Lisa Marie Johnson, nicknamed Miss Nobody before her identification, was a young woman who died from a drug overdose in a Miami, Florida, motel in 1971. She was identified five months later.
Case[]
On February 15, 1971, a woman checked into the Sandman Motel in Miami, Florida, with a man wanted on burglary charges. They claimed they were from Brooklyn, New York. The staff didn't pay much mind to them. The next day, a maid discovered the woman's body on the bed. She died from an accidental drug overdose, but the man she checked in with had disappeared.
They determined her name may have been "Lisa" due to an inexpensive paper valentine addressed to her. The case received nationwide coverage, but the victim remained unidentified. She was nicknamed "Miss Nobody" by investigators.
A short while later, police arrested the man "Miss Nobody" and checked in on burglary and drug charges. He couldn't be questioned about her, as he escaped when police took him on-site during a burglary case. He would be involved in a police chase and shootout but ultimately evaded capture.
Investigators aggressively pursued leads to the victim's identity, including contacting the families of numerous missing girls and women across the country and trying to connect a girl's ID and wallet to the victim. However, those items turned out to belong to one of the man's burglary victims.
Identification[]
In attempts to identify the woman, police circulated the story again in The Miami Herald, and a woman soon contacted investigators, believing the victim was her daughter, who had disappeared from Miami Springs in the month of the victim's death.
After investigating the lead, police identified the body as belonging to Lisa Johnson, who was 18 at the time of her death. She had been reported missing by her mother and stepfather on February 16, 1971, the same day she died. They didn't recognize the man Lisa checked into the motel with. They never suspected Lisa became involved in drugs.
Sources[]
- The Miami Herald
- Article #1 POSTMORTEM WARNING
- Article #2
- Lisa Johnson at Find a Grave