The last man to see Kentucky teen Paige Johnson alive in 2010 was convicted Monday of dumping her body in a state park.
Jacob Bumpass, 35, was found guilty of assaulting a corpse and tampering with evidence, the Cincinnati Enquirer reported. He faces up to four years in prison when sentencing on September 7.
Bumpass was arrested in 2020, weeks after Johnson’s remains were found in East Fork State Park, about 20 miles east of Cincinnati.
Investigators said it was unlikely that Bumpass would ever be charged with Johnson’s murder as authorities were unable to determine the teen’s cause of death.
Johnson was last seen alive on September 23, 2010. She was 17 years old at the time. Her family said Bumpass picked up Johnson to take her to her sister’s apartment.
Bumpass’s cell phone rang around 1 a.m. on Sept. 23 near Johnson’s home, then his own home, according to authorities, and never made it near her sister’s apartment.
At around 4:15 a.m., Bumpass’s cellphone used towers near East Fork State Park, investigators said. Johnson’s body was found at 4:18 a.m. that day about a mile from the cell tower Bumpass was using.
The case against Bumpass was based largely on cell phone records and a witness statement Bumpass and Johnson posted together at Bumpass’s home at around 1:50 a.m., according to the Enquirer.
Johnson remained missing until March 22, when a deer hunter came across her skull in the park. Additional bones were found in the area and dental records confirmed it to be Johnson’s body.
Bumpass maintained his innocence at trial and his attorney announced plans to appeal.
