26 episodes
Beyond All Repair WBUR
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- True Crime
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4.6 • 2.5K Ratings
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Imagine you're accused of something horrific. You swear you didn't do it, but someone says they witnessed it: your own brother. Sophia Johnson was newly married with a baby on the way when she became the prime suspect in her mother-in-law's brutal murder. WBUR's Amory Sivertson reexamines a case unsolved, a family torn apart, and the woman who wasn't believed.
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Beyond All Repair Ch. 1: Boxes
Reporter Amory Sivertson has reopened a box that some members of the Correia family were hoping would stay shut forever.
Amory first met the youngest Correia, Shane, in 2017 while interviewing him about his experience with homelessness. But there is another dark chapter of Shane's life: his older sister being accused of murdering her mother-in-law in 2002, when he was 13 years old.
Now Shane wants to know, did his sister commit this brutal the crime?
If you have questions about the case, the real people at the center of this story, or anything else about this series, we want to hear them. Email beyondallrepairpod@gmail.com with a voice message or written message.
Listener note: This show has descriptions of violence and strong language.
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This show is made at WBUR, a public radio station, which means we cannot make shows like this without public support.
Join our membership program, "BEYOND" here: wbur.org/beyond -
Beyond All Repair Ch. 2: The Case
Amory learns more about Marlyne Johnson, Sophia Johnson’s late mother-in-law, and her murder is explored through footage of Sophia’s 2003 trial.
Clark County Detective Rick Buckner and his team narrowed the field of suspects to siblings Sophia and Sean Correia (Shane Correia's older brother and sister).
Sean testified during Sophia’s 2003 murder trial that he saw his sister standing over Marlyne’s body, holding fireplace tongs.
If you have questions about the case, the real people at the center of this story, or anything else about this series, we want to hear them. Email beyondallrepairpod@gmail.com with a voice message or written message.
Listener note: This show has descriptions of violence and strong language.
***
Consider becoming a "BEYOND" member today:
This show is made at WBUR, a public radio station, which means we cannot make shows like this without public support.
Join our membership program, "BEYOND" here: wbur.org/beyond -
Beyond All Repair Ch. 3: Bad Blood
Sean Correia's credibility is called into question as Sophia Johnson and Shane Correia tell Amory about his role in their upbringing. Amory learns how these three siblings ended up in Washington state after being raised in New York, and how Sophia became estranged from Shane and their mother, with whom she’d been incredibly close.
Sophia finds a new family in the Johnsons — Brad, her husband, and Marlyne and Richard Johnson, Brad’s parents.
At the time of the murder, Sophia is newly wedded to Brad and six months pregnant. Marlyne is supposed to go over to Sophia’s house for lunch that day. She doesn’t show, leading Sophia and Brad to check on her, and, ultimately, to her lifeless, nearly unrecognizable body.
Sophia denies murdering Marlyne, but suspects Sean’s involvement.
If you have questions about the case, the real people at the center of this story, or anything else about this series, we want to hear them. Email beyondallrepairpod@gmail.com with a voice message or written message.
Listener note: This episode has descriptions of violence, strong language, and allegations of sexual assault.
***
Consider becoming a "BEYOND" member today:
This show is made at WBUR, a public radio station, which means we cannot make shows like this without public support.
Join our membership program, "BEYOND" here: wbur.org/beyond -
Beyond All Repair Ch. 4: The Husband
Amory meets Lyn Page and Linda Dillard, friends of Marlyne Johnson and her husband Richard, who share more about the Johnson family.
Richard struggled with alcohol abuse and gambled, and Marlyne had started saving money in case she needed to leave him.
Richard eventually agrees to talk to Amory and shares memories of his wife and the day she was killed.
If you have questions about the case, the real people at the center of this story, or anything else about this series, we want to hear them. Email beyondallrepairpod@gmail.com with a voice message or written message.
Listener note: This episode has descriptions of violence and strong language.
***
Consider becoming a "BEYOND" member today:
This show is made at WBUR, a public radio station, which means we cannot make shows like this without public support.
Join our "BEYOND" membership program and receive access to extra episodes, a private feed of the show for ad-free listening and early access to some of the final episodes in the series: wbur.org/beyond -
Beyond All Repair Ch. 5: The Motive
The prosecution in Sophia’s trial claims greed was her motive for killing Marlyne. Shortly after Sophia and Brad Johnson started dating, Sophia began stealing money from her employer.
Sophia explains how the theft started and quickly spiraled out of control.
By the time of the murder, Sophia was tens of thousands of dollars in debt, with a baby on the way. Was she desperate enough to commit murder?
If you have questions about the case, the people at the center of this story, or anything else about this series, we want to hear them. Email beyondallrepairpod@gmail.com with a voice message or written message.
***
Consider becoming a "BEYOND" member today:
This show is made at WBUR, a public radio station, which means we cannot make shows like this without public support.
Join our membership program, "BEYOND" here: wbur.org/beyond -
Beyond All Repair Ch. 6: Hope
The jury has reached a verdict: Sophia is found guilty of first-degree murder.
At sentencing, Sophia hears victim impact statements, including one delivered by the woman raising her son.
She is sentenced to 43 years in prison, and just as she’s settling into that fate, she gets a call from her lawyer saying that she’s won the right to a new trial.
If you have questions about the case, the people at the center of this story, or anything else about this series, we want to hear them. Email beyondallrepairpod@gmail.com with a voice memo or written message.
***
Consider becoming a "BEYOND" member today:
This show is made at WBUR, a public radio station, which means we cannot make shows like this without public support.
Join our "BEYOND" membership program and receive early access to some of the final episodes in the series, extra episodes, and a private feed of the show for ad-free listening: wbur.org/beyond
Customer Reviews
Well done
This podcast is so moving, and so well done. I couldn’t stop listening to it and couldn’t help but feel for Jacob Wideman. He sounds so sincere that I hope that he gets a second chance. I have also listened to “The Letter” which shows the impact of forgiveness on everyone that is affected by a violent act. Listening to both of these emotional stories I can’t help but wish that the families that survived these tragedies could meet. So heartbreaking.
Thank you for telling this story and I also look forward to more.
This is far from unbiased but I still enjoyed it
I couldn’t help thinking that the structure in which the episodes were told, where the understanding behind his action was at the very end - coupled with the inept and biased retelling of the victims side, didn’t do either family any favors here.
She definitely implies the victims are full of hate, vindictive, inflexible and almost criminal at times. But, they were (perhaps) feeling like this wasn’t just about what happened to them anymore. Their mission now was to ensure no other family or child is harmed and until recently, no one had any insight into why he committed the crime. was it spontaneous violence? And presumably it was given his perfect track record… isn’t that the scariest kind of criminal? No matter what his good behavior shows, for a heinous crime, with no motive and where mental illness takes over, wouldn’t any parole board need to deny release to keep the public safe? Isn’t one life too many? Wouldn’t they (or us) need to know that there’s a fix so that it won’t happen again? The reporter never explained how he controls this same anger so that we can feel confident things would be different now. Only that he’s kind, well behaved, well liked…. She needs to explain: is it meds? Does he still have the seizures?? How will it be different when it happens and he’s not contained? Without that information and her strong affect against the victim family, it made me see them as going above and beyond to protect the community. She never considered that it’s all because they believe he IS a danger - it wasn’t just hatred or spite or injustice.
And the new wife’s ex - of course he should be concerned!! You can guarantee the podcaster does not get the irony that at least THAT parent won’t feel like he didn’t do all he could to protect his children.
If the story was told in a way that didn’t assume that 1) good behavior in prison should always reduce risk outside of prison, 2) victims were spiteful and acting criminally, it would be more complete.
One of the best
Truly some of the best unbiased journalism I’ve heard in a very long time. I hope to hear more from you soon. Thank you for bringing the humanity of what you do through your podcast. This struck an emotional chord with me and I can’t wait to hear more from you.