Wife, grandson charged in connection to Monroe Township man's death

A Monroe Township woman and her grandson have been charged in connection to the April 12 death of her husband.

The Clermont County Sheriff's Office said 67-year-old Cornelia Johnson and her 15-year-old grandson are charged with involuntary manslaughter, tampering with evidence, falsification and more after officials said the two lied about the events that resulted in the death of 81-year-old Clifford Johnson.

Sheriff's deputies responded to the Johnsons' home on Fair Oak Road at around 6:45 a.m. April 12 after receiving a 911 call stating a man had been run over by a vehicle. When they arrived, they found Clifford Johnson on a couch with visible injuries. He was airlifted to UC Medical Center, where he later died.

Deputies said Cornelia Johnson and her grandson told officials that her husband failed to put his car in park before exiting, resulting in the vehicle rolling over him in their driveway. During their investigation, deputies later learned that was not the case.

Officials said Clifford Johnson had actually been injured earlier in the morning, when he went to help his 15-year-old grandson get the vehicle out of a ditch at East Fork State Park. His grandson had driven the car without permission.

Deputies said the 15-year-old ran over Johnson while he was trying to help him remove the vehicle from the ditch. The grandson then loaded Johnson into the vehicle and took him home, where he and his grandmother lied to deputies about what occurred.

The 15-year-old is currently in custody at the Clermont County Juvenile Detention Center, while Cornelia Johnson is scheduled to appear in Clermont County Common Pleas Court.