She told them about Honken's and Johnson's search for Nicholson and that she had seen the pistol used in the 1993 murders in Johnson's closet before it was destroyed. In July 2000, Johnson was charged with five counts of murder in furtherance of a continuing criminal enterprise. While awaiting trial, she met Robert Gene McNeese, a career criminal and informant who was serving a life sentence. He and Johnson passed notes through the food slot in his door about their lives in jail and their childhoods. McNeese got Johnson to confess to the murders by claiming he could find another inmate who could take the blame. However, he told Johnson that she would need to say everything she knew. Johnson discussed the murders in detail, which McNeese secretly recorded. Johnson gave him written notes and a map revealing the locations of the victim's bodies. McNeese gave the notes and map to the authorities, and the victims' bodies were recovered shortly after. Upon learning that she had been tricked, Johnson attempted to hang herself. Honken was charged with the murders in 2001. The government announced they would seek death sentences for both Honken and Johnson. After a court found that Honken posed an extreme security risk due to his history of escape attempts and threatening witnesses, he was ordered to wear a stun belt and be shackled and bolted to the floor during his trial. To minimize potential prejudice, the court ordered for officers not to move Honken in the presence of the jury and that table skirts be placed on the counsel tables so the jury would be unable to see the shackles. The shackles were fitted with a chain so Honken could move normally without the shackles making noise. A judge initially barred McNeese from testifying against Johnson during her trial on the grounds that he was acting as a federal agent. However, this decision was overturned since the government had never asked McNeese to cooperate in the case against Johnson. As a reward for his testimony, a judge reduced McNeese's sentence, and he was released from prison on November 14, 2017. Witnesses against Honken Honken and Johnson were tried separately. Honken was tried first, with his trial starting in October 2004. His lawyers pointed to the lack of physical evidence linking him to the murders. The prosecution said he had every reason to kill the victims and presented