ODESSA, Texas — Katherine Stephens said she was devastated after she found out that Crystal Williams was killed by Larry Johnson, her former boyfriend.
"Thank the Lord I'm still here," said Stephens. "Unfortunately, she didn't get to be that lucky."
Larry Johnson was arrested in Odessa in April and charged with murder and tampering with physical evidence. This was after his girlfriend, Crystal Williams, was found shot dead at the Faudree Ranch apartments.
Public data searches show that this was not Johnson's first run in with the law. Entries under his name in the Public Data Texas Criminal file show charges of assault 'a'-family violence, aggravated robbery and assault against a public servant, among others in Montgomery County, Texas.
Stephens claims she dated Johnson and experienced abuse.
"He strangled me the whole night, and he would not let me leave my room," said Stephens. "He took, like I said, both my phones, so I wasn't able to call for help. I was screaming for help as he was choking me, and he told me I need to not yell and scream, because if I did, he said he was going to hurt me even worse."
Stephens said she reported what happened, and Johnson eventually went to jail.
"I'm glad I made that report, because now I am somebody that they are able to reach out to, to be able to help with Ms. Williams' case, and possibly make sure he doesn't get out and harm somebody else," said Stephens.
Stephens believes that Johnson would do the same thing to another person if he were to be released.
"I feel like he needs to be locked up the rest of his life, and I feel if they were to let him out again, he would only do it again to somebody else," said Stephens.
NewsWest 9 has filed a public records request for paperwork regarding the assault 'a'-family violence charge. We will bring you the latest as we learn more about the situation.