Willie Johnson, 86, was found dead in his Pickrum Street home in Allendale, South Carolina, on June 19, 2014, after friends and relatives had been unable to reach him for several days in June. A respected elder in his church and a retired merchant marine, Johnson’s hands were tied behind his back and a black trash bag was secured over his head. The house had been ransacked; several hundred dollars and an air rifle were reported stolen.

The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division assisted the investigation, which quickly focused on a group of local teenagers. Three youths — two 16 and one 15 at the time — were taken into custody within weeks, and a fourth 15-year-old was arrested the following April. One of the teens confessed and implicated the others; authorities say the group broke into Johnson’s home, beat him and suffocated him.

One defendant, Robert Lee Miller III, who was 15 at the time of the killing, was convicted of murder in July 2016 after a four-day trial and later sentenced. Another, Gabriel Joyner, was convicted of first-degree burglary and awaiting sentencing; a third, Kashawn Bynum, was scheduled to stand trial. Does anyone have information about Willie Johnson’s life in Allendale or about the days before June 19, 2014?