DATE: Thursday, July 17, 1997               TAG: 9707170505

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B1   EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA 

SOURCE: BY PAUL SOUTH, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: KILL DEVIL HILLS                  LENGTH:   74 lines

WAITRESS DIED FROM STAB WOUNDS, AUTOPSY INDICATES

Denise Johnson died from multiple stab wounds to the neck, a state forensic pathologist said Wednesday.

``There were possibly a half-dozen wounds to the sides and back of the neck,'' said Dr. Page Hudson of the state medical examiner's office in Greenville.

Firefighters found Johnson's body in her home on Sunday.

Hudson said there was no evidence to back speculation that Johnson's throat had been cut. And none of the wounds individually could be classified as the fatal one. There was no evidence of sexual assault.

``I count them all as contributing to her death,'' Hudson said. ``I found no evidence, in terms of a visual inspection, that she had been sexually assaulted. Except for some minor bruises, there was no evidence that she had been assaulted. Those bruises could have been there before she was attacked. They were very minor.''

Hudson pinpointed the time of death at between 1 a.m. and 4 a.m. Johnson, a popular Outer Banks waitress, was last seen alive about 1:10 a.m.

On Wednesday, police released a composite sketch of a blond woman who was seen with the victim about 1:10. While investigators have interviewed more than 150 people in connection with the case, they have not talked to the woman.

``We sure would like to talk to her,'' said SBI Special Agent Donnie Varnell. ``We will do anything we can to talk to her. Her information could be absolutely critical to this case.''

The woman was described as 5 feet 4 inches to 5 feet 5 inches tall, with blond hair and a medium build. She was wearing flower print shorts and a matching top.

Based on the estimated time of death, her house was set on fire after the homicide. Firefighters were sent to the Norfolk Street home at 4:34 a.m.

Hudson could not say specifically the length of the weapon used to commit the crime, the first homicide in Dare County in two years.

``It could have been of infinite length,'' Hudson said. ``Based on her wounds, it was at least three inches long, but the blade could have been longer.''

There was also no evidence in the preliminary autopsy to indicate she fought off her attacker. At 5 feet 6, 134 pounds, Johnson, 33, was a strong woman, friends said.

``She had blood under her fingernails,'' Hudson said. ``But there was a lot of blood on her body because of the stab wounds. There was significant loss of blood.''

There was no evidence to indicate whether Johnson's assailant was right- or left-handed.

``In fiction, it's easy for an investigator to tell which hand the assailant used, and it's a nice detail. But because of the nature of these wounds, it's impossible to tell.''

While authorities do not know whether Johnson knew her assailant, Varnell said homicide victims, generally speaking, are acquainted with their killers.``Statistically, people almost always know the people who kill them,'' Varnell said. ``At this point, we don't know if it's true in this case.''

Some criminologists believe that the murder weapon and the nature of the wounds reflect the nature of the relationship between killer and victim.

``I guess in some of the classes we get, as well as experience and training, that has come up,'' Varnell said. ``But we could speculate all day long about things like that. But until we know exactly what happened, it's hard to tell. In the case of a weapon, it could be something that was nearby.''

Meanwhile, about 300 mourners attended funeral services for Johnson Wednesday at Kitty Hawk United Methodist Church. Many young people who work in the restaurant industry attended.

Anyone with any information is asked to contact the Kill Devil Hills Police Department at 480-4030. ILLUSTRATION: Photo

Police are looking for a blond woman, shown in this sketch, who was

seen with Denise Johnson. KEYWORDS: MURDER STABBING

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