A Louisiana man, aged 70, faces charges in a “murder for hire” scheme where he allegedly hired someone to kill his wife during their divorce to avoid splitting “community property,” according to officials.

Charles Johnson, from Houma, and his accused hit man, 43-year-old Shannon Robinson, were arrested recently for the murder of Pamela Johnson back in 2015. The Terrebonne Parish Sheriff’s Office and District Attorney Joseph Waitz Jr. announced the arrests at a press conference aired by NBC affiliate WDSU.

“It was a divorce going bad, and he felt like he had to do away with her to protect his property,” Waitz told reporters. “That’s what we suspect.”

The murder came to light on a Tuesday morning when officers learned of Pamela Johnson’s death from two of her grandchildren, found near her abandoned car, according to Waitz and Sheriff Tim Soignet. The children approached a woman on Wade Street in Houma around 8:30 a.m., reporting that Pamela had been shot.

The couple resided in Bourg at the time, and the children informed that Pamela was shot at that location. Officials discovered her body with a gunshot wound to the head. In 2022, authorities arrested Robinson and another man, George Earl Robinson Jr., aged 33, on charges of first-degree murder and kidnapping the grandchildren, but a grand jury did not pursue these charges.

“New evidence surfaced, leading us here today,” Soignet remarked on Wednesday. “Suspicions were there, but proving it took time. We have now reached the point where we can confidently say the family will receive the justice they deserve.”

Waitz declined to share specific details about what brought the focus back to Robinson and Charles Johnson to avoid hindering the case, but he did say the motive was clear.

“This is a very terrible case…that involved a domestic situation over community property,” Waitz told reporters. “And to kill someone over this is very sad, very tragic.”

According to Soignet, it was likely fear of losing “homes” and “maybe retirement” that allegedly spurred Charles Johnson to hire Robinson. George Robinson Jr. has not been charged again, but police and prosecutors aren’t ruling anything out.

“We’re still investigating,” Soignet said, after being asked about Robinson Jr. “We’re going to look at everything.”

The post ‘Had to do away with her’: Husband hires hitman to kill wife during a ‘divorce going bad’ so he could ‘protect his property,’ officials say first appeared on Law & Crime.