She Reported To Co-Worker For Harassment And Ended Up Murdered By Him - Riley Whitelaw Based On A True Story

Riley Whitelaw was born on January 20, 2005 in Colorado Springs. Courtney Whitelaw’s only daughter lived with her mother and Chris Johnson, her stepfather.

Everyone says that she has always been very mature for her age, so much so that as a child she could spend time talking to the adults around her.

Her empathy, patience and compassion for those around her stand out. Her passions were music and painting, in fact he was so good that she won several school and local awards.

But that wasn’t all, she also volunteered for an organization that focuses on animal welfare. Her love for animals was evident since she had a dog named Judy whom she loved.

In 2022, Riley was 17 years old and had just finished her studies at Air Academy High School where, by the way, she got very good grades.

In addition, for a long time he combined his studies with a part-time job at Walgreens, which for those who do not know it is the second most important chain of pharmacies in the United States.

At first glance, everything seemed to be going well in Riley’s life until suddenly the tragedy happened.

The facts:

On June 11, 2022, at about 7 p.m., Justin Zunino, one of the managers of the Walgreens store in Colorado Springs made an emergency call. Apparently when he entered the rest room of the store he saw a creepy scene: everything was full of blood and the body of a young lifeless woman lay on the floor. It was Ryley Withlaw.

When the agents arrived at the scene, they noticed that the girl had injuries to her head and neck. Obviously someone had taken her life, but who?

It seems that before the discovery of the body, strange things began to happen in the store.

To begin with, Justin Zunino didn’t work that day. It was another manager who warned him on his day off because she was worried. It was 5.30 and Riley had not returned from her break, which was not normal for her because she was a very responsible girl. Zunino went to the store to see what was happening and when he looked at the security cameras he saw something that took him to the rest room and that I will tell later.

In addition, a client told the agents that at 5:44 she heard a woman scream and slam several doors. At that moment she thought it was nothing so he paid for her items and left, but when she passed by the store again and saw the patrol cars she decided to talk to the police to tell what had heard inside.

The manager who worked in the store that day also told something more. According to the police, she believed that she had seen the killer while he was cleaning himself next to the garbage containers located behind the store. To this she added that there was a very strong smell of leand and that when she tried to open the door heard a man scream that he was changing.

When he came back later, the man was no longer there.

The agents immediately found a suspect, it was Joshua Johnson, 28 years old and Riley’s co-worker.

Joshua was arrested on June 12, that is, a day later. The young man was found walking on Interstate 25 on the outskirts of Trinidad, Colorado and 160km from the store.

As you can see in the images, his face and hands were covered with scratches. After the arrest, he was interrogated about the clues that related him to Riley’s murder.

The clues:

The clues that led to Joshua were several, but the first came from Justin Zunino, the manager who found the body.

As I told at the beginning, this man was on his day off and showed up at the store after the call of the other manager. Zunino knew that something strange was happening, when checking the surveillance cameras he saw Joshua leaving the break room and stacking containers to cover the lens.

During the interrogation the agents asked him about this and Joshua said something that he had neither feet nor head.

To begin with, he said that he had been inside the room but that he was only there after the girl’s death and that in fact he fell into a pool of blood. Then he went to his house to change his clothes because they were stained.

The suspect denied having moved the containers in front of the surveillance camera, even continued to deny it after being confronted with the images.

Another of the important clues that linked Joshua to him with the crime came from a long time ago.

The agents discovered that a year before the events Riley complained to her superiors because Joshua did not stop doing him Inappropriate “insinuations” while they worked. Unfortunately, they didn’t even listen to her.

This is powerfully striking because Riley at that time was 16 years old, that is, she was younger, and they didn’t do anything. She was the one who had to find her life so as not to have problems with him.

The young woman requested a different work schedule to avoid the presence of the boy who made her feel so uncomfortable. This was something that was granted to her, however, a few weeks before the events she asked to work more hours, her superiors told her that yes, but that she would have to work with the person she had complained about months before.

Joshua admitted to the police that during that time he was in love with Riley but that those feelings had already disappeared. Even so, the agents were convinced that this was not true, especially with what they discovered next.

Three months before Riley’s death, her boyfriend started working at the same Walgreens store. From here and according to the rest of the colleagues, the jealousy and obsession that Josua had with the girl increased.

Finally, Joshua Johnson was accused of first-degree murder.

Riley’s murder has provoked a great reaction against Walgreens, not only because of how tragic everything was, but because they could have been avoided.

If the management of the store had taken action and given Riley the support he did not have for Joshua’s harassment, many believe that he would still be alive today.

The fact that a minor did not receive the protection she deserved has unleashed a great wave of controversy towards Walgreens that has led to the creation of the hashtag ‘#JusticeForRileyWhitelaw’, which is now widespread on social networks.

For its part, the company issued a statement through different media:

“We are very saddened by this tragic incident, and we extend our deepest condolences, thoughts and prayers to the family and loved ones of our team member.

The safety of our customers and team members is the top priority, and we are working with local authorities in their investigation. We are making advice and other resources available to the members of our store team in this place.”

The young family wants to keep Riley’s legacy alive so for this they are raising money that will go to a genetic research scholarship fund named after Riley.

After what happened and to honor the memory of the teenager, several people improvised an altar at the door of the Walgreens store that, by the way, was temporarily closed.

In October 2023, the trial against Joshua was held and there he was found guilty and sentenced to life imprisonment without parole.

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