Trailer: ‘Beyond All Repair,’ a new podcast about an unsolved murder and a woman who wasn’t believed

Imagine if, one day, you are accused of something. Something horrible, violent, heinous. Something you swear you did not do, and nothing you say can convince anyone otherwise — even the people closest to you.

That’s Sophia Johnson’s story.

Sophia was starting fresh: A new life, a new husband, a baby on the way. But it all unraveled on January 10, 2002, when her mother-in-law Marlyne Johnson was found bludgeoned to death in her home. Days later, Sophia was charged with the murder.

To this day, Sophia swears she didn’t kill her mother-in-law. But someone says they witnessed it — her own brother.

When family betrays family, who do you believe? In this story of a sibling rivalry beyond compare, WBUR’s Amory Sivertson turns the clock back. She reexamines an unsolved case, a family torn apart, and a woman who wasn’t believed.

From WBUR and ZSP Media, Beyond All Repair is a 10-part true crime investigation into a cold case. The series ends with an answer.

The first two episodes of Beyond All Repair debut on March 7, 2024. Listen and follow Beyond All Repair on Apple, Spotify, Amazon Music or wherever you get your podcasts.

Amory Sivertson:  Did you kill Marlene Johnson?                                                          

Sophia Johnson: I think you're one of the first people to have actually asked. 

Amory Sivertson: How could that be when you were put on trial for murder?         

Sophia Johnson: Because I wasn't asked, I was told.                                             

Detective Rick Buckner: You know, I know this happened.                                                 

Sophia Johnson: “We know you killed Marlene.”                                                           

Detective Rick Buckner: Just tell me what happened.

Sophia Johnson: “Tell us how.”

Dispatcher: 9-1-1, how  can I help  you? 

Sophia Johnson: Hi, I have an emergency. 

Sophia Johnson was 23 years old and newly married when she was accused of brutally murdering her mother-in-law.

Detective Rick Buckner: Her head was beaten in with fireplace tongs. 

Sophia Johnson: It was shock, shock, and I'm going to sleep in jail tonight. 

Sophia swears she didn't do it. But someone says they witnessed it...

Sean Correia: The person took, it was like a stocking, off their face. It turned out to be my sister. 

Two siblings at odds, at the center of a murder.

Sophia Johnson: My brother did this to me. Just the blatant lies.

 Amory Sivertson: This just feels like such a he-said-she-said.   

Detective Rick Buckner: And that's all we have.   

For the past 3 years, Sophia has been telling me her side of the story — about her trial, about going into hiding, and about the son she was pregnant with when the murder happened and hasn’t seen since he was born.

Sophia Johnson: The only thing he will ever know is that I was accused, his grandmother is dead. This is my legacy. This is forever my legacy.  ​

Sophia's legacy and life just seem so FUBAR, someone told me. F***** up beyond all repair.  Now, more than 20 years after her mother-in-law's murder, Sophia’s hoping she still has time to change that legacy.  The question is… is she telling the truth?

Shane Correia: Uh, I don’t know.

Richard Johnson: There is nothing that comes out of the mouth of Sophia that you can believe. 

Linda Dillard: She played the whole damn family.

Morgen: What the hell? I feel like I got punched in the face.

I'm Amory Sivertson, and this is Beyond All Repair. A  new series from WBUR and ZSP Media about a case unsolved and unsettled.

Roylene Hamilton: Somebody should be in jail for murdering my sister. That's all there is to it. 

A woman who’s never been believed.

Sophia Johnson: As long as they think I have done this, then they're not looking for who actually did this.

Lyn Page: And that's what makes it a cold case. 

Richard Johnson: No, it's a botched case. 

And a search for the truth, once and for all.

Amory Sivertson: All I've wanted is to know what happened.  And this makes me feel like I know what happened.

 Sean Correia: Wow… it just gets more interesting. 

Beyond All Repair. Coming March 7th.

Linda Dillard: Be careful. You're digging in a place that's been very peaceful for a while.                                                                           

Lyn Page:  Do it anyway. Dig.