Rochester man pleads guilty to murder charge in Wisconsin
Nov. 16—ALMA, Wis. — A Rochester man charged with murder in Wisconsin for the death of his former caregiver has pleaded guilty to her murder.
Randall Q. Merrick, 50, pleaded guilty on Nov. 8, 2021, in Buffalo County Circuit Court in Wisconsin to first-degree reckless homicide.
The charge had been amended as Merrick was originally charged on June 17, 2020, with first-degree intentional homicide. Merrick had also been charged with hiding a corpse. Court records indicate a jury trial in the case was imminent.
Beth Johnson, 50, was last seen on Christmas Day 2016. Her body was found in Blaine, Minn., in June 2020, a week after Merrick was charged with her murder.
The criminal complaint stated that Merrick killed Johnson sometime between Dec. 25, 2016, and March 12, 2017, in Buffalo County, and that it was an act of domestic abuse. Merrick hid or buried Johnson's body sometime during that time period.
Johnson was last seen alive on Dec. 25, 2016, in her home in the village of Nelson. She and Merrick dated years earlier, but at the time of her disappearance, the two were roommates and Johnson acted as a caregiver for Merrick, according to court records.
Merrick was arrested In June 2020 in Rochester. He had been held on $1 million bail since June 24, 2020. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Feb. 22, 2022.
The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension led coordination of the arrest and drafting of the search warrant. The investigation is also led by the Buffalo County Sheriff's Office, with assistance from the Olmsted County Sheriff's Office, Southeast Minnesota Violent Crime Enforcement Team, Blaine Police Department, Anoka County Sheriff's Office and Anoka Hennepin Narcotics and Violent Crime Task Force.
