Richland police arrested 31 year old Xavier Matthew Johnson on Wednesday, September 23, 2026, after officers found his mother dead inside an apartment near Columbia Park. Police identified the victim as 60 year old Kaylea J. Johnson. Authorities said the preliminary cause of death was a knife wound.
Johnson, a special education teacher in the Richland School District, was booked on suspicion of second degree murder and remains in the Benton County Jail. A judge set bail at one million dollars. The investigation began Wednesday morning after Johnson called for help. According to court documents cited in local reporting, he contacted 911 at about 10:15 a.m. and said he needed assistance.
Richland police later said officers were dispatched at about 10:16 a.m. to an apartment in the 1700 block of Columbia Park Trail, the Evergreen Ridge Apartments at 1775 Columbia Park Trail, after Johnson requested police and medical help. Police said Johnson did not explain why he needed assistance during the first contact. Officers tried to reach him by phone. When he answered, police said he still could not explain what was wrong.
Authorities said they decided they needed more information before going into the apartment. Court documents described additional statements from the 911 call. Johnson allegedly told dispatchers, “Do not shoot me,” and said he had hurt his arm and did not think he would be able to go in handcuffs. Court records said he then screamed on the line.
Around the same time, a retired psychiatric nurse practitioner who had previously treated Johnson contacted police on his behalf, according to court documents summarized by the Tri City Herald. The documents said Johnson called her, told her he was “not good,” and said, “I have done something. I need you to call police.” He allegedly told her he believed his mother was trying to give him medication he was not supposed to take.
At about 10:54 a.m., Johnson walked into the Richland Police Department and asked to speak with an officer. Police said he provided more information about what officers would find at the apartment. According to court documents, he told officers, “I think you guys need to go by my apartment.” When asked what happened, he said, “my mom’s in there,” and confirmed she was not doing well.
Officers detained him at the station while other officers went to the apartment. Police said officers entered the apartment at about 11:22 a.m. Inside they found Kaylea Johnson with significant knife injuries. Medical personnel responded and pronounced her dead at the scene.
Court documents described her lying in the living room in a large amount of blood with a stab wound to her chest. Investigators also reported a large knife with blood on it next to her body. Richland police identified Kaylea Johnson as Xavier Johnson’s mother and said the preliminary cause of death was a knife wound. Detectives said they were still working to establish a full timeline and determine the circumstances of her death.
Police said there was no known ongoing threat to the public. How Johnson became the focus of the investigation is based on what police and court records have disclosed so far. He called 911, contacted a former mental health provider, then walked into the police station and directed officers to the apartment where his mother was found dead. Police detained him at the department and later arrested him.
He was booked for second degree murder. Police listed the case as number 26 046510. Kaylea Johnson had told her employer earlier Wednesday that she was leaving work to take her son to a doctor appointment, according to court related reporting. Authorities have not publicly described what happened after she arrived at the apartment.
Police have not released a completed motive. Court documents attribute to Xavier Johnson a belief that his mother was trying to give him medication he was not supposed to take. That statement is an allegation drawn from records, not a finding by a jury. Johnson appeared Thursday afternoon in Benton County Superior Court by video from a holding cell.
Reporting said the cell is designed so staff can monitor him if he tries to hurt himself. He is being held on suspicion of second degree murder with bail set at one million dollars. Local reporting said he was also under a 72 hour hold at the Benton County Jail. If he did not post bail, that hold was scheduled to expire Monday at 9:17 p.m.
His attorney, Kevin Holt, called the situation tragic and said he planned to seek a mental health evaluation. Holt said the evaluation would look at whether Johnson understood what he was doing or whether it was wrong. Court records reviewed by local reporters did not specify a diagnosis. They did state that Johnson had been treated by a psychiatric nurse practitioner.
Defense attorneys also said they intended to request a competency evaluation under Washington law. Counsel said that request could not be filed while Johnson was under the 72 hour hold and that they planned to raise it at arraignment. Reporting placed the arraignment on September 29. Johnson was also expected back in court Tuesday in connection with that competency request.
No prosecutor’s office has publicly announced a completed trial verdict. As of Friday, September 25, Johnson had been arrested, booked, and held on the murder allegation. Formal proceedings were still moving through early court appearances. Johnson was employed by the Richland School District.
District listings identified him as a special education teacher at Sacajawea Elementary, working in behavioral education and social skills training. Washington state public records for 2025 had listed him as teaching at Richland High School. Police confirmed in their first release that he was a current teacher in the district. The Richland School District sent a message to students’ families after the arrest.
The district said it was limited in what it could say because the matter was both an active criminal investigation and a personnel issue. Officials said they were cooperating with police. The district also said support was available for students and staff and asked families to contact their school if a student needed extra help. As of the latest local reporting, the district had not issued a detailed public statement on Johnson’s employment status beyond describing the case as a personnel matter.
Johnson grew up in the Tri Cities area. He played football at Hanford High School, where he was a three year starter, earned all conference honors on defense in 2011 and 2012, lettered in track, and served as team captain in 2012. He was a member of the National Honor Society. He later played football at Carroll College in Helena, Montana.
Police asked anyone with information to contact Richland detectives and reference the homicide investigation. Detectives said additional details would be released as the investigation allowed. The death of Kaylea Johnson and the arrest of Xavier Johnson remain an active case. Police have presented a public timeline of the 911 call, the walk in at headquarters, and the discovery of the body.
Court records have added alleged statements about medication and mental health treatment.
