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Mother mourns loss of son, gets ready to go on with the show
By ROY N. KENT
There is a hole in the Dorp Express family that simply cannot be filled.
Hank Johnson, the 27-year-old son of founder Sandi Johnson, was murdered while staying in Hearne as a temporary employee of a fiberglass company. His murder remains unsolved. Sandi Johnson has been looking for two things ever since: justice and healing.
Dorp Express is a musical puppet show based in Pasadena. The shows are born from her books and albums. Hank became a star as a puppeteer and actor, performing in front of crowds for two decades.
“Our whole lives, our business, everything has been in the public eye,” Johnson said.
“I entertained children,” she said. “That’s what he did.”
Johnson was found beaten at the Executive Inn in Hearne, beaten to near death. He suffered skull fractures, a pair of strokes and a heart attack on the way to the hospital. He was in a coma for nearly two weeks before he died on July 21.
Police have conducted numerous interviews since then and have few leads about what happened or who did it. Sandi Johnson has her suspicions but knows justice may be a long time in coming.
“I believe with all my heart that people are good. There is hope; there is a bright future. I still believe that with all my heart,” she said.
“But I need justice. I believe in the law. Whoever … did this is a very terrible person. Maybe once we get some justice I can go on.”
From what she has been told, her son was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time.
“They wanted his guitar,” she said. “I think he walked in on it. I guess they didn’t want anyone to identify them.
“My son, at 27, is gone. I just can’t believe it.”
While CrimeStoppers and “America’s Most Wanted” do what they can to advance the case, Sandi Johnson is getting ready to perform again and wonders what’s next.
“The kids look at me and want me to tell them what to do in a situation like this,” she said.
An aspect of Dorp Express is that it teaches children how to react to bad situations; how to avoid bad things.
“Parents now are the children who went to my shows in the first place,” Johnson said.
In the true entertainment fashion, the October show scheduled at Traders Village is expected to go on as planned.
“It’s not going to be easy,” she said.
Hank Johnson loved performing in front of children. His first taste came when he was 7 years old.
“His kids … not only his kids,” she said. “It affects thousands of kids.”
Johnson is conflicted when it comes to informing the children who have grown up loving the characters her son portrayed. Telling them is something of a difficult task.
“How do I do that?” she asked. “I have to do it some way. I have to let the parents know.
“He loved kids. Twenty years of his life was spent entertaining children.”
The recent damages caused by Hurricane Ike further punctuated Hank’s absence. She and her son had weathered Tropical Storm Allison’s floods and various other disasters. This time, a tree fell by her house. But a tree can be propped back up or replaced. Not so the case with her murdered son.
“You can’t put that back up,” she said. “That’s out of my life forever.”
But Johnson knows that getting back to the job of performing with Dorp Express may be the therapy she needs.
“I need the kids,” she said. “I need the people to help me get through it.”
When she does perform again, it will be yet another heartbreaking chapter in her life. The current show, Zombie Blues, “is the one that Hank and I wrote.”
It features a neighborhood of monsters and their interactions.
“This was his idea,” she said. “People ask, ‘Are you going to be able to do it?’ In 25 years I have never cancelled a show.
“I’ll be there.”
Sandi Johnson is now looking for support from friends, family and the community in general.
“Anything they can do … anything,” Johnson said. “They can help me get through this. My only son … now I’m taking care of his only son.”
Hank Johnson is survived by his two children, a 10-year-old son and 4-year-old daughter.
To contact Sandi Johnson and send words of support, e-mail her at sandi@dorpexpress.com or visit the Internet at www.dorpexpress.com.
Hank Johnson, the 27-year-old son of founder Sandi Johnson, was murdered while staying in Hearne as a temporary employee of a fiberglass company. His murder remains unsolved. Sandi Johnson has been looking for two things ever since: justice and healing.
Dorp Express is a musical puppet show based in Pasadena. The shows are born from her books and albums. Hank became a star as a puppeteer and actor, performing in front of crowds for two decades.
“Our whole lives, our business, everything has been in the public eye,” Johnson said.
“I entertained children,” she said. “That’s what he did.”
Johnson was found beaten at the Executive Inn in Hearne, beaten to near death. He suffered skull fractures, a pair of strokes and a heart attack on the way to the hospital. He was in a coma for nearly two weeks before he died on July 21.
Police have conducted numerous interviews since then and have few leads about what happened or who did it. Sandi Johnson has her suspicions but knows justice may be a long time in coming.
“I believe with all my heart that people are good. There is hope; there is a bright future. I still believe that with all my heart,” she said.
“But I need justice. I believe in the law. Whoever … did this is a very terrible person. Maybe once we get some justice I can go on.”
From what she has been told, her son was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time.
“They wanted his guitar,” she said. “I think he walked in on it. I guess they didn’t want anyone to identify them.
“My son, at 27, is gone. I just can’t believe it.”
While CrimeStoppers and “America’s Most Wanted” do what they can to advance the case, Sandi Johnson is getting ready to perform again and wonders what’s next.
“The kids look at me and want me to tell them what to do in a situation like this,” she said.
An aspect of Dorp Express is that it teaches children how to react to bad situations; how to avoid bad things.
“Parents now are the children who went to my shows in the first place,” Johnson said.
In the true entertainment fashion, the October show scheduled at Traders Village is expected to go on as planned.
“It’s not going to be easy,” she said.
Hank Johnson loved performing in front of children. His first taste came when he was 7 years old.
“His kids … not only his kids,” she said. “It affects thousands of kids.”
Johnson is conflicted when it comes to informing the children who have grown up loving the characters her son portrayed. Telling them is something of a difficult task.
“How do I do that?” she asked. “I have to do it some way. I have to let the parents know.
“He loved kids. Twenty years of his life was spent entertaining children.”
The recent damages caused by Hurricane Ike further punctuated Hank’s absence. She and her son had weathered Tropical Storm Allison’s floods and various other disasters. This time, a tree fell by her house. But a tree can be propped back up or replaced. Not so the case with her murdered son.
“You can’t put that back up,” she said. “That’s out of my life forever.”
But Johnson knows that getting back to the job of performing with Dorp Express may be the therapy she needs.
“I need the kids,” she said. “I need the people to help me get through it.”
When she does perform again, it will be yet another heartbreaking chapter in her life. The current show, Zombie Blues, “is the one that Hank and I wrote.”
It features a neighborhood of monsters and their interactions.
“This was his idea,” she said. “People ask, ‘Are you going to be able to do it?’ In 25 years I have never cancelled a show.
“I’ll be there.”
Sandi Johnson is now looking for support from friends, family and the community in general.
“Anything they can do … anything,” Johnson said. “They can help me get through this. My only son … now I’m taking care of his only son.”
Hank Johnson is survived by his two children, a 10-year-old son and 4-year-old daughter.
To contact Sandi Johnson and send words of support, e-mail her at sandi@dorpexpress.com or visit the Internet at www.dorpexpress.com.
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