Missing Portage couple 'feared for their safety' around estranged son
PORTAGE, Mich. — Gary and Laura Johnson reached their breaking point with their son Nicholas Johnson in early 2018.
"Gary and I are concerned for our safety and others safety. I need him to stay away from us for awhile and he needs to seek mental health help," Laura Johnson wrote in an application for a personal protection order granted against her then 24-year-old son Nicholas Johnson in March 2018.
- The investigation: Police say there was evidence of violence in missing Portage couple's home
The protective order stemmed from two occasions in February 2018 when Laura Johnson's claimed their son assaulted them, damaged property and refused to leave their Romence Road home.
Nicholas Johnson was charged with domestic violence and malicious destruction of property for the February 2018 incident, according to court records.
Nearly three years later, Portage police named 27-year-old Nicholas Johnson as the person of interest in the suspected homicide of his parents, Gary Johnson, 64 and Laura Johnson, 65.
According to court documents, a judge ordered Nicholas Johnson to have no contact with his parents following a September 2019 third-degree home invasion charge.
Nicholas Johnson was arrested Feb. 10, 2021, on an outstanding warrant for the September 2019 charge, the day after Portage Public Safety launched a search to find his parents.
According to the 2018 protective order taken out against their son, Gary and Laura Johnson feared for their safety around their son and claimed he assaulted them on multiple occasions. Gary Johnson's order expired Sept. 5, 2018 while Laura's expired March 1, 2019.
According to her account of the incident in court records, on Feb. 21, 2018, Nicholas Johnson was upset and agitated after his girlfriend broke up him. Later that day, Laura Johnson said her son pushed her backwards injuring her head, and causing bruising, she said.
"I had a headache and still had bruising on my arms," Laura Johnson wrote on March 1, 2018, eight days after the incident.
"He was told not to come back to our house at that point. He has previously pushed my husband, threatened us," Laura Johnson wrote.
A week later, the couple told police Nicholas Johnson crawled into a basement window and entered their home. The couple said their son refused to leave and broke out three windows with his fist before he left the home.
Laura Johnson wrote in the March 2018 protective order that Nick refused to seek mental health help and refused backup plans for housing.
"He is now homeless," Johnson wrote. "At this point, Gary and I are concerned for our safety and others safety. We are done with allowing him to keep destroying our house and property."
According to prosecutors, police found Nicholas Johnson in a storage unit with his missing mother's car.
Investigators continued to search for the whereabouts of the missing couple. The search began after Gary Johnson missed a few days of work and his employer called police.
Anyone with information related to the investigation was asked to contact the Portage Department of Public Safety at 269-329-4567 or Silent Observer online or at 269-343-2100.
