WEST PALM BEACH — Corey Johnson will spend the rest of his life in prison for the 2018 sleepover stabbing of 13-year-old Jovanni Sierra.
Palm Beach County Judge Cheryl Caracuzzo sentenced Johnson to life in prison Thursday at the end of a threer-hour hearing in West Palm Beach.
Corey Johnson talks with Public Defender Carey Haughwout Friday, November 5, 2021. Johnson is charged with first-degree murder in the death of Jovanni Sierra, and also faces two counts of attempted murder for allegedly stabbing Dane Bancroft and his mother, Elaine Simon, multiple times in the early morning hours of March 12, 2018.
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In November 2020 a jury found Johnson guilty of first-degree murder and two counts of attempted murder during the March 12, 2018, incident at a friend’s home at BallenIsles Country Club.
Johnson killed Sierra, whose family spoke at the sentencing hearing and asked the judge to sentence Johnson to life in prison. The family also shared memories of Sierra during the hearing.
“I do not think rehabilitation is likely,” Caracuzzo told Johnson in announcing his sentencing, citing his willingness to kill for extremist views.
Prior to Caracuzzo’s ruling Johnson apologized for “contributing to the spread of evil” in killing Sierra.
“I’d like to apologize not because it will change anything, but because I’m really truly sorry,” Johnson, who was 17 when he killed Sierra and now is 21.
Johnson also denounced the Islamic extremist group ISIS. His attorneys argued during his trial last fall that its teachings radicalized the teen before the stabbing. He had discovered them online.
Johnson told the court he wanted to make the world a better place and help people turn toward God to help “balance out” the crime he committed.
The murder took place at the BallenIsles Country Club home of Elaine Simon, whose son, Kyle Bancroft, was Johnson’s closest friend.
Her younger son, Dane, was a close friend of Sierra, whose birthday was March 11. The boys had met at his birthday party that night and slept over at Simon’s home afterward.
Johnson also attacked Simon and Dane Bancroft. Prosecutors said Johnson killed Jovanni Sierra after the 13-year-old made a remark Johnson considered offensive to his newly professed Muslim faith.
This is a breaking story. Check back with www.PalmBeachPost.com for updates.
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This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Corey Johnson gets life prison sentence for 2018 sleepover murder of teen
