CHESAPEAKE, Va. — A Chesapeake woman will get a new trial after a News 3 investigation exposed how important evidence wasn’t shown to the jury during her murder trial.
Tia Johnson shot and killed her boyfriend Martario Gee back in February 2024 as he was walking away from her house.
Previous coverage: Lawyer for convicted murderer says prosecutors withheld vital evidence found by WTKR
The WTKR News 3 Investigative Team started looking into this case after she was convicted. We uncovered that both Gee and Johnson called 911 on each other on January 3—about six weeks before she shot and killed him.
She was convicted of first-degree murder in January but during her trial, police and prosecutors testified that there was no record of any previous 911 calls made.
However, that wasn’t true. It came to light when investigative reporter Margaret Kavanagh filed a Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA) request for all 911 calls to Johnson’s house in 2023 and 2024.
Watch: Body cam video shows police responding to 911 calls made from Tia Johnson’s home
The record showed that on January 3, police went to the house for a domestic incident and citizen assist call. Body camera footage showed that they actually responded to the home three times that night while the two were arguing.
Johnson’s defense attorney Eric Korslund argued misconduct by prosecutors for not turning the 911 evidence over, saying Johnson was made to look like a liar to the jury because they said there was no record of any prior 911 calls. Emails presented in court show that Korslund repeatedly requested the 911 records from prosecutors, even asking that they search by address.
The lead detective on the case testified that he only searched Johnson and Gee’s last names, not the actual address, which is why they say they originally said there was no record of the calls in the system. Prosecutors argue that Johnson didn’t report any abuse to officers when they arrived at the home and wouldn’t give her name, which is why it wasn’t in the system.
Previous coverage: Lawyer seeks to overturn client's murder conviction, citing prosecutorial misconduct
On Friday, the judge heard the 911 calls and watched video from body cameras worn by officers who responded to the calls. In the end, the judge ruled there was no misconduct by prosecutors. However, the judge said evidence of the prior calls could’ve changed the outcome of Johnson's trial—which is why she's now being granted a new one.
Korslund said he was very hopeful the charge would be dismissed with prejudice and that his client would get to go home. He said while it's disappointing the court didn’t see it that way, he's very happy Johnson's allowed to get a new trial and that her murder conviction was vacated.
“Because of your investigative journalism, she’s allowed to get a new trial and I can’t thank you enough,” said Korslund. “I would not be here. She would be sentenced for first-degree murder if it wasn’t for you and Channel 3 doing extremely impressive investigative journalism. I think this case is what journalism should be about: accessing information that is truthful and bringing it to the public. I can’t thank you enough.”
Prosecutor say they're confident and look forward to trying the case again.
“The main thing I’m happy about is that the judge saw through the ridiculous claims that there was any prosecutorial misconduct," said Assistant Chesapeake Commonwealth’s Attorneys Mark McKinney.
McKinney also commented on the evidence, saying, “As far as the evidence that was uncovered afterwards through your work, which was diligent, obviously things came to light that there had been prior calls to the police between these two individuals and I look very, very forward to a jury hearing with that evidence because I think it strengthens the Commonwealth’s case. It does nothing to exonerate her."
Crystal Askew, Tia Johnson’s mother, tells Kavanagh she was hoping her daughter would be set free today. While she's a little disappointed the case wasn’t dismissed, she says she still has faith.
Gee’s family members were in court, and one said "no comment" as they left.
Johnson will now have a bond hearing on June 13 as both sides get ready for a new trial.
