Defendant says sister’s husband molested, bullied him
By Heather Ruenz and Vicky Wedig
SLN staff
After deliberating for 10 hours over two days, a jury Tuesday found a Lima Center man guilty of first-degree reckless homicide in the shooting death of his brother-in-law in Whitewater last year.
Alan Johnson, 32, was tried on charges of first-degree intentional homicide and burglary. The jury instead found him guilty of the lesser charge of reckless homicide, meaning jurors did not believe Johnson intended to kill his brother-in-law Ken Myszkewicz, 43, of Whitewater. The juror found Johnson not guilty of burglary.
First-degree intentional homicide carries a penalty of life in prison. The reckless homicide conviction carries a maximum sentence of 60 years in prison. A presentencing hearing is scheduled for Jan. 12 in Johnson’s case.
Testimony at the trial indicated Johnson went to the home of his sister Kim Myszkewicz and Ken Myszkewicz in the middle of the night Oct. 25, 2016, to find evidence of child pornography on Myszkewicz’s computer. Johnson, the son of former Racine County Sheriff Eric Johnson took his dad’s 40-caliber service weapon with him for protection against Myszkewicz, whom Johnson said was abusive.
When Myszkewicz walked into the den where Johnson had been perusing files on Myszkewicz’s computer for two hours, Johnson shot Myszkewicz five times, killing him, according to testimony.
Defendant testifies
Johnson took the stand in his own defense for nearly five hours Thursday afternoon. Johnson didn’t deny killing Myszkewicz but said he doesn’t recall shooting the gun or hearing gunshots.
Johnson cried to the point of sobbing while sharing details of Myszkewicz physically abusing him for years including one incident of sexual assault when Johnson was about 10 years old.
“Growing up, he was a bully to me, to my family,” Johnson said when his attorney Stephen Hurley asked him if he feared Myszkewicz.
Johnson said he endured numerous instances of physical abuse by Myszkewicz including one in which his brother-in-law choked him.
“He came up behind me and put his arm around my throat, pushing on my windpipe. He turned me around and showed me to Kimberly She just looked with wide eyes,” Johnson said.
One of the most recent incidents, Johnson said, happened when he was in the back seat of a car and Myszkewicz was in the front passenger seat.
“He turned around and punched me in the chest,” he said.
For more on the trial, including in depth coverage of Johnson’s testimony, see this week’s edition of local Southern Lakes Newspapers’ publications including: Whitewater Register, Delavan Enterprise, Elkhorn Independent, East Troy Times, Lake Geneva Times, Genoa City Report, Walworth/Fontana/Williams Bay Times, Sharon Reporter and East Troy News.
