Suspect From Missouri ‘Just Passing Through’ Illinois Town Accused Of Murdering Travel Companion: Police

A suspect from Missouri is accused of killing a man he was traveling with through Illinois last month, authorities said.

“This particular situation had not much to do with Maryville,” noted the city’s police chief, Rob Carpenter. “Both the victim and the suspect were just passing through and just happened to pull over in our city limits.”

According to investigators, just after 4 p.m. on March 17, police responding to a report of a dead person found the body of Ronald L. Holland, 40, lying face down in blood, The Telegraph reported.

Police said Holland of Jennings, Missouri, was shot multiple times.

Four days after the murder, officers arrested Danyiel M. Johnson, 40, of St. Louis, and he was indicted on April 7 on two counts of first-degree murder, use of a stolen firearm in the commission of an offense, and unlawful possession of weapons by a felon, according to The Telegraph.

“Johnson and Holland knew each other very well, but there is no criminal history that shows between the two,” Lt. Bryan Bauer of the Madison County Sheriff’s Department said.

If found guilty of all the charges against him, Johnson faces 45 years to life behind bars, police said.