Son-in-law accused of killing Roswell couple denied bond in Alabama

The McKenzies were both well-respected lawyers who had each retired from long careers at Atlanta law firms. Darla McKenzie had been a partner at Morris, Manning and Martin, LLP, where she worked in the firm’s real estate practice. Mike McKenzie was an insurance lawyer with Cozen O’Connor and also well-known for his pro bono work with the Innocence Project.

According to Etowah District Attorney Joseph Willoughby, Tuesday’s preliminary hearing was a straightforward matter. In Alabama, first appearance hearings in capital felony cases are handled by the circuit court rather than a lower-level district court, the DA said in a conversation with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

The only witness called was deputy investigator Shannon Thomas of the Etowah sheriff’s office, court records show.

Thomas shared few new details about the shooting, Willoughby said, but the investigator did testify that Darla McKenzie had been shot 13 times. She was alive when deputies responded and was flown to a hospital in Birmingham, but was pronounced dead there, the AJC previously reported.

Thomas told the court that Mike McKenzie had been shot four times, Willoughby said. McKenzie, a former football player at Georgia Tech, was found dead at the scene when deputies arrived.

Both bodies were sent to the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences' Huntsville medical facility for autopsy, Willoughby said. The medical office could not be reached by phone, and it’s not clear if the remains have been released.

Thomas was also cross-examined by Johnson’s defense attorney, Morgan Cunningham.

Cunningham told the AJC the hearing gave him the opportunity to learn a little bit more about the case, but that there was much the defense still did not know. Johnson’s defense team has not received evidence in the pretrial discovery process, Cunningham said.

Based on the evidence presented, Johnson was not granted bond and his case will be referred to a grand jury.

Willoughby said it was too early to know when Johnson would be formally indicted. Alabama grand juries meet only four times a year, so the indictment could be presented when the next grand jury convenes in March, or it could be delayed until the year’s second session in June, the DA said.

The next court action in the case is a status hearing scheduled for May 1, court records show.

No other information has been released by Alabama authorities about the shooting.

— Please return to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution for updates.