SIDNEY, Neb. (AP) – Not-guilty pleas have been entered for Nebraska Panhandle man who is accused of killing his live-in girlfriend.
Forty-six-year-old Craig Johnson said nothing as the court entered the pleas on Tuesday. Johnson is charged with second-degree murder and use of a weapon to commit a felony. No trial date has been set.
Johnson is accused of killing 42-year-old April Smith at the home the two shared eight miles west of Sidney. Authorities found Smith’s body Dec. 12 with her hands and legs bound by wire and rope. An autopsy showed she suffered a blow to the head. There were signs she was choked, and there were cuts and bruises on her face and body.
Johnson remains held in the Cheyenne County jail on $1 million bail.