{"id":732270,"date":"2026-02-06T00:07:17","date_gmt":"2026-02-06T00:07:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/732270\/"},"modified":"2026-02-06T00:07:17","modified_gmt":"2026-02-06T00:07:17","slug":"son-of-slain-nfl-player-kevin-johnson-demands-justice-opens-up-about-dads-tragic-downfall","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/732270\/","title":{"rendered":"Son of slain NFL player Kevin Johnson demands justice, opens up about dad\u2019s tragic downfall"},"content":{"rendered":"

The son of former NFL player Kevin Johnson called for justice after his father<\/a> was killed at a Los Angeles homeless encampment where four people have been murdered over the past four months.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Branden Johnson<\/a>, 27, urged police to solve the string of killings that claimed his father\u2019s life, and restore safety to the Willowbrook neighborhood where his dad was found dead in an encampment.<\/p>\n

\u201cLet\u2019s get justice,\u201d the son of the slain football star<\/a> told The Post. \u201cThis is unfair to my father, and to the other people that lost their lives down there.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Branden Johnson, left with his father Kevin Johnson. Courtesy of Braden Johnson<\/p>\n

Kevin Johnson\u2019s talent on the football field brought him to the NFL. Getty Images<\/p>\n

The younger Johnson, a security guard who lives in Carson, said police haven\u2019t told him much about who might be responsible for his father\u2019s death. His father was found dead Jan. 21 at the age of 55.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Two detectives told the slain football star\u2019s son that investigators have been conducting interviews with potential witnesses but have not identified any suspects, he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

It\u2019s even possible a serial killer could be behind the killing of his father and others at the South LA homeless encampment, he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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\u201cI have no clue,\u201d the younger Johnson said. \u201cThat\u2019s what hurts the most.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Police have identified four people killed since October at the homeless encampment located on Compton Creek, which runs along a portion of the Los Angeles River.<\/p>\n

The South LA homeless encampment where Kevin Johnson was killed. KABC<\/p>\n

Besides Johnson, Michelle Steele, 52, was shot in the head there on Oct. 5, police said. She died Nov. 12 from those injuries. Octavio Arias, 52, was found beaten to death at the encampment on Dec. 4, according to police.\u00a0<\/p>\n

And Mauro Alfaro, also 52, was killed there on Jan. 26. The cause of death was blunt force trauma, police said.<\/p>\n

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A spokeswoman for the Los Angeles Sheriff\u2019s Department said Thursday that investigators had no updates on the killings. <\/p>\n

Johnson\u2019s son said his dad\u2019s slide from pro football fame to homelessness was fueled by injury and bad luck.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Kevin Johnson holds his son Branden as a baby. Courtesy of Braden Johnson<\/p>\n

The Compton native and lifelong Angeleno was a star high school football player who competed at the collegiate level for Texas Southern before playing for the Patriots, Vikings, Raiders and Eagles, his son said.<\/p>\n

Johnson\u2019s son said the footballer followed his NFL football career with a stint in an arena league before becoming a high school football coach in Pasadena, a gig that lasted a few years.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Johnson played at the collegiate level for Texas Southern before playing for the Patriots, Vikings, Raiders and Eagles. Getty Images<\/p>\n

By the early 2000\u2019s, the elder Johnson was working part-time as a trainer, his son said, but since then he wasn\u2019t working much.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

In recent years, knee injuries forced Johnson to use a cane, his son said, and his memory had begun to trouble him, perhaps because of head trauma.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But the elder Johnson continued to put on a brave face, the younger Johnson said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Johnson was in regular contact with family before his death, his son said. Courtesy of Braden Johnson<\/p>\n

\u201cMy dad had been the person that everybody looks up to,\u201d he said. \u201cHe didn\u2019t want them to look at him as being weak or not the same person that they had known him to be.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

A few years ago the former football player broke up with his girlfriend, with whom he had been living with in Pasadena, his son said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

A few years ago the former football player broke up with his girlfriend, with whom he had been living with in Pasadena. Getty Images<\/p>\n

In the years that followed, Johnson didn\u2019t have a permanent address and instead stayed with friends and family.\u00a0<\/p>\n

About six months ago Johnson began sleeping sporadically at the homeless encampment on Compton Creek, his son said, which was near the neighborhood in Compton where Johnson grew up.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s where police found the body of his dad.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The younger Johnson said he believes investigators are doing their job, but he hopes a break in the case will come soon.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt looks bad over there, especially with four deaths,\u201d he said. \u201cThat\u2019s nothing that\u2019s safe at all.\u201d<\/p>\n

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