Inset: Johnny Morris (El Paso County Sheriff’s Office). Background: A residence in El Paso County, Colo., where Johnny Morris resided with one of his victims prior to allegedly murdering him (KKTV).
Alarming details have emerged regarding a man who vanished from a Colorado residence last year. Authorities discovered significant amounts of blood throughout the home, initiating a search for him and another occupant. The man who went missing was later identified by police as one of two murder victims.
Johnny Rankin Morris, aged 46, faces charges for allegedly murdering 37-year-old Stephen Walker in El Paso County and 65-year-old Timmy Huston in Park County in December 2024, according to local law enforcement. Morris was apprehended by police in Pearl River County, Mississippi, on Dec. 30 on an unrelated charge and extradited to Colorado on allegations of first-degree murder, tampering with a deceased human body, and tampering with physical evidence after Walker’s remains were found in a culvert. An alleged associate, Hailey Cole, 43, was also detained and charged. She reportedly informed investigators that Morris had threatened her life too.
Arrest documents filed by the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office (EPSO) and acquired by the local station KKTV describe how deputies responded to a sober living home where Morris and Walker lived after another resident reported discovering blood in the garage and noted their absence. Another housemate who returned that day mentioned a strong bleach odor in the garage and additional blood traces. Walker’s car was reportedly missing, as per the arrest documents.
During a search of the residence the next day, law enforcement discovered a 10-pound dumbbell stained with blood in the garage and a blood-soaked hammer nestled beneath a couch cushion inside the home. Attempts to reach Morris and Walker’s mobile phones were unsuccessful as both were turned off. A note, allegedly found in Morris’ bedroom, suggested his intentions to return to Mississippi, where he originally hailed from.
Footage acquired by investigators allegedly captured Walker’s car departing the residence around 7 a.m. on December 19, 2024, per the arrest records. The car appeared in different security camera footage at a convenience store, where Cole was reportedly observed entering the driver’s seat — with Morris moving to the passenger side, according to police.
Cops found the car, unoccupied, on Christmas Eve in Park County near Campfire Road and Ranch Road in Hartsel, according to the arrest papers. Blood was found on both rear doors, leading authorities to check out a house in the area, which turned out to be a home where Morris and Cole had previously lived. Huston was allegedly found dead inside.
According to arrest papers, Cole had called Huston — a friend of hers — a week before his body was discovered and asked to use his car to visit family in Mississippi. Cole has said in police interviews that Huston agreed but told her he needed the vehicle back before the new year, according to KKTV. Morris allegedly told Cole that they needed to go ahead and steal someone’s car and that he would handle it.
Phone records obtained by investigators show Morris texting Cole after allegedly killing Walker and swiping his car, asking to meet up at the convenience store, according to police. Cole told cops she asked Morris how he got Walker to let him take his car. He allegedly admitted that Walker didn’t “let” him take it, but refused to give any further details about what happened, according to Cole.
“As they were driving up the pass on Highway 24 toward Hartsel, Hailey asked again where Stephen was,” the arrest papers allege. “Morris responded, ‘Behind you.’ Hailey then realized Stephen was wrapped up in the blankets that were in the back seat. She began to freak out and he told her to keep driving or he was going to bash her brains in.”
Cole told police that Morris allegedly admitted to killing Walker, attacking him in the garage and hitting him “several times” with a hammer, the arrest papers say. He also allegedly confessed to using the dumbbell to finish Walker off before wrapping him up in blankets.
According to Cole, she and Morris dumped Walker’s body in a culvert in Chaffee County. They allegedly “pushed Walker, the blankets and his cell phone into the water” before driving off, the arrest papers say. The couple then went to Huston’s home and waited for him to arrive in his truck, which they wanted to use to drive to Mississippi, police allege.
Morris allegedly retrieved a hammer from Huston’s basement and beat him with it as soon as he entered his residence, according to the arrest papers. During the attack, Morris allegedly asked for Huston’s phone and money before shooting him in the kneecap. He then used the claw of the hammer to kill Huston, police say.
Morris and Cole allegedly fled across multiple states in Huston’s truck before being caught in Mississippi by authorities. Morris allegedly tried breaking into another vehicle and residence while in the Magnolia State, but was unsuccessful. He and Cole hunkered down in a shed before being caught by law enforcement officers.
Morris is scheduled to go on trial later this year, as is Cole, who has a preliminary hearing in September.
