LaRoche found guilty of 1999 murder of McHenry County woman with Stateline ties

RACINE, Wis. (WIFR) - A Racine, Wisconsin jury finds Linda LaRoche guilty of murder, and hiding a corpse; in the death of a woman with Stateline ties known as “Jane Doe” for more two decades.

The body of a woman was found in rural racine county in 1999. Twenty years later, in 2019, the body was identified as then 23-year-old Peggy Lynn Johnson of McHenry Illinois. LaRoche was a caregiver of Johnson, who was developmentally disabled. A jury determined that Johnson suffered severe abuse by LaRoche for five years before her death.

In 2020 Johnson was buried in Belvidere with her headstone next to her mothers. The 66-year-old LaRoche will be sentenced in May.