Death Penalty Urged For Man Who Shot Girlfriend, Son Over TV Show

TAMPA, FL — Prosecutors with the Hillsborough State Attorney’s Office are asking for the death penalty for a Tampa man they say viciously murdered his girlfriend and her 10-year-old son following an argument over what they would watch on TV.

A 12-person jury recommended capital punishment for Tyrone Johnson, 45, Wednesday, five days after they found Johnson guilty of second-degree murder for killing Stephanie Willis, 34, and both first-degree murder and aggravated child abuse for killing Stephanie’s son Ricky “Ryon” Willis.

Hillsborough County Judge Christopher Sabella will weigh the evidence and decide whether to approve the jury’s recommended sentence in the coming weeks.

Stephanie Willis was a home health aide who cared for senior citizens. Ryon was an eager student who played the drums in his elementary school’s fifth-grade music ensemble.

On the evening of Oct. 21, 2018, Johnson called 911 from their apartment at the Marine's Cove apartments, 4012 Mariners Cove Court, Town n' Country, and told the operator he had just shot two people. He claimed that they had attacked him, and he shot them to protect himself.

Johnson told the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office that he got into an argument with Willis after he changed the TV channel to watch a football game and she objected.

After the argument, he told detectives that he went into the master bedroom to pack up his belongings. He said. Willis came in and began berating him and pushed him from the walker who used to get around following surgery on his foot.

First responders found the mother and son lying close together and detectives said the physical evidence showed Johnson wasn't being attacked when he killed them.

Their investigation found that Johnson, a military veteran, picked up a 22 .40-caliber handgun while they argued and shot Willis Johnson shot her.

The medical examiner said the cause of death was a gunshot wound to the head that perforated her skull and brain.

Frightened, Ryon crawled under his bed to hide from Johnson. Johnson found Ryon hiding and shot him five times while he was still under the bed.

The medical examiner found gunshots to the boy's skull, jaw, chest, arm and thigh. The shot to the head perforated his skull and brain, causing a brain hemorrhage.

After shooting the child, prosecutors said Johnson moved their bodied to stage the scene for his phone call to 911 and claim he was defending himself.

“The day the defendant chose to shoot and kill my oldest daughter, and hunt down, torture and brutally murder my only biological grandson, part of me died. Not only did he take away my family, he took away my future generations,” said Robert Hewitt, Stephanie Willis’s father and Ryon’s grandfather. “I am thankful for the decision in this case. After three years, we have received justice for Stephanie and Ryon.”

Hewitt said he was relieved when the trial finally came to an end after two weeks.

“The defendant’s relatives can show all the emotions they want to, but I, the father and grandfather of the victims, have to sit and hold my emotions in—as I hear of the torture my daughter and grandson endured,” he said.

During the penalty phase, Assistant State Attorneys John Terry, Teresa Hall and Karyna Valdes presented extensive evidence to the jury to illustrate why this crime was especially heinous and Johnson should receive the death penalty.