Guilty Plea In Sex Killing

SHELTON - A man in prison for child molesting pleaded guilty yesterday to first-degree murder in the 1987 sex slaying of a 13-year-old girl.

David H. Johnson, 55, entered the plea in Mason County Superior Court. He had originally pleaded innocent to killing Monique Burnett.

Johnson's 48-year-old brother, Gerald Johnson of Olympia, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in June and agreed to testify against his brother in the child's death.

Under the standard sentencing range, David Johnson would face 23 to 31 years in prison, but Prosecutor Gary Burleson said he will ask for a longer sentence. A 14-year sentence will be sought for Gerald Johnson.

The girl disappeared while walking home from her baby-sitter's house. In a statement, David Johnson - now serving a sentence for child molestation at the Washington Corrections Center - said he and his brother abducted the girl in December 1987, planning a sexual assault.

The girl's remains were found in the fall of 1988 in the Dayton Peak area, about 10 miles west of Shelton.