HOUSTON – A League City man pleaded guilty and was sentenced Monday in the murder of his ex-wife in 2016 and placing her body in his garage.
Shaun Hardy, 35, was sentenced to 30 years in prison for the murder of Anne-Christine Johnson. He was also sentenced to 20 years for tampering with a corpse, as part of a plea agreement. Galveston County Chief Assistant District Attorney, Kacey Launius, said Hardy will serve his sentences concurrently and may be eligible for parole.
“On the murder charge where he plead guilty to 30 years, he will have to serve at least half of that,” Launius said. “So 15 years with the credit he has already served in jail, he will be eligible to seek parole.”
Johnson was reported missing on Dec. 12, 2016. Hardy has always said he was the last person to see his ex-wife. Her body was found in Hardy’s garage wrapped in plastic trash bags on December 30, 2016. Autopsy results determined the mother-of-two was stabbed in the heart.
Stephanie Johnson, Anne-Christine’s mother, said her daughter suffered years of abuse at the hands of Hardy. She spoke about the domestic violence Monday in her statement to the court.
“Anne-Christine endured six years of well-documented, soul-sucking, physical, verbal, sexual and emotional abuse at Shaun’s hands,” her statement read. Anne-Christine’s father and sister also made victim impact statements in court Monday.
Stephanie and her family waited nearly three years for a verdict but she said it was far from justice.
“I can’t speak for the rest of my family because they’re satisfied with the plea deal and think that justice was served," she said. "I would have much rather this had gone to trial so we can ultimately, maybe had a better idea of what happened,” she said.
Speaking from the site of her daughter’s grave in Liberty, Texas, Stephanie said she hopes to one day find peace.
“Fifteen years does not being me closure,” she said. “The idea that he’s sentenced to 30, but could be out in 15... is that all that you get for murdering somebody?”
Hardy will remain in the custody of the Galveston County Sherriff’s Office until he’s transported to the institutional division of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. His sentence will begin immediately.
Read Stephanie Johnson’s full victim impact statement below: