KNOXVILLE, Tennessee — An Alcoa man accused of murdering an unwitting West Knox County couple after crashing his vehicle into their home while chasing his girlfriend has pleaded guilty to two counts of first-degree murder and one count of attempted first-degree murder.
On March 21, 2022, 44-year-old Ronnie Edward Johnson accused his girlfriend of cheating on him and ordered her into his vehicle, according to Assistant District Attorney Nate Ogle.
While driving down Lovell Road, Johnson told his girlfriend that he was going to kill her. Once in a neighborhood off Lovell Road, Johnson began strangling his girlfriend. She was able to get away from Johnson and run to the front porch of the home next door.
When the girlfriend went to the ranch-style home of Boyd and Doris Beets in the 1200 block of Live Oak Circle seeking help, Johnson attempted to run over his girlfriend and drove his vehicle into the home. He abruptly shot and killed the Beetses, authorities said. They'd lived there for decades, records show.
The girlfriend told 10News she didn't know the Beetses.
"I was told I was going to die. I told him to stop the truck but he would not. When he got stopped in a driveway is when I exited and tried to walk away before being tackled and choked. When I got away that time is when I was trying to get to the next house for help," she wrote at the time.
Under the terms of the plea agreement, Judge Steve Sword imposed two consecutive life sentences making Johnson eligible for parole after serving 102 years in prison.
"I'm beyond sorry for all the pain I've caused and to all the victims involved. That's all I've got to say," Johnson said at the hearing.
The Beetses were both 67. They were childhood sweethearts. A banner outside their home at the time of the homicides read, "Happy St. Patrick's Day."
“I hope the resolution, in this case, brings closure to the family,” DA Charme Allen said. “Thanks to the hard work of everyone involved in this case, this defendant will spend the rest of his life in prison.”
