[1] She was 23 years old at the time of her death, which had occurred after enduring several weeks of extreme neglect and physical abuse.

[6] Johnson's body was discovered within the first rows of a cornfield on July 21, 1999, by a father and daughter walking their dogs.

[6][10] Because it had rained on the night her body was dumped, little evidence of the perpetrator was found, although she was placed at the scene about 12 hours before precipitation occurred.

[8][1] During the autopsy, multiple injuries were observed across her body, and it was determined she had endured several weeks of neglect in addition to long-term physical abuse.

In 2011, investigators followed a potential lead that the victim may have been Aundria Bowman (born Alexis Badger), who disappeared from her adoptive parents' house in Hamilton, Michigan, on March 11, 1989.

[8][20][21][22] Some believed that this case could be linked to the murder of Mary Kate Chamizo (née Sunderlin), a previously unidentified victim who was discovered in Lake County, Illinois.

[25] Her remains were exhumed on October 16, 2013, for further study and transported to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where her body had previously been examined in 1999.

[29] On October 20, 2016, it was announced that chemical isotope testing performed by the Smithsonian on a sample of her hair and bone suggested she was potentially from or spent several years of her life in Alaska, Montana or portions of southern Canada.

[30] The police department planned on seeking forensic genetic genealogy organizations to identify potential relatives of the victim.

"[31][3] On November 8, 2019, Racine County authorities identified the victim, through DNA comparison, as Peggy Lynn Johnson, 23, of McHenry, Illinois.

[33] At the time she was charged with murdering Peggy Johnson, she was facing legal proceedings after causing a vehicle accident while intoxicated.

The emotional and physical abuse against Johnson took place over a significant period of time before her death, presumably since moving into the residence.

[18][34] Instances of La Roche's abuse toward Johnson were confirmed by her children, one of which the victim confided in after being asked about a bruise to the face.

[12] Despite friends and classmates of Johnson describing her as mild-mannered and "quiet,"[citation needed] the suspect claimed the victim repeatedly stole from the residence, including medication, and invited men over without permission.

[7][12] La Roche's now-ex-husband stated he had come home in July 1999 to find Johnson lying unresponsive, which the suspect claimed resulted from an overdose.

La Roche informed her husband upon his return that the victim regained consciousness, after which she gave two different accounts of leaving Johnson with her grandmother or abandoning her, unharmed, along a roadway in Wisconsin.

[12] Police explained they planned to exhume Johnson's body once again, and re-inter her next to her mother in Belvidere, Illinois.

[38] On March 16, 2022, La Roche was found guilty of first-degree intentional homicide of Johnson and hiding her corpse.