Worst of the Worst: The Victims of Edward Johnson
- Gina Westfall
- Apr 22
- 5 min read
Edward Johnson is imprisoned at what is called the "Alcatraz of the Rockies" in Colorado, a Federal Supermax prison. This prison is reserved for prisoners who are considered the "worst of the worst". Edward Johnson has earned that title as a double murderer. His crimes stand out as particular heinous for both the brutality of his crimes and for the choice of his victims. This is his story.
Edward Jonson was born to Edward Johnson Sr. and Selena Johnson on June 16th, 1976, in Chicago, Illinois. He had one younger sister. Both of his parents were police officers. Despite that, he had a tumultuous childhood as his father was an alcoholic and his parent's marriage was riddled with domestic violence.
On September 13th, 1988, Edward watched as his father beat his mother before shooting her to death after she attempted to finally escape the abuse by kicking him out of the home. He later committed suicide that night. Edward Johnson Jr. was only twelve at the time. He and his sister were sent to Minneapolis, Minnesota to live with relatives.
As Edward grew into a young man, he committed several small, petty crimes, as well as experimented with substances. His idea of relationships and the power dynamic between men and women had been distorted by his upbringing and a lack of psychological treatment. However, he made friends. One of those friends was Brooke Thompson.
Brooke Elizabeth Thompson was born May 16th, 1980, in Bloomington, Minnesota. She had been dating a mutual friend of Edward Johnson and was trying to escape that relationship in 2002. She asked Edward for help, and he agreed. He allowed Brooke and her five-year-old daughter, Taylor, to move in with him temporarily.
Before too long, however, Edward began to get controlling of Brooke and started to treat her as a girlfriend and not just a friend. This bothered Brooke and she wanted to escape this relationship as well. She shared this much with not only her friends, but her mother as well. On an August evening in 2002, she asked her mom to take Taylor so that she could talk to Edward and let him know she would be leaving, and her mom agreed. Her mom became alarmed when Brooke never arrived to drop Taylor off, however.
On August 15th, 2002, when her mother and friends grew frustrated and concerned that Brooke was not answering their many calls and attempts to reach her, they notified police. That is when Edward Johnson called a friend of Brooke's and stated that Brooke wanted her to take Taylor for a while and asked to meet up. With police on standby, unbeknownst to Johnson, the meet up occurred. Once the safety of the child was secured, Johnson was taken into custody for questioning.
Once in custody, Edward Johnson was up front about what happened to his roommate. He killed her. At the apartment, Brooke Thompson's body was found. Her five-year-old recalled hearing her mom scream the night before and beg for her life. Per the medical examiner, Brooke died of multiple stab wounds to the head and chest.
While in custody, Edward Johnson proved how dangerous he could be by punching a deputy in the eye. He was charged with second degree murder in the case of Brooke Thompson's murder. In the courtroom, he showed no remorse, often smirking, smiling, and even laughing as her family cried and mourned their tragic loss.
To the horror and dismay of the family of Brooke Thompson, Edward Johnson was offered and accepted a plea deal for 29 years in prison in exchange for a guilty plea.
Edward Johnson was transferred to Stillwater Prison in Minnesota, one of the oldest, built in 1914, in the state and certainly the largest, housing 1600 inmates. Many guards had expressed safety concerns about the number of inmates vs. number of guards. During his incarceration, Edwards was not an ideal prisoner and remained quite violent. In fact, he spent over 1700 days in segregation, or the "jail within the jail" for various infractions. These infractions included being in unauthorized areas of the prison, having contraband, assaults, threats, and being in fights.
During one fight in particular, one that Edward started, the other prisoner got the best of him and caused him to lose his right eye. Although he started the fight, Edward blamed correctional officers for opening a cell door, allowing the inmate contact with him, for him losing his eye. From that point on, he wore an eye patch over his right eye and plotted revenge on the correctional officers. He made open threats to correctional officers and wrote to family about seeking revenge on correctional officers. Due to his history of violence and propensity to follow through on threats, many officers recommended he be moved to a high security facility.
Instead of moving Edward Johnson to a high security prison, he was put into the industry program with the hopes of providing some rehabilitation. The industry program is typically reserved for trusted prisoners as it gives the prisoner access to working with tools such as hammers and screw drivers. Somehow, someone thought Johnson would be a good fit for the program.
On July 18th, 2018, Officer Joseph Gromm was overseeing the industry program on his own, as was common in the crowded Stillwater prison, when Edward Johnson attacked him with a hammer and a knife-like tool, he had made himself. He bludgeoned Gromm so badly that he was unrecognizable. This was allegedly revenge for the loss of his right eye in 2004, although Gromm had nothing to do with that event. Joseph Gromm was the first corrections officer ever killed in the state of Minnesota.
Once the scene was secured, Edward Johnson was moved to a higher security prison. The Stillwater Prison went on a three-week lockdown, which is typical after a violent incident. Edward Johnson plead guilty and was given life without parole for killing Joseph Gromm. He was moved to a Federal Prison in Colorado known as "Alcatraz of the Rockies". He is known one of the most-evil prisoners in the world because he has no remorse and will not hesitate to kill again if given the chance.
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