By Ivan Pereira
Thursday, November 12, 2009 12:13 PM EST
Police say Paul Johnson killed himself at the doorstep of his former home after stabbing his former girlfriend to death. Photo by Ivan Pereira
Alleged troubles for a longtime Jamaica couple ended in violence this weekend as a man stabbed his former girlfriend and then took his own life inside their home, police said.
A neighbor of Regina Alston, 46, and Paul Johnson, 47, said they had broken up weeks ago after he became violent and attacked her.
Even though Alston had a court-ordered restraining order issued against Johnson, he entered her home on Liverpool Street around noon Saturday and stabbed her to death before hanging himself, according to police.
“It’s really frightening that this happened,” said Luster Law, 60, who rented out the second floor of his house on Liverpool Street to the couple.
Johnson and Alston, who had two daughters together and a grandchild, had been living at the house for at least a decade, according to Law. Law said the two appeared happy over the years. They had their troubles but it did not get rough until recently, when Alston began to see another man, he said.
Their relationship problems came to a head when Johnson, who Law said worked various odd jobs over the years and was unemployed recently, allegedly choked his girlfriend last month in front of their youngest daughter.
“I called the police. I didn’t know what went on until I saw them fighting outside,” Law recalled.
Johnson pleaded guilty to menacing on Oct. 9 and Alston received an order of protection against her violent former boyfriend, a representative from the Queens district attorney’s office said. He was scheduled to be sentenced on November 20 and would have been forced to undergo anger management, according to the Queens DA’s office.
Johnson eventually moved back into his mother’s house on Foch Boulevard, Law said. On Saturday, he came back to the house, claiming he was going to pick up some furniture, and Alston let him in, according to Law.
He ultimately stabbed Alston several times inside the house, police said. Johnson then took the knife to himself and hanged himself with a dog leash at the entrance of the home, according to police.
Johnson was pronounced dead at the scene by EMS and Alston was rushed to Jamaica Hospital, where she was pronounced dead, police said.
Law, who was not at the house when the killings took place, said he was shocked at the whole ordeal because he knew Johnson since he was a boy and was friendly with Alston.
“In the eight to 10 years she lived here, she never had any problems. She was nice,” he said.
Law said he believed Johnson, who he claimed had trouble with the law when he was young, was driven to violence because of his lack of employment and his breakup with Alston.
“You can see things down the road, but you can never expect this to happen,” he said.
Reach reporter Ivan Pereira by e-mail at ipereira@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-229-0300, Ext. 146.
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