Anya Johnston is a killer from New York who would be convicted of the murder of her elderly neighbor Susan Trott
According to court documents Anya Johnston wanted to know what it would feel like to kill someone and she picked her elderly neighbor Susan Trott as the victim
Anya Johnston would go to the apartment of Susan Trott, the two lived in the same building, armed with two knives. Once inside of Trott’s apartment Johnston would attack seventy year old woman stabbing her in the back and cutting her throat
Anya Johnston would hide the backpack in a stairwell before leaving the building
Police would be asked to perform a welfare check on Susan Trott when she failed to appear at an appointment and when police arrived at her apartment they would follow a blood trail that would lead to the body of Trott
Anya Johnston would be arrest the next week when police would find bloody clothes in her apartment. DNA would later link the clothing to Susan Trott’s murder
Anya Johnston would be convicted and sentenced to twenty years to life in prison
Anya Johnson Case
A Manhattan woman who fantasized about murdering someone — and then killed her 70-year-old neighbor — in a 2018 bloodbath has been sentenced to 20 years to life in state prison, prosecutors announced Thursday.
Anya Johnston, 29, was convicted in March of murder in the second degree in the Oct. 21, 2018 death of Susan Trott, whose neck was found cut after police followed a trail of blood from her Upper West Side living room to her bedroom. The two lived in the same apartment building, Johnston a floor above her victim.
On that October day, prosecutors say Johnston, who had mental health issues, ran some errands in the afternoon, including closing her bank account.
Later that day, she returned home and went to Trott’s apartment, carrying a backpack that contained two knives and latex gloves, according to trial testimony. While inside, she took out one of the knives and stabbed Trott in her lower back. She also stabbed her in the neck, killing her. Johnston then went back to her apartment and hid her backpack in a nearby stairwell before leaving the building, prosecutors said.
Cops found Trott after her business partner called 911, saying she hadn’t been seen in days. She was pronounced dead at the scene, police said at the time.
The next day, officers executing a search warrant at Johnston’s home recovered clothing and sneakers she had been wearing during the killing. DNA testing showed the clothes were stained with Trott’s blood.
Johnston was arrested a week after her death.
https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/upper-west-side-stabbing-susan-trott-killer-sentence/5377341
Anya Johnson News
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg, Jr., today announced the sentencing of ANYA JOHNSTON, 29, to 20 years-to-life in state prison for fatally stabbing her 70-year-old neighbor, Susan Trott, in Trott’s Upper West Side apartment in October of 2018. JOHNSTON was sentenced on May 1, 2024. On March 4, 2024, a New York Supreme Court jury found JOHNSTON guilty of one count of Murder in the Second Degree.
“Anya Johnston callously took the life of her neighbor Susan Trott, a lifelong New Yorker with a kind-hearted, generous spirit,” said District Attorney Bragg. “To Ms. Trott’s family and loved ones, Johnston robbed them of a friend, mentor and business partner. Since her loss, they have experienced overwhelming emotional pain, and I hope today’s sentence can offer them a sense of justice knowing Johnston has been held accountable.”
As proven at trial, JOHNSTON and Ms. Trott lived in the same apartment building near West 95th Street and West End Avenue and were acquainted as neighbors. JOHNSTON, who had mental health issues, fantasized about committing a murder.
On October 17, 2018, JOHNSTON ran some errands in the afternoon, including closing her bank account. Later that day, she returned home and went to Ms. Trott’s apartment, carrying a backpack, which contained two knives and latex gloves.
While inside Ms. Trott’s apartment, JOHNSTON took out an M48 Cyclone knife from her backpack, and stabbed Ms. Trott in her lower back. JOHNSTON also stabbed her in the neck, killing her. JOHNSTON left the apartment, returned home and hid her backpack in a nearby stairwell before exiting the building.
For several days following the incident, Ms. Trott’s business partner was unable to reach her and eventually asked the police to do a wellness check on her. On October 21, 2018, at approximately 4:20 a.m., as the police performed the wellness check, they discovered Ms. Trott’s body.
The next day, pursuant to a court-authorized search warrant, officers recovered several items from JOHNSTON’s apartment, including the clothing and sneakers she was wearing during the incident. DNA testing showed that the clothes were stained with Ms. Trott’s blood.
JOHNSTON was arrested on October 31, 2018.
Assistant D.A.s Harrison Schweiloch (Deputy Chief of Trial Bureau 60) and Hannah Yu (Chief of the Hate Crimes Unit) handled the prosecution of this case, under the supervision of Charles Whitt (Chief of Trial Bureau 60) and Executive D.A. Lisa DelPizzo (Chief of the Trial Division). Trial Preparation Assistant Timothy Savastano (Trial Bureau 60), Investigative Analysts Diana Vegas (Trial Bureau 60), Zoe Fleishaker (Hate Crimes Unit) and Senior Investigative Analyst Julie Ann Lim (Hate Crimes Unit) provided invaluable assistance.
D.A. Bragg thanked the New York Police Department.
Defendant Information:
ANYA JOHNSTON
New York, New York
Convicted:
Murder in the Second Degree, a class A-I felony, one countSentenced:
20 years-to-life in state prison
