State no longer opposes DNA testing in 1988 Bedford murder case

Apr. 19—Prosecutors have filed a motion saying they no longer oppose a request for DNA testing for a man who claims he was wrongfully convicted of murder in the 1988 death of a pregnant woman in Bedford.

Jason E. Carroll, 53, was found guilty in 1992 of second-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder in the killing of Sharon Johnson of Bow. Johnson, 36, was found stabbed and strangled at a construction site in Bedford. She was seven months pregnant.

Carroll argues his conviction was based on a false confession he made under intense interrogation when he was 19. He has since maintained his innocence, and lawyers at the New England Innocence Project have challenged his conviction.

Attorneys for Carroll filed a motion in December to continue a hearing on his legal team's motion for post-conviction DNA testing of biological material, which was approved after the state reported on Dec. 14 that an "additional box of physical evidence" had been located.

The box was located inside the former headquarters of the state's Department of Justice, which was in the process of being torn down.

The hearing also involves audio and visual evidence previously in the state's possession that has been digitized, a lengthy process that wasn't completed until Dec. 12.

With a four-day evidentiary hearing scheduled to begin April 30 in Hillsborough Superior Court North, Assistant Attorney General Charles Bucca filed a motion on April 18 saying the state no longer opposes the DNA testing request.

In a 2022 court filing, Bucca said the state opposed the testing because it saw "no scenario where testing these items will exonerate the defendant."

In his latest filing, Bucca writes while the state "assents to the testing with the understanding that the petitioner would have the burden to establish (by a preponderance of the evidence) that 'the evidence to be tested has been subject to a chain of custody sufficient to establish it has not been substituted, tampered with, replaced or altered in any material aspect' and is in a 'condition that would permit the DNA testing that is requested' for the purpose of attempting analysis."

"The State reserves the right to challenge the import of significance of any analysis, for any reasons, including but not limited to potential contamination from the handling of evidence by uninvolved persons prior to its collection and/or from inadequate techniques regarding its collection, handling, packaging, storage, etc.," Bucca's motion reads.

The DNA testing request must be signed off on by Judge William Delker.

Johnson, a Goffstown native, lived in Bow at the time of her death. She worked at Digital Equipment Corp. in Amherst as an engineer.

It wasn't until more than a year after her death that police announced three men had been charged in the crime. Police accused Johnson's husband, Kenneth Johnson, of paying Carroll and a third man, Tony Pfaff, to help murder his wife.

Prosecutors alleged Carroll and Pfaff, both 18 at the time of the murder, met Sharon Johnson in Manchester and had her drive them to Bedford, where they stabbed her as Ken Johnson watched.

Both Carroll and Pfaff confessed to the murder to police, then recanted their statements, saying they lied and were coerced by investigators.

Pfaff was acquitted, and prosecutors dropped the charges against Ken Johnson for lack of evidence when Pfaff and Carroll refused to testify against him.

Only Carroll was convicted, receiving a sentence of 46 years to life in state prison.

A judge declined to grant Carroll early parole last year. He will be eligible for release in 2029.