind of solidifies that this is permanent, like, she ain't coming back. Like, this is it.
So on one hand, you’re starting to have closure. But on the other, now it's real that she is gone.
Yea, because they’re going to know during the legal process. They're gonna ask a lot of questions and it's just going to be like opening the same wound all over again. And I know we got to go through it to put him away. But it's just, it's just hard.
