SALT LAKE CITY — Sunday marked 51 years since 17-year-old Johanna Leatherbury was brutally murdered in Salt Lake County, and her family is still desperate to know what happened.
They told FOX 13 News that Johanna didn’t get the investigation she deserved.
“Good Lord, I could tell you where we were about every hour from the day to the time they discovered her,” said her older brother, Jack S. Leatherbury.
Jack said his sister was murdered during a time in the 70s when multiple young women across Utah were killed. He watched as the gruesome details and gnawing unknown tore his parents apart.
“They went to their grave totally changed, changed people,” he said.
On the night of Aug. 20, 1971, Johanna was at a popular high school hangout called "the Complex" near 2100 South and State Street. The property is now occupied by the Salt Lake County Clerk's Office and an assisted living development.
Witnesses saw Johanna in a car with two men and other people. She disappeared that night and her car was found still parked nearby on Westminster Avenue. Her purse was thrown onto the roof of a nearby home.
Her body was found the next afternoon near Goggin’s Drain near The Great Saltair. Investigators believe she was assaulted, stabbed, and shot to death.
Her nieces, Sandy Leatherbury and Cindy Leatherbury-Grange, have spent the majority of their lives seeking justice for their aunt. Sandy has spent 30 years searching for clues and witnesses.
“We really have felt the case was solvable, but now it's so many years past, we’re wondering if these people are dead, what has happened,” said Cindy. “Thirty years ago we might have had a better chance.”
In 2017, Johanna’s body was exhumed, but her family said the Unified Police Department have yet to tell them what they found. Evidence in her case was also damaged in flooding decades ago.
“We weren’t privy to hardly anything,” said Sandy. “We appealed for the file and we were denied.”
The sisters said they were told information could not be shared because it is an open, active investigation. FOX 13 News reached out to the Unified Police Department but has yet to hear back.
The Leatherburys have been working with the Cold Case Coalition, an organization founded in Utah to help bridge the gap between law enforcement and the families of cold case murder victims. Co-founder and private investigator Jason Jensen is certain Johanna’s killer is local to Salt Lake City.
“Where the case may sit on a shelf for years for the police department, the family never stops searching,” said Jensen. “They’re always looking for answers.”
The family spent the anniversary of her death sharing memories with one another.
Her nieces said Johanna would treat them like adults and invite them to coffee with her friends. Her brother described her as “thoughtful” and “kind.” She’d make time to visit their grandfather, an injured World War veteran, at the VA.
If you know anything about her case, contact the Unified Police Department or the Cold Case Coalition.
“She deserved more. She deserved to have whoever did this to her caught,” said Sandy.
