Justice for Se'Mauri

Episode #25 - Justice for Se’Mauri

Desert Pines High School football star Se'Mauri Norris-Johnson went out trick or treating with some of his friends on Halloween 2023, as so many kids do every year. Se'Mauri’s mom checked on him at 905pm to find out when he'd like to be picked up.

By 10 pm she received a panicked call from Se'Mauri’s girlfriend telling her Se'Mauri had been shot and murdered.

[Shaun] 

Hi and welcome to Sins and Survivors, a Las Vegas true crime podcast, where we focus on cases that deal with domestic violence and unsolved cases. I’m your host, Shaun, and with me as always, is the one and only John.

[John] 

I am the only John in the room.

[Shaun] 

Last week, April 21st through 27th was the 43rd National Crime Victims' Rights Week. The first  National Crime Victims’ Rights Week was declared by Ronald Reagan back in 1981. It was a long process to get there, but the victims’ rights movement gained a lot of steam after the 1970’s.

We’ll talk more later about victim rights including Marsy’s Law in Nevada (and 17 other states), what rights it gives crime victims, and how the law came about.

First, though, we want to get right to this week’s case, which is the tragic unsolved murder of Se'Mauri Norris Johnson which happened only about 6 months ago.

[John] 

Se'Mauri was born on October 2nd, 2006 in San Diego. His Mom’s name is Maureisha Johnson, and he has two much younger baby brothers (as we do, we aren't mentioning their names because they aren't relevant to the crime). Samauri has a cousin named Jordan Howden, a safety for the New Orleans Saints.

Se'Mauri’s mom moved them to Las Vegas in 2016, and according to his grandfather, Se'Mauri quickly settled in and started making friends. He went to Desert Pines High School and joined the football team. He was 6’2, 195 lbs, and was an outstanding defensive player. 

In his sophomore year, he was out with a broken hand but in his Junior year, he had an absolute breakout year. He was second team all division and was starting to get noticed by colleges. 

[Shaun]

Tico Rodriguez, his head coach was quoted as saying he had the chance to be a pac-12 athlete... “he was that talented”. Se'Mauri had been playing football since his childhood, and it was all pointing to his eventual goal of going pro, as he wanted, following in his cousin Jordans’s footsteps.

In his last game against Coronado High, which the Desert Pines Panthers lost, he racked up 8 solo tackles, 10 total (which is huge). After the game, he told his coach “Coach, we’ll be back… We’ll be better”

Se'Mauri also ran track, we looked up his stats and he was outstanding in the 100 and 200m, and was starting to get into the 400m relay. He really was an excellent all-around athlete.

He was a well-liked, charismatic, fun-loving, athletic kid who also loved to dance. There are videos of him and his girlfriend making TikToks of them dancing that are so great. 

As his girlfriend said “We don’t play with guns, gangbang, or do anything of that sort. We’re athletes and we focus on our grades”

His mom said “he was our protector.. He never got into trouble.. He never talked back”

[John] 

Halloween 2023 was a Tuesday, and he went out with some of his friends to celebrate, as many kids do every year. His mom called him around 9 pm to find out when he wanted to be picked up, but that was the last time she’d ever speak to him.

The North Las Vegas Police said that Se'Mauri and several other teenagers wearing ski masks got out of a car and quickly approached two teenage trick-or-treaters in a north Las Vegas neighborhood around 9:45 pm.

It's not exactly clear what happened, but one of the trick-or-treaters fired a gun that struck Se'Mauri in the side, and the two fled the scene. Neighbors made frantic calls to 911 to report the shooting, with one witness saying he had heard 4 gunshots.

Police arrived 7 minutes later.

[Shaun] 

According to Se'Mauri’s family, around 10:15 pm His mom got a call from Se'Mauri’s girlfriend saying that he had been shot. She could see his location on his iPhone, but it wasn't moving, and he wasn't picking up.

She rushed over to the scene, but according to the family, she was not allowed to pass the crime scene tape and was told that when the investigation was over they would come to talk to her. She said at that point there were no paramedics on the scene. 

She desperately wanted to cross that yellow tape to be with her son in his last moments, something that we would want every parent to be able to do. 

She waited there for hours just 30 feet from where he lay in the street, while rumors on social media grew that Se'Mauri was dead.

According to the family, the detectives finally came to talk to her after midnight and told her that Se'Mauri was shot in self-defense and that there would be no prosecution. The family’s account includes the fact that he was shot in the side, so they very much doubt this was self-defense.

They also said that witnesses were stopped from performing CPR on Se'Mauri and an ambulance did not arrive for over 20 minutes. Maureisha wasn't able to view his body until November 3rd, and even then, it was only a photo. 

[John] 

Obviously, the kids at Desert Pines were in shock. This was the second time in a week one of their students was lost to gun violence and crisis counselors were brought in.

During the investigation, the police went door to door talking to neighbors. They got some Ring doorbell camera footage, but the view of the street is blocked by the family’s Halloween decorations. 

It’s a chaotic scene with teenagers running all around, and a black pickup truck leaving the scene quickly. It all happened in just a few seconds.

Se’Mauri’s grandmother LaVette Anderson was on the news and said “We need to find the guy who murdered my grandson. Turn yourself in”

North Las Vegas PD put out the following useless description of the suspects

• Suspect #1 - wearing all black, with a red backpack and a black ski mask.
• Suspect #2 - wearing a “ghost face” mask (the Scream mask)

Three months later, on January 26th, a 16-year-old juvenile was arrested, but not charged with homicide or assault. He was charged with “shooting a gun into an occupied vehicle” and gun possession-related charges. In a press release, they said “The case continues to be an active ongoing investigation”

[Shaun] 

On the family’s website which is meant to help raise awareness of this horrible tragedy, they say “We will do everything in our power to ensure that Se'Mauri’s legacy is one of hope and progress, not despair and mourning”

His family had a memorial service for him at Desert Pines where over 100 people attended. They counted up to 13, Se'Mauri’s jersey number, and released balloons in the Desert Pines High colors. 

We wanted to read some quotes from some of his friends, family, and classmates

Tico Rodriguez, his coach said “he was a very special kid. He had a beautiful heart and a million-dollar smile”

His mom said “He was an angel on Earth”

His friend Breyonna Jones said “It shouldn’t be scary for you to go out as a kid on Halloween, and then to be murdered. That’s the last thing we were thinking would happen,” 

“He’s one of those kids, you wish you had a hundred of them,” Mikel Gough, coach

“In the three years I have seen him, I have never seen him upset. All of the teammates rallied behind him. He was always the positive guy on the sideline.” - Coach Tico Rodriguez

[John]

We’ve been in touch with Se'Mauri’s mom, who has told us that she feels her rights as a victim are not being respected in the way they should be, and the way that is guaranteed by the Nevade State constitution.

Maureisha has received no updates from the District Attorney’s office regarding the status of Se’Mauri’s case. While a juvenile has been arrested, she has not been informed of the status or disposition of the case. 

According to Mauriesha, the DAs office has told her that “there is no victim on this case” which is confusing and inaccurate. 

Her attempts to get more information about her son’s death have failed. She is even unbelievably still waiting on an autopsy report, and it is unclear if the North Las Vegas police are still looking for the second suspect. 

We’re doing our best to help put her in touch with people within the justice system who can respond to her very reasonable requests for information.

So let's talk about victims’ rights here in Nevada and nationally.

[Shaun]

Nevada does have protections for victims and witnesses, and I agree with what Se’Mauri’s grandfather told us – that their rights as victims are being violated. 

In Nevada, there has been a crime victims bill of rights written into state law since 1983.

The crime victim bill of rights in Nevada includes: 

• The right to know the status of the case in which you are involved.
• The right to know when the defendant is released from custody before or during trial (upon written request).
• The right to know when the offender is released from prison (upon written request).

In 2018, Nevada became one of 18 states that adopted Marsy’s Law, and amended Nevada’s constitution to include additional protections for victims of crime.

[John] 

Marsy’s Law expanded the Crime Victims’ Bill of rights and protects victims and witnesses in very specific ways including giving victims the right to

• reasonable notice of all public proceedings, including delinquency proceedings, upon request, at which the defendant and the prosecutor are entitled to be present and of all parole or other post conviction release proceedings and to be present at all such proceedings.
• To be treated with fairness and respect for his or her privacy and dignity, and to be free from intimidation, harassment, and abuse, throughout the criminal or juvenile justice process.
• To have the safety of the victim and the victim's family considered as a factor in fixing the amount of bail and release conditions for the defendant.

There are around a dozen more provisions, but we’ll leave a link in the show notes so you can take a look at all of them. 

Marsy’s Law is named for Marsalee Ann Nicholas, who went by Marsy. She was stalked and murdered by her ex-boyfriend when she was 21 years old, a senior in college. 

[Shaun]

Marsy was born on March 6, 1962, in Cincinnati, Ohio to parents Henry and Marcella. She was described as being an animal lover & enjoyed competitive horseback riding. She worked with blind children in high school, and she went to UC Santa Barbara intending to become a special education teacher. 

She was known for driving around her neighborhood in her convertible, waving at her neighbors, and according to the LA Times, she had a reputation for being a bit of a daredevil and enjoyed riding dirt bikes.

She had one brother, Henry, (Henry Nicholas III), who was 3 years older than her. 

Marsy dated a man named Kerry Conley throughout her college years who was 9 years older than her. According to one article, they had been dating for about 5 years, which would make Marsy 16 when they started dating, but another article said they started dating when she was 18. 

He worked as a carpenter and lived in a barn that had been converted into a guest house on his parents’ property in Malibu. According to the Los Angeles Times, they were neighbors, and Marsy’s family could see his house from their home. 

Marsy broke up with Conley around Thanksgiving in 1983. Her parents and brother said they didn’t like the relationship. Her parents had hoped that Marsy spending a semester abroad in London would have helped put some distance between them & get him out of her mind. They said they were pleased when the two broke up, and Marsy moved out of Conley’s place. However, he had begun stalking her. 

5 days after they had broken up, on November 30, he got her to come over to his place. It’s said that he was threatening to kill himself. Police said the two of them argued. 

Conley then shot Marsy in the head with a shotgun. 

[John]

According to the police, when they arrived, Conley was holding Marsy, and he was screaming. She was brought to the hospital, but the police detained Conley and wouldn’t let him go with her to the hospital because they wanted to question him. 

He changed his story several times. He told the first officer to arrive that the shotgun had fallen off a bookshelf. He also said they were getting ready for bed, and he grabbed the shotgun and it went off. 

Marsy died a few hours after the shooting. Her brother was able to visit her at the hospital before she died. Later, as an adult, he remarked how traumatic that was, and how he continued to have nightmares about it for years. 

Conley was arrested, and his bail was set at $100,000. 

According to Marsy’s family, they had no idea he had been able to post bail. They didn’t know he was out until Marsy’s mother, Marcella, went to the local grocery store shortly after her death. 

While she was in the check-out line, Marcella saw Conley, which angered and upset her. Marcella said that it had cost more to bury Marsy than it did for him to get out of jail. 

Two long years later, in 1985, Conley was found guilty of second-degree murder, and he was sentenced to life in prison, with the possibility of parole after 17 years. Marsy’s family attended several parole hearings to make sure he did not get out. 

Conley ended up dying in prison in 2007, due to complications from diabetes. 

[Shaun]

The stress & trauma endured by Marsy’s family led to them becoming victim rights advocates and pushing for legislative changes to protect victims. Marcella founded the organization Justice for Homicide Victims together with Ellen Griffin Dunne. 

Ellen Griffin Dunne is the mother of Dominique Dunne. Dominique is likely to be well known by true crime fans and horror movie fans becasuse she played the teen daughter in Poltergeist, Dana, Carol Ann’s older sister. 

Dominque was only 22 years old when she was murdered by her obsessive and abusive ex, John Sweeney. Sweeney was 27, and at the time was a popular Hollywood chef. Dominique’s story really deserves its own episode to go into all the details, but briefly… 

Sweeney showed up at Dominque’s home on October 30, 1982. She was rehearsing with actor David Packer for their new show, V. Dominique went out on the porch to talk to him, and the two began fighting. 

[John]

Sweeney strangled Dominique. She lost consciousness and never woke up. After 5 days in the hospital, her family removed her from life support in order to donate her organs. Needless to say, this murder was shocking and scandalizing in Hollywood. 

Even worse, Sweeney was only ever convicted of voluntary manslaughter. He was sentenced to 6 and a half years, but only served 3 years, 7 months, and 27 days. 

This is Yet another example of gross injustice. These two tragedies connected Marsy and Dominique’s families and together, they formed Justice for Homicide Victims to support families and advocate for victims’ rights. 

Marcella told the LA Times in 2008 that after Marsy’s murder, Ellen contacted her  “She comforted us, then told us how her daughter was strangled by an ex-boyfriend, and he only got manslaughter,” “She said, ‘Let’s get something going where we can fight and change things.’ And that’s what we did.”

[Shaun]

Together with her son Henry, Marcella became the driving force behind Marsy’s Law, the Victims’ Bill of Rights proposition which passed in California in 2008. 

As we stated before, Marsy’s law includes the provision that the safety of the victim and the victim’s family must be taken into account when bail is set for an offender, which was of course a key element that was personal to their family’s experience. 

After the law passed in California, the family began campaigning to have the same protections added in other states. Marcella passed away in 2015, but her son continues to advocate for more states to adopt the protections of Marsy’s law. 

“If any good can come of something this horrible – the loss of my sister and the losses of other families of crime victims – it is that these violent acts served as a catalyst for change,” her brother, Henry Nicholas said. 

“Marsy’s Law will provide for a more compassionate justice system for crime victims in California and make that a constitutional guarantee. Now the momentum can be put behind a U.S. Constitutional Amendment so that the rights of all crime victims, anywhere in America, can be protected.”

[John]

That is the goal and the purpose of Marsy’s law and other victim protections. But for Se’Mauri’s family, they aren’t being given the updates and information they deserve. Not only do they deserve updates, but they are legally guaranteed them.

Se’Mauri’s family asks that we do not forget him. His life absolutely mattered and his loss is a loss to our entire community. He deserves justice and his family deserves answers. If anyone out there is an attorney who would be willing to reach out to Maureisha and represent her in getting the updates she deserves, please email me at john@sinsandsurvivors.com 

WE’re going to keep the conversation going in our swing shift bonus episode now, so to listen visit sinspod.co/subscribe to hear those bonus episodes AND get ad free episodes.

[Shaun]

Se’Mauri’s mom sent us a text about him, and we’d like to read that so you can hear her words directly.

Se'Mauri was an amazing young man. It's true, he was an angel on earth. He never got into trouble, he didn't talk back, he helped wherever needed, he would do anything I asked of him. His heart was truly pure, he was respectful, thoughtful, protective over his mama. 

I'm so broken hearted!! I have experienced a mother's worse nightmare. Se'Mauri was going to be the first in my family to go to a university. He worked so hard to become everything he was. I was robbed!! My everything, my life, my first purpose, my baby. 

Se'Mauri deserves justice, this person who was out on Halloween with a gun needs to be caught and held accountable! My life will never be the same, never. I am so hurt, my son did not deserve this. I love you forever Se'Mauri ReMar forever and always. You will have justice baby, thank you for your unconditional love. For 17 years of beautiful memories, I will forever cherish. You are everything, and everything is you. 

A parent should be able to cross the yellow tape and be there with their child in their last moments. I need help with changing the mandate for parents in the future.I didn't get to see my son until 3days after his death and that was just a photo  it's been 5 months I'm still waiting on an autopsy report and police report. The suspects identity and case are being withheld as confidential. This suspect knows exactly who me and my family are. I want justice for my son. The authorities make it seem as if he deserved this.

We will continue to do what we can to support Se’Mauri’s family and will dedicate this week to him on our social media so please be sure you are following us on Instagram or Facebook so you don’t miss any photos of this incredible kid, who is so loved and so missed. 

Thanks again for listening and remember what happens here, happens everywhere.