Services set for mother and son killed in S.J. murder-suicide
A Burlington County woman and her son, killed by her husband in a murder-suicide this week, will be remembered at a memorial service Sunday.
A Burlington County woman and her son, killed by her husband in a murder-suicide this week, will be remembered at a memorial service Sunday.
MaShanda Johnson, 48, of Burlington Township, and Ruben "Tré" Johnson III, 10, were shot by her husband, Ruben Johnson Jr., Monday night before he turned the gun on himself, authorities said.
Authorities have not disclosed a possible motive for the killings, which stunned neighbors and friends. The couple had financial problems and a troubled marriage, friends say.
Their $500,000 home on Sunflower Circle, purchased in 2005, was up for sheriff's sale in October, records say.
Neighbors recalled MaShanda Johnson as a doting mother of two. A daughter, LoraVon, 23, lives in Florida. Her son was often seen riding his bicycle and playing basketball with neighborhood children.
The nondenominational service will be held at 2 p.m. at the Fountain of Life Center, 2035 Columbus Rd., Florence Township.
The funeral for the mother and son will be Monday in Montclair, N.J., where MaShanda Johnson grew up and graduated from high school in 1987. A viewing will be held from 9 to 11 a.m., followed by services at St. Mark's United Methodist Church.
A funeral announcement posted on LoraVon's Facebook page reads: "MaShanda & Tré We love you always. How lucky are we ... to have known these beautiful spirits who are so hard to say goodbye to ..."
Her page is filled with poignant posts. "I could be dead right now. I just want to hug my mom and brother," reads one.
Another post with a link for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention reads: "Please people go seek help."
A GoFundMe page was launched to raise $20,000 to help pay for the funeral costs for MaShanda and Tré Johnson. By Friday, the campaign had raised more than $13,000.
It described MaShanda as "one of the kindest people on earth, often offering to give even when she didn't have. Her smile was infectious and her sense of humor kept many in stitches."
Ruben Johnson III attended B. Bernice Young Elementary School, and the family said he was "so smart and supersweet and could light up a room with his warmth and energy. He was always willing to share, his kindness acquired from his mom."
A private service for Ruben Johnson Jr., 50, was scheduled for Saturday at a funeral home in Newark, N.J. A former manager at Bogie's, an East Orange, N.J., nightclub owned by his father, he grew up in Piscataway, N.J.
He graduated from Grambling State University in 1988, where he was known on campus as a flashy dresser, said classmate Ronald Bennett of Long Branch, N.J. Johnson gave himself the nickname "Easy."
"He had everything. You knew he came from a good family," recalled Bennett, 52, a special-education teacher. "He had big-time confidence."
Bennett said "everything was fine" when he last spoke with Johnson about a year ago. Johnson spoke "highly" about his son, he said.
"It was all positive. He showed no signs of stress," Bennett said. "That's why it was such a shock."
Other acquaintances, however, said there were signs that something was amiss in the Johnson marriage. They described Ruben Jr. as controlling and jealous.
Several years ago, MaShanda told a group of childhood girlfriends that Ruben had placed a gun on a table in the couple's home and threatened to kill her, said Angela Smith Teal, one of the friends.
"She would say, 'If something ever happens to me, it's going to be Ruben,' " Teal said.
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