NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — A witness testified Monday that he drove Carlos Johnson Jr. across the James River Bridge on the same day a mother and her baby disappeared.
The witness, who said he was the son of another one of Johnson's exes, told the court that on April 30, 2017, he drove while Johnson sat in the passenger seat at night. He said Johnson told him to turn off his phone.
The witness said when they reached the other side of the bridge, Johnson directed him to pull off near a gas station. Johnson then removed something from the trunk and walked toward the woods, the witness said.
The witness said he did not ask Johnson what it was because he was scared of him.
He said they then drove to Arch Street in Newport News, where they wiped the car clean and left it. The witness said he later discovered it was Keir Johnson's car.
The bodies of Keir and her daughter Chloe have never been recovered.
Carlos Johnson Jr., who is Chloe's father, is charged with two counts of first-degree murder.
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Defense attorneys appeared to challenge the witness's credibility in cross-examination, questioning whether statements he made at previous court hearings matched the testimony he provided Monday.
A former Hampton police detective also testified about phone calls she made to Johnson shortly after the initial missing persons investigation began. Some of the calls were played in court. In them, Johnson said he had not seen Keir or Chloe on April 30, 2017 — the day they disappeared.
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The trial is expected to last several weeks, with prosecutors calling dozens of witnesses.
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