CAPE CORAL, Fla. — It's been a little more than a month since Cape Coral Police said 28-year-old Devin Johnson stabbed his mom in their home 100 times. Now his sister, Renee Caney, is speaking only with Fox 4's Bella Line about Devin's history with mental health.
Bella Line spoke with Caney outside of the Lee County Courthouse about what she hopes happens in her brother's case:
Renee Caney discovered her mother's body in September and said the traumatic scene will stay with her forever.
"You don't want to believe that your brother did something of that magnitude," Caney said. "I was the daughter that found her, and I'll never unsee what I saw that day. For how violent it was, how could you do that to your own mother?"
A cross now sits at the front door of Rosemary Johnson's home as a memorial to the woman Caney describes as "sweet and loving and caring."
Caney said her brother wasn't always troubled and describes him as "sweet and innocent" growing up, before he "spiraled" in recent years.
Court documents reveal the family had been dealing with escalating issues. In March, records show that Rosemary filed a petition for a restraining order against her son, writing "I am staying at my daughters because I don't feel safe around him."
The paperwork also said Devin Johnson has schizophrenia and was receiving treatment at SalusCare. Caney told detectives her brother had previously been Baker Acted.
"We have a huge crisis in this country with mental illness, and there's just something needs to be done about it," Caney said.
Despite the tragedy, Caney said she hopes her brother will receive mental health treatment rather than a potential life sentence in prison, which is he facing.
"He's not going to get the help that he needs in a prison," she said. "He'll get the help that he needs in a mental facility."
Johnson is expected back in court on Dec. 2.
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