Sharon Benyo, a 46-year-old White/Caucasian woman from Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania, was found dead on the morning of October 6, 2021, in a field off Route 51, also identified as Constitution Boulevard, in Chippewa Township. Utility or gas-line workers discovered her body in an isolated area about 150 feet off the roadway, and Chippewa Township police secured the scene before Pennsylvania State Police took over the homicide investigation. Authorities said she had been there for some period of time before she was found.
The Beaver County Coroner's Office ruled Benyo's death a homicide after determining she had been shot twice in the head. Reports from local authorities described the wounds as being to the back of her head. Investigators processed the field for evidence and initially said they were running down multiple leads, using technology and forensic work to identify who had left her there.
In the days after her death, people who knew Benyo described a woman who had struggled with alcohol addiction and legal problems but had also tried repeatedly to rebuild her life. Her ex-husband, attorney Gerald Benyo, publicly asked the community to help bring her killer to justice. He said Sharon had been released from state prison only about three weeks before she was found, and although he had not had contact with her for years, her death in a field after being shot deeply affected him. He described her as someone who loved her daughter and her pets, and who found happiness near the ocean, away from the people and places that challenged her sobriety.
The investigation moved quickly. On October 9, 2021, Pennsylvania State Police arrested John Westley Johnson Jr., 68, of Beaver Falls. Police said they had developed enough information to secure a criminal homicide charge against him. Johnson was located at his Beaver Falls residence and taken into custody without incident. Authorities said he and Benyo knew each other, and one report described him as a friend of hers, though investigators did not publicly lay out the full relationship or motive at the time.
Johnson was charged with criminal homicide, and reports also said he faced a firearm-related charge, including prohibited possession of a firearm. He was arraigned and held in the Beaver County Jail without bond because of the seriousness of the homicide charge. Investigators said there were possible motives under consideration, but officials were not ready to disclose them while the case was still being developed.
A witness who lived near the area where Benyo was found later told a local news outlet that she heard two gunshots and contacted state police after learning Benyo's body had been discovered. The witness said the situation was “very sad” and indicated that her information became part of the investigation that helped move the case forward.
Public reports available from the period describe Johnson as the arrested suspect and defendant in Benyo's killing, with the case proceeding into formal court action after his arrest. The online sources reviewed did not provide a clear final outcome such as a conviction, acquittal, plea, or sentencing.
