Detectives ask public for help with finding fugitive wanted for Niceville man’s murder

Deputies arrest 5 accused of helping fugitive after 43-year-old man’s murder

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NICEVILLE, Fla. — Walton County Sheriff’s Office detectives asked the public for help on Monday with finding a 38-year-old woman wanted for murder.

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Isabelle Johnson, who has hazel eyes, is 5 feet 3 inches tall and weighs about 120 pounds. She is also known as Jessica Bowman, Jessica Thrush, and Jessica Dowdy.

Detectives identified Johnson as a suspect in the murder of Jason Coulthart, who vanished on May 24 in Niceville, in Okaloosa County.

“Detectives developed information identifying the location where Coulthart’s body had been buried on a property off Sunset Lane in Freeport,” Niceville Chief Mark Hayse said in a statement.

On June 25, detectives found Coulhart, 43, dead in Walton County, where a judge issued an arrest warrant for Johnson on June 26.

“The next step in this investigation is to hold every single person involved in Jason’s death accountable,” Adkinson said. “If they knew, if they helped, or if they chose not to speak up, they will have to answer for their role in this.”

On June 26, detectives arrested Bobbi Wagstaff, 31, FOR possession of a controlled substance and accessory to a capital felony after the fact in Walton County.

On July 1, detectives arrested Martin Leaverton and Sandra Leaverton and accused them of helping Johnson. The Leavertons, both 63, each faced a charge of accessory to a capital felony after the fact.

On July 9, a DNA test confirmed the identity of the remains in a shallow grave in Freeport.

On Friday, detectives arrested Michael White and Kathleen Morris and accused them of helping Johnson hide until June 30 in Santa Rosa Beach.

Morris, 59, and White, 74, faced charges in Walton County of obstruction and accessory to a capital felony after the fact.

Detectives also released a surveillance video showing Johnson in Destin, in northwest Florida.

Detectives asked anyone with information about Johnson’s whereabouts to call 911 and the Walton County Sheriff’s Office at 850-892-8111.

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About The Author
Andrea Torres

Andrea Torres

The Emmy Award-winning journalist joined the Local 10 News team in 2013. She wrote for the Miami Herald for more than 9 years and won a Green Eyeshade Award.