70 years for 'murderess' in life insurance scheme

A San Antonio woman convicted of soliciting the kidnapping and slaying of her ex-boyfriend two years ago in a failed scheme to collect a hefty life insurance payout was ordered Monday to serve 70 years in prison.

Vanessa Cameron, 31, was found guilty by a jury of murder in March for orchestrating the shooting death of VIA employee Samuel Allen Johnson Jr., 26, the father of her son.

A co-defendant testified for prosecutors during the trial that Johnson was driven to Seguin in the trunk of his own car, beaten with a 2-by-4 and shot multiple times before his body was dumped at an East San Antonio cemetery in January 2010.

The following week, after Cameron's mother — a sergeant with the San Antonio Police Department — drove her to the station to talk with a homicide detective, Cameron admitted on tape she knew the slaying was going to happen before it occurred.

Cameron was trying to collect on a $750,000 life insurance policy, prosecutors Jan Ischy and Dan Rodriguez alleged during her trial. They described her to jurors as a “cold-blooded murderess” who was also jealous that Johnson had moved on to — and impregnated — a new woman.

“This defendant is smart — she's the scariest kind of smart,” Ischy said Monday as she asked state District Judge Ron Rangel to assess a life sentence. “It's not like she got mad at Sam and did her own dirty work. This was planned. This was thought out. She has been manipulating the system since Day 1.”

Rangel appeared to agree, stating before the sentence was announced that “the calculated nature that was exhibited by Ms. Cameron was extreme.”

Defense attorney Joseph Esparza asked for a sentence of less than 20 years, pointing out that his client had never been arrested before. In addition, he said, Cameron had less of a role in the murder than co-defendant LaKisha Brown, who entered a plea agreement in exchange for her testimony in which prosecutors will seek no more than 25 years. A third defendant, Bernard "B.J." Brown, is still awaiting trial.

Murder convict Vanessa Cameron, 31, consults with attorney Joseph Esparza Monday, April 23, 2012, prior to a sentencing hearing in which state District Judge Ron Rangel sentenced her to 70 years in prison. Murder convict Vanessa Cameron, 31, consults with attorney Joseph Esparza Monday, April 23, 2012, prior to a sentencing hearing in which state District Judge Ron Rangel sentenced her to 70 years in prison. Photo: Craig Kapitan, San Antonio Express-News Photo: Craig Kapitan, San Antonio Express-News Image 1 of / 8 Caption Close 70 years for 'murderess' in life insurance scheme 1 / 8 Back to Gallery

“She's not a hateful person,” added Sgt. Sylvia Cameron, the defendant's mother. “She's kind, she's caring ... The (Johnson) family is grieving ... and I understand that, but she's not the monster they're making her out to be.”

In an emotional victim impact statement that followed the sentencing, Johnson's mother vowed to live long enough to attend Cameron's parole hearings and fight her release when she becomes eligible in 30 years.

“You are not God,” Stephanie Johnson yelled, her voice booming through the courtroom as the defendant stared back without emotion. “He didn't deserve this. What did he do? He didn't do a damn thing.”

Johnson's parents described him as a proud father and committed son who dreamed of someday going to law school.

“He was the beacon of my life,” said Samuel Johnson Sr., adding that despite his son's issues with his ex he always talked of her in a positive light. “Just for me to get up in the morning and know I have a child that has preceded me in death — it's unfathomable.”

ckapitan@express-news.net