VENTURA : Slaying Prompts Outcry for Plan
Neighbors and relatives of stabbing victim Velasta Johnson, 90, demanded Monday that the Ventura City Council work with police and county officials to come up with a plan for handling patients who walk away from the county mental health facility.
Police arrested Kevin Kolodziej, 25, on Jan. 17 after he allegedly walked into Johnson’s home clad in a hospital gown and leg restraints and stabbed her to death. Kolodziej is scheduled to be arraigned Feb. 6.
Johnson’s daughter Jackie Thetford and neighbor, attorney James Farley, gave the council petitions containing 200 signatures.
“The murderer of Velasta Johnson will not be forgotten, and this type of senseless tragedy should not be allowed to happen again,” Farley said. He urged the officials to have compassion for the mentally ill.
“But at the same time we who live in the area deserve to be assured that this will never happen again,” Farley told the council.
“All we are asking for is that there be cooperation between the city of San Buenaventura and its Police Department and the County Board of Supervisors and its officers of mental health. If they were cooperating at the time, this would not have occurred.”
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