Homeless Ex-NFL Player Among 4 Killed Recently At LA River Encampments

A former NFL player is among four people living at Los Angeles River homeless encampments who were found dead in recent months, prompting sheriff's homicide detectives to probe whether the killings are related.

Sheriff's investigators say the four homicides occurred between October 2025 and January 2026. The victims were all homeless people living in encampments near where East 120th Street crosses the Los Angeles River in Willowbrook, an unincorporated community between the 105 Freeway and Compton.

One victim was 55-year-old former football player Kevin Johnson.

A fourth-round draft pick by New England in 1993, Johnson spent time with the Patriots, Minnesota and Oakland before landing with the Eagles. He had 43 tackles, including seven sacks, and returned a fumble for a touchdown in two years with Philadelphia. He played 15 games for the Raiders in 1997.

Johnson later played in the Arena Football League for Orlando and Los Angeles. The LA native played collegiately at Texas Southern.

Johnson was found suffering blunt force trauma and stab wounds at a homeless encampment on Jan. 21 near the river, according to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner.

Johnson's son told NBC Los Angeles that his father had lived on the streets periodically. The pair spoke daily.

"My father's death is a heartbreaking tragedy, especially because he was a constant presence in my life," Branden Johnson said. "There was not a single day he didn't call to check on me, asking if I worked out, if I prayed, how his granddaughter was doing, and reminding me how much he loved me and how proud he was. The absence of those daily calls has created an indescribable silence."

The late Johnson's friends told ABC 7 that health problems led him to live on the streets and those medical issues may have been a result of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a neurodegenerative disease most commonly found in contact-sport athletes.

The string of killings began on Oct. 5, 2025, when 52-year-old Michelle Steele was shot in the head. She died at a hospital the following month, ABC 7 reported.

On Dec. 4, Octavio Arias, 52, was killed in the same area, with his cause of death listed as head and neck trauma.

After Johnson was found dead, a fourth victim, Mauro Alfaro, was killed on Jan. 26 with his cause of death listed as blunt force trauma, according to the station.

Eight detectives are investigating the string of killings, ABC 7 reported.

The Associated Press and City News Service contributed to this report.